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Five Key Questions for IU Football


IndyHutch
  • Indiana football gets underway this week and Btownbanners will be there every step of the way. Here are five key questions leading into the beginning of training camp which gets underway Thursday in Bloomington.

Indiana football officially gets underway with camp this week in Bloomington.

Newcomers report on Tuesday, veterans on Wednesday and the first official practice is on Thursday. I believe the local media will have their first opportunity to talk to players after Thursday’s practice.

With that in mind, here are five key questions regarding Indiana football as the Hoosiers are just over a month away from the 2015 season opener Sept. 5 at home against Southern Illinois.

1. HOW WILL NATE SUDFELD BOUNCE BACK FROM HIS SHOULDER INJURY?: All indications point to Sudfeld being back and ready to go and since it was his non-throwing shoulder that should help matters as well. Still, every time Sudfeld gets driven to the turf in a similar fashion like he was in that Game 6 against Iowa last year, you have to figure IU fans will hold their collective breaths. If Sudfeld can return to the form of his sophomore year where he was a precision passer, completing around 60 percent of his throws for more than 2,500 yards and 21 touchdowns, the Indiana offense has the potential to score a lot of points again this year. A big key though will be his receivers and finding some go-to targets early. I thought last year he struggled a little bit out of the gate before the Iowa injury and some of that was that he didn’t have any receivers that would go up and get the ball like had been in the case in the past. He only had six TD passes in the first six games at the time he got hurt. Still, the No. 1 question is how effective will Sudfeld be coming off the injury.

2. JUST HOW GOOD IS JORDAN HOWARD?: To this point all we really know is that he put up crazy numbers a year ago as a sophomore at UAB. And he did. He rushed for 1,587 yards on 306 carries (an average of 5.2 yards per carry) and scored 13 touchdowns. He ranked seventh nationally with 132.3 rushing yards per game. He had eight 100-yard rushing games including the last four in a row. As a freshman, he started five games and ran for 881 yards. He has decent size at 6-1, 225, but fair or not, I think the thought that creeps into the back of your mind is, “Those stats are great but how good was the competition he was playing against and more specifically how will his game translate to the Big Ten?” I know those are the questions being asked by a lot of Indiana fans heading into the season and they go right to the heart of the initial question here: Just how good is Jordan Howard? He clearly has big shoes to fill but no one is expecting him to be the next Tevin Coleman. If he can be a guy that moves the chains, especially on those third-and-3 or third-and-2 situations that would be huge. If he turns out to be really good, someone like Sudfeld should only benefit from having a big time threat lining up behind him. It should allow both players to do a lot more because the offense will be less one dimensional. This is one of those things where only time will tell but it will surely be a point of emphasis as the season gets under way.

3. WILL THE DEFENSE BE IMPROVED IN BRIAN KNORR’S SECOND SEASON?: Let’s face it, with IU it’s always about the defense. If Indiana’s defense had been just a little bit better in several years in recent memory, Indiana’s dismal record in terms of going to bowl games would be very different. The thing I always point to when talking about this is think back to when Antwaan Randle El was roaming the sidelines at IU. He was arguably, at that time, one of the most exciting players in college football. He played multiple positions. He was primarily a quarterback (except for a one-game experiment at wide receiver against North Carolina State to open his senior year). But he also ran back kickoffs and punts, and even punted the ball from time to time, mostly out of the shotgun. But the thing that Randle El didn’t do was play defense and because of that, it didn’t matter how many points ARE would put up because the defense gave up more. To me it’s a travesty that Randle El never played in a college football bowl game. And so for me, the biggest question with the 2015 IU football team is on the defensive side of the ball and how this group will be in defensive coordinator Brian Knorr’s second season at IU and second year running the 3-4. Statistically speaking, IU made big strides under Knorr in his first year. They allowed six less points per game, 55 less rushing yards per game and 94 less total yards per game. Sounds good, right? Yes, except when you look back at where that defense was coming from in the final year under Doug Mallory. IU’s defense allowed a staggering 527.9 yards of offense per game in 2013 and the Hoosiers still somehow won five games. So it’s nice to think about what guys like Sudfeld and Howard will potentially be able to do in the offense but unless the defense can stop somebody it will all once again be a moot point. Indiana's ability to win at least six games will likely fall on the defensive side of the ball more than anything else.

