What do you want to see this spring/who do you want to see emerge

[lucel15 3,052]

Sorry for the long title. If you didn’t read it all..... basically what do you want to see from this team come the final spring practice/game and who do you want to see emerge from the shadows. 

To hit the first point. I would like to see this team find an identity on offense. Are we still going to be the run pass option game that Allen wants and will the QBs address their flaws?  Will the line finally click on all cylinders like we were accustomed to seeing back with spriggs, Feeney and co? We didn’t have a lot of experience last year and shuffled lineups due to a lot of injuries on the front. Overall I feel like they did okay....not amazing but for what we were dealing with I was okay...just would like to see bigger holes for our running back crew.  What QB will step up and take the leadership role and what young receivers will push the veterans? On the defensive side I really just want to see what pass rushers we have by the end of spring...and what linebackers step up from our young young group there. Other than that even though we lost fant, dutra and fields...I think our secondary is still going to be good. 

Players I would like to see take that step and emerge from the shadows this spring....

1. Juwan Burgess usually you see kids of his caliber play right away but he was behind a deep secondary...he will get to fill the role of fields or dutra.

2. Juan Harris he looked okay and his strength was not over hyped when he did play he was able to get under kids pads and push them off the line...got hurt and I want to see him bounce back and take Nate Hoffs position. Ballou will help him lose that bad fat and put on more muscle and get his footwork right. 

3. Caleb jones is a kid this staff raved about all fall camp but they saved him all season his length will put him at a tackle and for his size he has good footwork. 

4. Mo Burnham and Mike Mcginnis....mo is a bigger body lb but still has some athleticism to him and McGinnis needs to work on speed. When he played he made good reads...just needs to work on initial steps and getting to the holes faster. 

5. TE from any of these players. Hendershot saw special teams play but got hurt. Bonner showed some awareness in spring game but then faded from view come fall camp, and then Dorris who is athletic and idk where he has been.

6. Penix, Ramsey, or tronti.  First if Ramsey is our guy for now (based off experience) I need him to make better reads when we do options (keep the dang ball, you’re a smart kid).  Tronti from what I hear could have stepped in and taken over when Ramsey got hurt but we didn’t want to burn a RS for him...he’s a gym rat and strong and in practices I heard he threw a nice ball and has good pocket awareness. Penix arrived this month and will have all spring to show why he was a highly ranked QB. I just don’t want to force and pressure himself too much and make too many mistakes....he has time and plenty of it at IU. Last thing is we need someone in this group to step up to be a vocal leader  

7. Last but not least I expect my boy Fitzgerald to come in and start hitting people. He will be used as backup husky or even be put in at Safety and might see time at LB but might need to put some lbs on before that time comes. I put him last because he will see the field this season no doubt, but he has a chip and he will prove it out on the field

 

[KB0 827]

I'm interested to see who walks away with the starting QB job. If Pennix is the guy, then start him from day one and stick with him. If he's not let him redshirt and roll with either Ramsey or Tronti. Whichever way the coaching staff goes, they need to decide early and build the offense accordingly. 

The o-line absolutely has to play better and I think they will. It may not be the strength of the team, but it cannot be a major issue. 

Defensively, who is going to fill in for Covington, Scales, and Fant? It's extremely unlikely anyone will be able to replace the production of those three, but hopefully there isn't a signficant drop off. I have faith in Tom Allen's ability to coach up the D. 

Last but not least, Oakes is gone. He was a big time kicker last year. Can Campbell come in and fill that void?

Looking at next years schedule here's how I would group the games:

Good Chance to Win:  at FIU, Ball State, at Rutgers 

Could win: Virginia, Iowa, at Minnesota, Maryland, Purdue

Unlikely to Win: MSU, at OSU, at Michigan, PSU

As always, going undefeated in non-conference play is essential. Do that and IU is halfway to bowl eligibility with 5 winnable conference games left. Would love to see the team knock off MSU or Michigan. MSU is at home, so maybe that's the one.  

Perhaps I'm a fool to talk myself into 6/7 wins, but that's what being a fan is all about. 

[RBB89 3,497]

On 1/23/2018 at 7:56 AM, KB0 said:

I'm interested to see who walks away with the starting QB job. If Pennix is the guy, then start him from day one and stick with him. If he's not let him redshirt and roll with either Ramsey or Tronti. Whichever way the coaching staff goes, they need to decide early and build the offense accordingly. 

The o-line absolutely has to play better and I think they will. It may not be the strength of the team, but it cannot be a major issue. 

Defensively, who is going to fill in for Covington, Scales, and Fant? It's extremely unlikely anyone will be able to replace the production of those three, but hopefully there isn't a signficant drop off. I have faith in Tom Allen's ability to coach up the D. 

Last but not least, Oakes is gone. He was a big time kicker last year. Can Campbell come in and fill that void?

Looking at next years schedule here's how I would group the games:

Good Chance to Win:  at FIU, Ball State, at Rutgers 

Could win: Virginia, Iowa, at Minnesota, Maryland, Purdue

Unlikely to Win: MSU, at OSU, at Michigan, PSU

As always, going undefeated in non-conference play is essential. Do that and IU is halfway to bowl eligibility with 5 winnable conference games left. Would love to see the team knock off MSU or Michigan. MSU is at home, so maybe that's the one.  

Perhaps I'm a fool to talk myself into 6/7 wins, but that's what being a fan is all about. 

I’d move MSU into the could win category. We beat them two years ago, were leading well into the fourth quarter in East Lansing last year, and they aren’t exactly having a smooth operation up there right now.

[Choopy 676]

I’ve seen Fitzgerald on campus. Definitely has the body of an LB.


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