Hoosier Huddle IUFB Mailbag: Spring Break Edition

Written By Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)

While everyone is enjoying March Madness, I wanted to get to some of you burning questions regarding the Hoosiers on the grid iron. Thank you all for sending in your questions for this brief mailbag.

1. Nathan Till via Twitter- How are (Nick) Westbrook and (Donavan) Hale Looking?

We’ll start with Hale. Allen told us at the beginning of spring ball that Hale would start to participate more when the team returns from spring break, until then it is hard to judge how he looks, seeing that we have not had the chance to watch him.

Westbrook is still limited when it comes to contact but looks really healthy and ready to get back to being the Hoosiers number one option at WR. He made one play when I was there when he skied to grab a pass and hauled it in. I fully expect him to be back in form before the season starts. I don’t know if he’ll play in the spring game though.

2. TheHoosierPhoenix via Twitter- Your biggest surprise from watching this past week?

I would have to go with Mike McGinnis at linebacker. He was not really a factor coming out of ASA a year ago. He is a major key to helping replace Scales and Covington at the LB position. He reminds me a lot of Jeff Thomas and if he can have the year Thomas had in 2010, IU should be in good shape. He has shown a nose for the football in the parts of practice I have seen.

3. Scott Hyder via Twitter- Will we be pleasantly surprised from big strides along the offensive line?

There are going to be a lot of factors that go into how improved this unit will be. They’ll get a boost from grad transfer Nick Linder for sure, but health will play a major role as well. Last season, we saw Brandon Knight and Simon Stepaniak miss games with injuries. They are healthy so far, this spring. If Caleb Jones can develop at right tackle and Delroy Baker can continue to improve, the tackle positions should be set. IU has been experimenting with Harry Crider at guard as well, a position that was hammered last season on the right side. If, and this is a big if, all these pieces start to fit together a little bit better, IU can find themselves with a line of Cronk, Martin, Linder, Knight, and Jones/Baker. I would feel really comfortable with that group especially with Stepaniak and Littlejohn as depth pieces. However, there has only been one practice in full pads and it’s just too early to tell what will happen.

Thank you for the questions! IU restarts spring practice next week and Hoosier Huddle will have all your IUFB coverage. Now back to March Madness!