4. SPECIFICALLY ON DEFENSE, HOW WILL THE SECONDARY SHAPE UP?: For the most part all of the starters in the secondary from a year ago are gone either through graduation, transfers or dismissal in the case of Antonio Allen. Chase Dutra started one game at strong safety against Maryland but that is IU’s lone returning start. Dutra did play a lot toward the end of the year though just not in a starting role. Tim Bennett and Mark Murphy graduated, and Michael Hunter graduated early and then transferred to Oklahoma State in the spring. He had started 24 consecutive games at IU. Kevin Wilson said that Dutra will definitely be one of the leaders in the secondary but that beyond that IU will be playing a lot of young guys. The Hoosiers have four guys in the 2015 class that were signed in the secondary and there’s a chance that a few guys listed as athletes (Isaac James and Mike Majette) could end in the secondary, too. The reality is that IU is going to be young back there and that’s not always a good thing. It will definitely be an area to keep a close eye on.

5. WITH THE J-SHUN HARRIS INJURY, WHO WILL STEP UP AT THE WIDE RECEIVER POSITION?: The good news is there are a lot of solid prospects. The bad news is that for the most part that’s what they are: unproven prospects. First off, the veterans need to be good. Guys like Ricky Jones and Simmie Cobbs, or Andre Booker and Dominique Booth. From that group, IU needs a few guys to separate themselves. And beyond that, IU has a ton of good freshmen who may or may not be redshirted in their first seasons in Bloomington. Conventional wisdom has it that at least a few of those guys may need to be pressed into service. Players like Leon Thornton, Nick Westbrook or Camion Patrick. And then there’s Marqui Hawkins, the other transfer from UAB. Hawkins broke his wrist in the spring and was limited in what he could do. But Wilson said last week that he had a good summer and so there is some optimism that he’ll be able to contribute. Basically, it comes down to there being a lot of possibilities and prospects but now we’ll have to see which ones emerge as players.

Those are five key questions for me heading into the 2015 season. I’m sure you have others and I’d invite you to throw them out in the comments section at the end of this article and give us more things to ask of Wilson and his staff in the first few weeks of camp.

I always invite feedback. I look forward to it actually. As hopefully you've seen in some of my early posts, I also have a strong belief that if you take time to make a comment that I should take the time to give you a response if one is warranted. To me, that's a successful formula for making a community even stronger. I look forward to your comments today.

@IndySportsHutch

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Good rundown. Getting excited for football season. The secondary has always worried me at IU. This year is no different.

 

I know what you mean. There just always seems to be a weak link or two or ... the pass rush isn't good enough to allow them to play straight up. The defense as a whole is simply something that has to get better.

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Sudfeld will be great, Howard will be great behind our o line. Wide receivers will be a little shaky, but some will emerge.

I'm going to keep this post positive and shy away from discussing our defense.

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Someone asked Wilson about the secondary during the Big Ten Media Day conference. He pretty much said that although we had lost players wither trough graduation or transfer, it was not like we had lost all-americans that went pro. After all our secondary was ranked last in the Big Ten (I believe). There is some young talent, so hopefully some players step up.

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Someone asked Wilson about the secondary during the Big Ten Media Day conference. He pretty much said that although we had lost players wither trough graduation or transfer, it was not like we had lost all-americans that went pro. After all our secondary was ranked last in the Big Ten (I believe). There is some young talent, so hopefully some players step up.


There should be a lot of potential for playing time in the secondary

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I'm excited to see guys like Noel Padmore get some PT and tony fields showed signs of being "Allen-like" when I was at the mizzou game

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Do you think your questions are in order of importance?  

 

 

Hard to say. I think they're all important. But I really do feel strongly that defense is more important than offense when it comes to IU football. What do you think?

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#3 intrigues me the most.  One year of a 3-4 scheme under their belts.  One year of a DC who the players will rally behind and have a further, in-depth knowledge into his requirements, under their belts.  Pepper in some True/RS Freshman.  I expect results of a positive manner year-over-year when the year is complete.  Anything less will be a disappoint IMO.

 

Oh, and save me the 'can't get any worse' BS cliche's.  They are tired.

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#3 intrigues me the most.  One year of a 3-4 scheme under their belts.  One year of a DC who the players will rally behind and have a further, in-depth knowledge into his requirements, under their belts.  Pepper in some True/RS Freshman.  I expect results of a positive manner year-over-year when the year is complete.  Anything less will be a disappoint IMO.

 

Oh, and save me the 'can't get any worse' BS cliche's.  They are tired.

 

I preach to my students at IU all the time about the overuse of cliches, but then I think you'll find my copy riddled with them, too.

 

Sometimes it's the nature of the beast (there's a cliche for you).

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#3 intrigues me the most.  One year of a 3-4 scheme under their belts.  One year of a DC who the players will rally behind and have a further, in-depth knowledge into his requirements, under their belts.  Pepper in some True/RS Freshman.  I expect results of a positive manner year-over-year when the year is complete.  Anything less will be a disappoint IMO.

 

Oh, and save me the 'can't get any worse' BS cliche's.  They are tired.

