Daily Practice Report: IU's Defense Looks to Compete

“I didn’t come here with a four-year thought process about where we want to be. We want to get better right now.”

That was the sentiment of head coach Kevin Wilson at his press conference Wednesday when asked about how long it takes to build a program.

“You always want to be as good as you can be, and as fast as you can because you have kids sacrificing their bodies for 3, 4, 5 years,’’ Wilson said.

Wilson went on to give detail on those sacrificing their bodies for this year’s Hoosier team and delivered good news for fans: the defensive backs look good. Indiana’s secondary has been doing a number of drills that range from one on ones to full group work.

Wilson said he wants to expose his players to multiple situations.

“You want them to feel what it’s like to be on an island and make tackles in space, because that’s the difference between a tackle and a big play,’’ Wilson said.

In years past, opposing offenses have been able to gain a lot of momentum through plays with chunk yardage, but this year that could change.

Wilson said that Noel Padmore has been playing well at corner as well as Rashard Fant, while Chase Dutra continues to “set the tone in the secondary.” He also mentioned that newcomer Jonathan Crawford will be in the mix at safety, that Jameel Cook should contribute as well, but must work on tackling better and that Devonte Williams has been playing well.

LATHAM GETTING EXTRA REST

Wilson said that Darius Latham has been working out well this summer and is down to around 300 pounds which should help his conditioning. He appears physically ready, but the IU coaches want to give him extra time to be ready.

“We are trying not to overdo it right now, but the more reps he gets, he will go from a talented player to a productive player,’’ Wilson said.

The strength of this IU team is its front seven, and Latham figures to play a huge role in it this season as a veteran leader.

WILSON HAPPY WITH OFFENSE

Offense has clearly been the strength of the team since Wilson arrived and looks to be again this year.

“The offense looks like it did a couple of years ago,’’ Wilson said. “The timing and rhythm (in the receiving game) can be better but it’s better than it was this time last year.”

A lot of that is probably thanks to a skilled and experienced offensive line that Wilson qualified as “tight.” In a recent scrimmage, Nate Sudfeld completed 21-of-23 passes thanks to great offensive timing.

PRACTICE SCHEDULE MOVING FORWARD

IU starts classes on Monday and Wilson talked this week about how he will organize practice moving forward.

He said the team will be off on Thursday, and then practice Friday, Saturday and Sunday. He said they will be off on Monday, as they normally are during the school year. He said next Tuesday and Wednesday will be what he called “Meat and potatoes” practices. Thursday he said IU will polish things up. Friday they will continue making preparations for the season opener which will be a week away.

CAMION PATRICK UPDATE

Wilson said there should be a Camion Patrick update on Thursday. Stay tuned.