Hoosiers Hosted a Successful 'Junior Day' Over the Weekend in Bloomington
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The Hoosiers hosted a successful Junior Day last weekend. Image Sarah Miller Hoosier Huddle
Written by: Kris Shankle (@HoosierKris)
This year’s junior day for coach Tom Allen and the Hoosiers staff has come and gone. Now of course there is still an infinite amount of time in the recruiting world until most of these prospects begin to wrap up their recruitment, a lot can be taken away from this past weekend’s festivities. For starters, some other big programs had their junior days as well, so it made some kids pick and choose on which ones to attend. That doesn’t mean that IU or the other schools are going to land all the kids that came to campus or that IU can’t land some of the kids that decided to go elsewhere. It does however give you an indication on whose in play for the future classes. The exciting part is that IU got to welcome some very talented kids over the weekend and though my list isn’t official by any means, I can confirm that each one that I’m going to mention, did in fact attend. I may have missed some, so if anyone knows someone that isn’t mentioned, please let me know.
2019 Class
RB Sampson James – James was the highest rated kid that made it to Bloomington. The 6’1 junior running back hails from Avon, IN. 247 has him rated as high as 127. Michigan, Ohio State, Notre Dame and lots of other power 5 schools have already offered James. This recruitment will be a battle to say the least, but the Hoosiers have a fighting chance. Go watch this kid’s highlights by the way. He is very fun to watch.
TE Erick All – The 6’4 tight end from Fairfield, OH also made the trip over the weekend and looks to be a big target by his size and talent level for the Hoosiers. Iowa, Purdue, Kentucky are hot in pursuit of All as well. 247 sports has All rated as the 422nd best prospect in the 2019 class.
OG Zach Carpenter – Carpenter comes from Archbishop Moeller in Cincinnati, OH. The 6’5, 310 pound prospect has drawn plenty of attention from power 5 schools. WVU, Duke, Northwestern, OSU, UCLA and Vanderbilt are just some of the schools after him along with the Hoosiers. Ranked as the 405th best prospect in his class, Carpenter figures to gain even more attention, but the Hoosiers will definitely continue their pursuit.
SDE Karter Johnson- Karter Johnson comes from an IUFB recruiting hotbed it would seem. Pickerington, OH has become a very popular destination on the Hoosiers staff’s GPS. Johnson attends Pickerington Central and has been a popular name on the recruiting trail lately. He’s 6’2, 270 and has earned himself some big time offers. Kentucky, Boston College, PSU, U of L, WVU are just some of the power 5 schools he holds interest from. 247 has him ranked as the 628th best prospect.
WR Bryce Kirtz- Kirtz is a highly regarded wideout from Brownsburg, IN. Kirtz stands in at 6 feet tall and has great hands to go along with his size. Kirtz is a playmaker plain and simple. He scored a total of 18 touchdowns for his Brownsburg squad last season and had over 1,000 yards of total offense. Lined up at running back as well as wideout at times, is what makes him such an intriguing prospect. He is the state of Indiana’s number 5 ranked prospect and 282nd overall. The Hoosiers will be in a battle if they want to gain a pledge from Kirtz. Northwestern and Iowa just offered him yesterday, coming back from his visit to IU. Boston College, Duke, MSU, Purdue and Syracuse are some of the other power 5 schools to offer.
WDE Beau Robbins- Robbins has great size standing in at 6’4, 238 pounds. It leaves a lot of room to add to his build, but Robbins as is a very good prospect. 247 has him at 278 and other major outlets have him on average at 238. It’s safe to say the in state talent has plenty of options including the Hoosiers. The Carmel, IN native has interest from U of L, MSU, Iowa, Nebraska, OSU, Notre Dame among others. Robbins will be a name to keep an eye on as the Hoosiers have gotten in good with plenty of in state talent, they will need to land a few to really turn the corner.