 

As for your point, I agree with that as well. My thought on it last year was that you were basically trying to fit round pegs into square holes because you were taking kids that were recruited to play the 4-3 and now switching to the 3-4. While it's really not that different in a lot of ways, there are some definite nuances that set the two defenses apart. But I just think you now have kids coming in as freshmen who were recruited to play in that 3-4 system and over time I think that will be something that you definitely see a difference with.

 

Now, if some of the people here who want Wilson gone after a couple of years get their way, then perhaps a new DC comes in and goes back to the 4-3 and you have the personnel problems again. Who knows.

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It may be because I followed Notre Dame football very closely when the defense was under Bob Diaco, but I'm a big fan of the 3-4 defense. I think we see a big leap in the second season under Knorr here. I'm looking at Nile Sykes this year as a surprise impact player. 

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As for your point, I agree with that as well. My thought on it last year was that you were basically trying to fit round pegs into square holes because you were taking kids that were recruited to play the 4-3 and now switching to the 3-4. While it's really not that different in a lot of ways, there are some definite nuances that set the two defenses apart. But I just think you now have kids coming in as freshmen who were recruited to play in that 3-4 system and over time I think that will be something that you definitely see a difference with.

Now, if some of the people here who want Wilson gone after a couple of years get their way, then perhaps a new DC comes in and goes back to the 4-3 and you have the personnel problems again. Who knows.


This fits in with my "worst fear" mantra. It's just so unbelievably hard to believe we will ever become respectable with musical chairs not just at HC but all over our staff. One reason I think a good year is coming is because our staff has stayed intact. Continuity in the message is huge in college sports.

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This fits in with my "worst fear" mantra. It's just so unbelievably hard to believe we will ever become respectable with musical chairs not just at HC but all over our staff. One reason I think a good year is coming is because our staff has stayed intact. Continuity in the message is huge in college sports.

 

It's so hard to know what the right way to proceed is when you have a program that has continually struggled as much as IU has over the years. What's right? Do you stick with a guy extra long hoping upon hope that he will ultimately be successful? Or do you change coaches every four or five years? Nothing has worked very well for the last two decades. Myself, I thought they pulled the trigger too soon on Bill Mallory and even said so at the time. But since then, after the 1996 season, IU has had five head football coaches. Hep's situation was tragic but the others have kind of been five years max for a long time.

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Hard to say. I think they're all important. But I really do feel strongly that defense is more important than offense when it comes to IU football. What do you think?

For almost as long as I can remember, our problem has been defense.  I don't know what happened after Bill Mallory left, but it seems that IU coaches thought you could win only with Offense.  

Practically every year for the last 20 IU has been fun to watch when they had the ball, but it was a train wreck whenever they were on defense.  Even last year when we were a one dimensional offense, it was captivating to watch, because you never knew when they were going to break a long run for a touchdown. 

The said part is that our offense has been productive enough that if we just had a bad defense we should have been able to count on two more wins per year.  

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Now, if some of the people here who want Wilson gone after a couple of years get their way, then perhaps a new DC comes in and goes back to the 4-3 and you have the personnel problems again. Who knows.

I really agree with everything you say, except the sentence I copied.  This is year 5.  There HAS to be improvement on the defensive side of the field, or I think it shows that Coach WIlson just doesn't have what it takes to field a complete team.  How many years is a couple?

Kind of like Cameron.  Cameron has made an outstanding Offensive Coordinator, but he is a disaster as a head coach.

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For almost as long as I can remember, our problem has been defense.  I don't know what happened after Bill Mallory left, but it seems that IU coaches thought you could win only with Offense.  

Practically every year for the last 20 IU has been fun to watch when they had the ball, but it was a train wreck whenever they were on defense.  Even last year when we were a one dimensional offense, it was captivating to watch, because you never knew when they were going to break a long run for a touchdown. 

The said part is that our offense has been productive enough that if we just had a bad defense we should have been able to count on two more wins per year.  

Hey now, a lot of people happen to miss us having Doug Mallory as DC and thought he did a fine job.  Those people happen to be our opponents, but the point remains.

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Hey now, a lot of people happen to miss us having Doug Mallory as DC and thought he did a fine job.  Those people happen to be our opponents, but the point remains.

I admit I was one that had a lot of hope for D. Mallory as a coach.  I still find it hard to believe how bad it was.  

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Hey now, a lot of people happen to miss us having Doug Mallory as DC and thought he did a fine job.  Those people happen to be our opponents, but the point remains.

 

That is funny but the worst part about that is that Doug is a tremendous guy. One of those people you really root for to do well. It was very sad, I thought, when that didn't work out. But that last year and those defensive numbers .... yikes!

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