Daily Practice News & Notes: Aug. 11

First Day of Full Pads

Monday was the first day of full pads in practice for the Hoosiers and Tuesday they had one practice in the morning and one in the evening. IU practiced Thursday and Friday with helmets only and practiced in shoulder pads over the weekend.

In addition to full pads, Tuesday was the first day of 11-on-11 tackling in practice.

Coach Kevin Wilson spoke about the development of the team moving into the full pad practices.

“Progression’s been kinda good, kinda normal,” Wilson said. “Could be a little tired a little sluggish, but we’re a stronger team and we’ve got a long way to go, but we’re learning how to practice hard.”

IU has upped the intensity of practices this year to prepare for its first matchup of the season.

“With the way we do practice, it can be hard for them to play at an 80, 90, 100 percentile,” Wilson said. “We’ve tried looking at ways in practicing that we don’t overdo it.”

Newcomers

Now that Indiana has started full contact practices, the freshmen and transfers have a new element of IU football to worry about.

“Some of them want to get hit once and start adjusting their chin straps or they get those big eyes, but they’re doing good,” Wilson said.

The addition of new players has deepened the IU roster across the board. The linemen and defensive backs have many options moving forward.

“Tyler Green has a lot of notoriety coming in but Andre Brown has been as impressive as anyone,” Wilson said. “Devonte Williams has been as impressive as anyone because he’s a runner. He’s used to getting hit.”

August Camp

The month-long camp before the season starts can be a very long and draining experience for the team and its coaching staff, but the way it is structured this season will help break it up.

The organization of the August camp has given the Hoosiers plenty of time to get the necessary work done, but not feel overwhelmed.

“The nice thing is that I don’t think we feel as rushed as we used to,” Wilson said.

The time spent together as a team helps gel the players and coaching staff together because it gives time for everyone to get acquainted to each other’s quirks and styles.

“Tomorrow’s an off day, so we’re going to do some team things,” Wilson said. “You want to build some team chemistry.”

Running Backs

The IU running backs have been thrown into the spotlight after the Atlanta Falcons drafted Tevin Coleman in May. Tuesday's first day of tackling pushed them to another level.

“They ran a lot harder in the tackle drills than the non-tackle drills because I think that fear makes you run a little faster,” Wilson said.

The backs have been working to tighten up their game moving forward in August.

“We have not taken care of the ball,” Wilson said. “In the plays I see the ball get a little loose, but the core of the group has been pretty good.”

Update on the Week

IU has had six straight days with a practice, with Tuesday being a two-a-day. Thursday will be a light day where they can get back in the groove of practice after an off day on Wednesday. Friday will be another two-a-day.

There will be an inter-team scrimmage on Saturday Aug. 15 after the Monroe County Youth Football Day. The Hoosiers will help out with the Youth Football Day, signing autographs and talking with the youth leagues from across the county.