OT Karsen Barnhart- With the potential losses of a few o lineman after the season, the Hoosiers staff has zeroed in on Barnhart as a potential replacement. At 6’4, 282 pounds he definitely is a big prospect. The only problem is, Barnhart is from Paw Paw, MI and both big time Michigan schools are chasing after him. 247 has him as the 357th best player in the ’19 class. Along with Michigan and MSU, Iowa State, Kentucky and Iowa have also offered Barnhart.
OLB Brody Ingle- Coming from Lasalle high school in Cincinnati, OH, Ingles also made the trip over the past weekend. Ingle doesn’t have the typical size for an OLB as he is 6’1, 215 pounds, but he is quick enough and uses his hands very well to make up for it. Ingle’s recruitment hasn’t really took off yet, but it’s coming. Along with the Hoosiers, Ball State, Bowling Green, Cincinnati, Eastern Michigan and Miami(OH) have all offered Ingle. 247 has him rated as the 952nd best player in the class.
OLB Jack Kiser- Kiser just has that look as a football player. Even better he is an in state kid from Royal Center, IN. The Hoosiers have put in the work early with Kiser, but he surely will become very popular. Ranked as the 9th best prospect in state and the 459th overall in the ’19 class. Purdue is on him heavy as well and last October he visited Notre Dame. Iowa is the other power 5 school that has offered him. Kiser is 6’2 and has the perfect size to add onto his body to become a better prospect.
WR Craig Young- Young is another Indiana prospect, coming from Wayne High School in Fort Wayne, IN. Young has the perfect size for the position at 6’3, 200 pounds too. The Hoosiers have thrived in the past with wideouts his size, so I fully expect him to be a top target for Tom Allen and the staff. Ranked as the 10th best prospect and 534th overall by 247, Young has plenty of interest already. Notre Dame, OSU, MSU, Purdue, Iowa State, Iowa and Wisconsin are just some of the big name programs after him. OSU just offered last week, but until then the Hoosiers had picked up some crystal ball predictions on 247. Young will be a name to watch for Hoosier fans.
WDE Spencer Bono- Bono is another Ohio native that has drawn the attention of the staff as Elder High School student. Bono is 6’4, 235 pounds and is one of the best prospects in Cincinnati altogether, which always breeds some talented kids. 247 has him rated as the 489th best prospect in the class and has drawn interest from local Cincinnati as well Boston College, PSU, Iowa, Pittsburgh, Purdue and a few other schools.
2020 class
OT Paris Johnson- Johnson is another prospect that is from Cincinnati, OH, but he plays for St. Xavier. He has the perfect size at 6’7, 275 for the OT position and heading into his junior season, Johnson’s stock is very high already. Clemson, MSU, OSU, Notre Dame, Michigan, PSU, Northwestern and several other power 5 schools join the Hoosiers in their pursuit of this kid. 247 doesn’t have rankings available yet for his class, but when they do come out I’d be very surprised if he wasn’t highly rated. The groundwork has been laid for Tom Allen, but he will have his hands full in this battle.
On the recruiting front, the Hoosiers are gaining more and more progress towards taking the next step. It’s still early and these names are far from the only prospects that the staff is after. I’ve seen a lot of offers to some highly rated kids that in the past wouldn’t happen, but the staff has the confidence that the can compete with anyone on the recruiting trail and its hard not to take the bait. I don’t expect us to beat out OSU and the other big name programs on the regular, but I do think we can win the occasional battle. The 2018 class is almost a wrap and in the coming days I will get to the guys that we’re going to welcome to the program this year and I will continue to give fans an idea of the future as like I said the ’19 and beyond classes have some real talent potential. It looks like brighter days are ahead and I’m very excited to be able to cover it. In regards to the junior day list, as I said I may have missed some names, so if you have any other prospects please let me know. I look forward to bringing you guys more recruiting news in the future and by the way GO HOOSIERS!!
In a separate note that has nothing to do with recruiting, I would like to congratulate IU’s very own, Nate Sudfeld on his Super Bowl victory last night with the Eagles that was one of the best games I have witnessed. There isn’t a more deserving guy than Nate. He brought me a lot of good memories as a Hoosier and I was thrilled for him as he got a chance to be apart of a Super Bowl just as Tevin Coleman was last season.
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