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Analysis: How much does losing Harris hurt the Hoosiers?


IndyHutch
  • Indiana football fans learned Thursday the Hoosiers are already a man down and practice hasn't even officially begun. So, just how much does losing J-Shun Harris hurt IU's chances moving forward? Here is our take on the topic.

The news hit Indiana football fans like a splash of cold water to the face.

Before Kevin Wilson had even stepped to the podium Thursday afternoon at Big Ten Football Media Day in Chicago, a press release from IU media relations turned out to be the bearer of bad news.

Sophomore wide receiver J-Shun Harris, an impressive young talent expected to carry a major role in the IU offense this fall, has been ruled out for the season with an ACL injury. The former Fishers (Ind.) High School standout will redshirt the 2015 season and come back as a sophomore in 2016.

So how big of a deal is it to lose a player of Harris’s caliber?

Make no mistake, it’s a big deal.

And not only because Harris was the leading returning receiver from a year ago, and not just because he had been penciled in as the starter as both IU’s kickoff and punt returner for the upcoming season.

It’s much more than that.

It’s basically the fact that when you’re an Indiana football team struggling to earn respectability, you already have a small margin of error. Bottom line: This is not the way you wanted to get the season underway even before practice has officially started.

When you’re a college football team that has made one bowl appearance in more than 20 years, you want to have everything working in your favor as you head into the season. In a word, Indiana is a fragile program. It simply can’t afford to lose too many starters.

Especially starters at skill positions.

If you’re Ohio State or Wisconsin or Michigan State, and you lose a key player, it’s much easier to reload. That’s because the talent pool you’re choosing from is at an elite level.

When you’re Indiana, and you lose a key player, you often times have to count on a young player to step in. Maybe it’s a redshirt freshman or quite possibly it’s a true freshman. That’s just the nature of the beast.

For Indiana, replacing Harris means that one of the true freshmen wide receivers could very well be called upon to take a bigger role than perhaps they were expected to take as a freshman this season. Maybe it’s Leon Thornton or Nick Westbrook or Isaac James. All three of those players came to Indiana with impressive high school credentials but in a perfect world you would hope that Indiana gets to the point where it’s a program that can redshirt players like that and let them get properly acclimated to college football.

I’m not trying to pretend that the loss of Harris is as significant as say losing Nate Sudfeld was a year ago six games into the season. That was a back breaker but it was also an experienced quarterback on a team that had very little experience behind him.

At least in the case of Indiana at the wide receiver position, Kevin Johns has assembled a solid group of receivers. In most years in recent memory the wide receiver position has been one of IU’s strongest areas. That will need to be the case again this year.

And one thing that will definitely help the Hoosiers is the fact that Sudfeld is at quarterback and with his precision passing game can take advantage of what the defense gives him. Sudfeld can make up for a lot of inexperience at that position by hitting open receivers.

Still, you never want to lose a key offensive weapon before the season even begins.

I found some of Wilson’s comments in his question and answer period at Big Ten Media Day Thursday interesting when he talked about how his IU team has been preparing for quite some time to play without Harris this season. It turns out the injury occurred in the first week of the summer and the team has kept it quiet internally to this point.

I suppose that’s a plus. At least Sudfeld has had all summer to get on the same page with a lot of different guys who will be asked to contribute in the fall.

Still, the reality here is that Indiana needs to find a way to have a healthy August and move into the 2015 season putting its best foot forward.

Thursday’s news was not on a good first start.

Moving forward IU football fans cannot afford too many similar splashes of cold water to the face.

@IndySportsHutch

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It definitely hurts. It also makes Camion Patrick much more important and it makes the rest of the WR Corps step it up a notch.

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Great read Terry!

 

Any chance we see Fant returning kick offs and punt returns?  He's got the speed and agility...just not certain on some of the other components, able to take a hit (he's like 150 soaking wet or something), hands, etc.  

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Great read Terry, and agree this hurts IU. Hope the offense can step up and try not to miss a beat. Still very excited for some IU Football!

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Great read Terry!

 

Any chance we see Fant returning kick offs and punt returns?  He's got the speed and agility...just not certain on some of the other components, able to take a hit (he's like 150 soaking wet or something), hands, etc.  

