2019 Pro Day Preview: Eight Additional Former Hoosiers will Participate at IU Pro Day

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2019 Pro Day Preview: Eight Additional Former Hoosiers will Participate at IU Pro Day

Written by Evan McShane (@Hoosier_Huddle)

A total of 12 Hoosiers will be working out for NFL scouts on Tuesday morning in Bloomington. We have previews the three Hoosiers who were invited to the NFL Combine (Jonathan Crawford, Dan Godsil and Brandon Knight) in addition to Wes Martin earlier. here are the addition eight former IU football players who are chasing their dreams to the next level.

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Indiana Football Positional Preview: Defensive Line's Depth Will be Tested in 2018

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Indiana Football Positional Preview: Defensive Line's Depth Will be Tested in 2018

Written By Lauralys Shallow

The defensive unit as a whole has already made great strides the past few seasons under Tom Allen, current head coach and former defensive coordinator. In 2015, IU was 121st nationally in yards per game allowed, and in 2017 IU improved to 27th. Any successful defense starts from dominating the line of scrimmage. Today, we preview the defensive line.

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Countdown to IUFB Kickoff: 35 Days (Nile Sykes)

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Countdown to IUFB Kickoff: 35 Days (Nile Sykes)

Written By Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)

#35

With Big Ten Media Days by the wayside and fall camp around the corner IU Football fans can feel the season coming up quickly. We are now 35 days away from the Hoosiers’ season opener agains the Ohio State Buckeyes. Today we look at one of the key pieces along the defensive line, Nile Sykes.

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2016 Defensive Line Preview: Can The Hoosiers Be Disruptive Enough Upfront?

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2016 Defensive Line Preview: Can The Hoosiers Be Disruptive Enough Upfront?

New defensive scheme? Check. New defensive line coach? Check. New defensive line starters? Check. Plenty has changed since the Hoosiers gave up 44 points to Duke in the Pinstripe Bowl, a game that was gift-wrapped and delivered a day after Christmas to the Blue Devils. Well, if Indiana is to avoid a similar set of events in 2016, change is necessary, but change in itself is not nearly enough. There has to be a greater level of execution, which starts upfront, in the trenches at the point of attack.

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Countdown to Kickoff: 35 Days (Nile Sykes)

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Countdown to Kickoff: 35 Days (Nile Sykes)

#35

There are now 40 days remaining until the Indiana Hoosiers kick-off the 2016 season in Miami against the Florida International Golden Panthers. Join us each day for each part of our 100-day countdown to the opener!Next up,Nile Sykes!

Nile Sykes

-Height: 6’2”

-Weight: 250 pounds

-Hometown: Oak Park, Illinois

-Position: Defensive End

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The Bull and Generating a Pass Rush

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The Bull and Generating a Pass Rush

One of the larger question marks surrounding the Indiana football program as we look towards the 2016 season is how the defense will look under new defensive coordinator Tom Allen. Allen’s defensive formation, a 4-2-5, features a pair of new positions that IU fans haven’t seen in Bloomington before. The “Husky” serves as the fifth member of the secondary. The “Bull” position is mainly the fourth defensive lineman. The primary focus of the Bull is to generate pressure on the quarterback. Pass rush is something that has been lacking within the IU defense the past couple of seasons and it stands out as a critical part to finding success in 2016. The top candidates for the new position are former Bandit linebackers Nile Sykes and Greg Gooch. The transition is not an easy one but Tom Allen feels the two are doing quite well

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Keep Your Eyes On These Hoosiers At Sunday's Open Practice

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Keep Your Eyes On These Hoosiers At Sunday's Open Practice

It does not seem like that long ago, just 60 days in fact, since the Hoosiers were in action on the gridiron. Well you have successfully navigated another January and February without Indiana Football, but the wait is coming to an end. Spring practice opened today for the Hoosiers, but your first chance to see the team will be at 1:30pm tomorrow afternoon inside Memorial Stadium, prior to the hoops matchup between Indiana and Maryland. This is a golden opportunity to see many of the newcomers who look to make an impact this coming fall.

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2016 Spring Preview: Defensive Line

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2016 Spring Preview: Defensive Line

The Indiana Hoosier defensive line will look immensely different in 2016 than it did at the end of 2015. Gone are the likes of Nick Mangieri, Darius Latham, Adarius Rayner, and Zack Shaw. Those four players combined to play in 50 games and make 153 tackles, including 17.5 sacks and 36 tackles for loss. Their production will be missed upfront and the Hoosiers will look for answers from some old friends and new faces. 
Indiana also sports a new(ish) defensive line coach in Mark Hagen, who replaces Larry McDaniel. The Hoosiers also add a new defensive coordinator, Tom Allen, who will try to implement a new defensive scheme— his 4-2-5 defense. This means the emergence of the new “Bull” position, which will be like a Bandit, but more of a true defensive end.
While the issue that stood out the most with the Hoosiers in 2015 was on the back end of the defense, the defensive line has to create some havoc in the offensive backfield. A good pass rush will help the still young secondary out by forcing throws a little quicker. 
          

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Countdown to Kickoff: 35 Days (Nile Sykes)

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Countdown to Kickoff: 35 Days (Nile Sykes)

Written By: Nick Holmes (@HoosierHolmes)

It's a little hard to believe, but it's already August and we are only five weeks or 35 days from getting the 2015 season underway. We continue our Countdown to Kickoff by taking a closer look at number 35 on the Hoosiers, Nile Sykes.

When Brian Knorr was hired to revamp the Hoosiers defense he brought with him the 3-4 defensive alignment. For this change to be successful, the team needed a versatile athlete to play in the hybrid bandit position, a mix between defense end and outside linebacker. The team utilized Nick Mangieri,  Zach Shaw, and Robert McCray III in this role last fall. After the graduation of defensive end Bobby Richardson, the team decided to move both Mangieri and McCray to end. Now with Shaw penciled in as starter at bandit, the team is looking for another player who possess the necessary versatility to play in the role, and that player looks to be Sykes. 

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