 

Just how they handle the returns is something I'm looking forward to seeing, too. I've heard names like Devine Redding and Mitchell Paige but those were all backup guys for Harris. Now that they've had a whole summer to get used to this idea that he's gone you have to figure they've been working out some other options.

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I find it interesting that Wilson said there are a few guys on par with Latimer and Hughes. I wonder if thats true or something said to build confidence. 

 

This season is going to be really interesting

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I am sure some of what Wilson says is true, just as I am sure some of it is to build confidence.

I think this year the team has to get it done by going to a bowl.  The last three years if you took the names out of Wilson's talks it has been the same:  Best recruting class, depth is better, rely on the young guys, etc.........

Don't get me wrong.  I really like Coach Wilson.  He is bringing a different mindset to IU football.  I like what he is doing, I like him holding players accoutnable, I like that academics is playing a big role.  It is simply time to get some wins... 

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I find it interesting that Wilson said there are a few guys on par with Latimer and Hughes. I wonder if thats true or something said to build confidence. 

 

This season is going to be really interesting

 

That's the one thing with Kevin Wilson. He doesn't usually say things without a little hidden motive. I'm sure he said that hoping it would be read but at the same time my guess is he believes it to an extent, too. That's the one thing with IU and the receivers in recent years under Kevin Johns, there has been a lot of talent there. And there is a lot of young talent there this season.

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I am sure some of what Wilson says is true, just as I am sure some of it is to build confidence.

I think this year the team has to get it done by going to a bowl.  The last three years if you took the names out of Wilson's talks it has been the same:  Best recruting class, depth is better, rely on the young guys, etc.........

Don't get me wrong.  I really like Coach Wilson.  He is bringing a different mindset to IU football.  I like what he is doing, I like him holding players accoutnable, I like that academics is playing a big role.  It is simply time to get some wins... 

 

No one will agree with you more than me on that topic. The time for talk is over. Wilson and IU got a mulligan last year when Sudfeld went down against Iowa. But most people are only afforded one mulligan per round. IU football needs to take a step this year or the seat is going to get warm.

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Wish this season would hurry up and start before bad news has the chance to strike again.

 

I know exactly what you mean. That was the thing about Thursday's news. You just don't need bad news if you're an IU football fan. IU football fans have had 20 years plus of bad news. IU fans are looking for positives. The only positive here is that the injury happened in early June and so the team and the coaching staff have had some time to think about the ramifications and what they hope to do. But you're right. IU football needs a month of August without any bad news.

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I am sure some of what Wilson says is true, just as I am sure some of it is to build confidence.

I think this year the team has to get it done by going to a bowl. The last three years if you took the names out of Wilson's talks it has been the same: Best recruting class, depth is better, rely on the young guys, etc.........

Don't get me wrong. I really like Coach Wilson. He is bringing a different mindset to IU football. I like what he is doing, I like him holding players accoutnable, I like that academics is playing a big role. It is simply time to get some wins...

This is absolutely where I am. Our talent today vs 3 years ago is definitely better. It's time to show up in the W-L column and I think it will. We need a strong year to build on.

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It hurts absolutely. Bottom line is we keep hearing that we have depth as all of you are pointing to. It's time for the next man up mentality to show. Booth? Cobbs? Westbrook? Hawkins???? Thornton?? Plenty of opportunity and so much youth either way you split it. Time to roll young fellas.

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Whats the status of Camion Patrick?

I think he was accepted into the university but he's waiting to be cleared by the NCAA.

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While I agree that losing Harris hurts the team, I don't think it will be a huge blow. Yes he was our leading receiver last season, but that's not saying much when our leading receiver's stats are 18 catches for 168 yds! Personally, I'm looking for Nicholas Westbrook to have an impact out of the new group of wide receivers.

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Does anyone know how it happened?

Nope, but I seen that it happened in early June. Pretty good that the team keep it under wraps that long.

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Nope, but I seen that it happened in early June. Pretty good that the team keep it under wraps that long.

Coach Wilson alluded to this during the conference. Said it shows maturity on the other guys and how close the team is.

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