Indiana Hoosiers 2018 Football Preview

Indiana Hoosiers 2018 Football Preview

Opening Statement: Few programs have languished in mediocrity, or worse, as Indiana has in the last 40 years. The Hoosiers are such a rarity on the bowl circuit, that any appearance, or as many as 7 wins, are cause for celebration. With Kevin Wilson as coach, it appeared that the needle was turning in the right direction, finally, until he was unceremoniously fired after accusations of player abuse before last season. He immediately moved on to the Ohio State staff, and Tom Allen was elevated to the head coaching job in a move that wreaked of desperate hire. It did not pay off. The Hoosiers fell back to just 5 wins, which included a 4 game losing streak in the middle of the season, another blowout loss to Ohio State to start the season, and eventual season ending loss to Purdue. With the Hoosiers needing to replace 2 of their top 3 receivers, and 3 of the top 4 tacklers on defense, we could be looking at yet another down year in Bloomington.

Breakdown Offense: Indiana scored 26.8 points per game last fall, while passing for 265.7 yards per game, and rushing for another 130.08 yards with what was largely a committee approach. Finding that passing mark once again will be tough if new receivers don't step up, and especially if they cannot find some serious play makers in the run game.

Richard Legow finally ran out of juice at QB, and Peyton Ramsey stepped in as a freshman. Ramsey looked solid at times in 9 games, and showed marked improvement over what Legow had done, and more will be expected as a sophomore, especially with Legow out of the way. Ramsey passed for 1252 yards in 9 games, with 10 TDs and just 5 INTs. He completed 65.4% of his passes, which was the area that really encouraged people. The position, however, may not be entirely locked up for Ramsey, even if he may be a favorite based on what he did last fall. Arizona transfer Brandon Dawkins will arrive for fall camp, and that changes things. The issue with Dawkins is that asking him to be a passer is like asking a fish to recite poetry. He is simply a running QB that has the passing ability of a goat. Michael Penix may be the future of the position, and enrolled early.

Morgan Ellison rushed for 704 yards as a freshman, and scored 6 times, and is the favorite to win the job. He lacks big play explosiveness, and averaged 4.92 yards per carry last fall. Cole Gest rushed for 428 yards, and returns to the rotation, as does Mike Majette, who showed nothing, rushing for just 1 yard per carry. Majette could also be used at slot receiver and scat back, and was used as a more versatile back in spring ball. Ellison was banged up in camp, but should be healthy. All of these backs were beat up last season at some point.

Nick Westbrook, Luke Timian, and Donovan Hale were listed as the starting WRs out of spring ball. Simmie Cobbs is gone, so someone not named Timian (68 catches) needs to step up and play bigger than a year ago. Hale had just 7 receptions, and Westbrook did not get in on the action. Both lost huge pieces of last fall to injury, so their health here is paramount, as depth is not gleaming. Chris Cajcak, Whop Philyor, Ty Fryfogle, and Jacolby Hewitt will be fighting for playing time, and if injuries set in once again, they may be asked for more.

There is an open battle at TE as we head to fall camp. Ryan Watercutter and Austin Dorris are engaged in an open battle currently, and are looking to replace Ian Thomas,who caught 25 passes last fall. Peyton Hendershot is expected to step into that battle as well.

Coy Cronk (LT), Wes Martin (LG), Nick Linder (C), and Brandon Knight (RT) left spring with starting jobs locked up. The RG spot was still open as we headed into the summer season, with Mackenzie Nworah and Simon Stepaniak locked in battle there, but both have adequate experience, so this is actually a good problem to have. Delroy Baker is the backup at the OT spots, while Harry Crider and the loser of the battle at RG will provide depth at both Guard spots. Hunter Littlejohn is the backup at Center. This may be the deepest, most experienced unit on the club.

Breakdown Defense: Losing Robert McCray III and Greg Gooch will hurt up front for the Hoosiers, and Nate Hoff is gone as well. Finding depth will be a major project in fall camp on the line, even if starters were pretty much named coming out of spring camp.

Allen Stallings and Nick Sykes are the starters at DE. Stallings finished with 5.5 TFLs, and may be the most experienced lineman coming back on defense. Michael Ziemba and Gavin Everett are the backups. Everett played in 9 games as a sophomore last season.

Senior Jacob Robinson won a starting DT spot, but the other spot is open heading into fall camp, with a battle coming between Ja'Merez Bowen and Mike Barwick. Barwick played in 12 games, and finished with 3 TFLs. Bowen played in 10 games. I would expect both to get plenty of reps into the season. Jerome Johnson is the backup to Robinson.

With Tegray Scales and Chris Covington both gone, the Hoosiers lose 24.5 TFLs, and 174 tackles. That is a ton of production to have to replace in the middle of your defense. Michael McGinnis, a RS senior, and Reakwon Jones, a RS junior, are expected to be the replacements. Jones has just 9 career tackles. Thomas Allen and Mo Burnham, both RS freshmen, are the backups, and Dameon Willis did not return for his senior season.

Marcelino Ball is the HUSKY, but played in just 3 games last fall. He has had health issues, but the staff is hoping for the best with him, because he can be an incredible asset at the position. Bryant Fitzgerald finally gets his shot there as the backup after having to redshirt last fall due to academic issues.

A'Shon Riggins and Andre Brown are experienced CBs and will start. The secondary was exceptionally strong last fall, as they allowed under 180 yards passing per game. Riggins and Brown combined for 6 PBUs last fall, and with another year under their belts, this unit could actually get better. LaDamion Hunt and Raheem Layne are the backups, and both are just sophomores.

Jonathon Crawford and Khalil Bryant are the starting Safeties. Crawford finished 2nd on the team with 8 PBUs last fall, while Bryant replaces the departed Rashard Fant. Isaac James backs up Crawford, and has some experience, while Juwann Burgess, a RS freshman, backs up Bryant. Fitzgerald could also slide over from HUSKY if needed.

Breakdown Special Teams: Replacing Griffin Oakes at PK will be very hard to do, as he hit on 16/17 FG attempts last season, and hit 38/39 on PATs. Jared Smolar and Logan Justus are battling into the fall to win the job. Charles Campbell, an Army All-American, will join the fray in the fall.

Hayden Whitehead was decent at Punter, and averaged 40.69 yards per punt, and will return.

Devonte Williams joins Philyor as the primary KR men, while J-Shun Harris II was excellent on PR duty, averaging 19 yards per return with 2 TDs.

Final Analysis: There are severe questions on defense in the front seven, and getting those situations ironed out in fall camp will tell a lot about which direction this team goes in for the 2018 season. Finding out which QB will be taking snaps will be an issue as well. The Hoosiers need to find a home run back, and replacing Simmie Cobbs at WR is another issue, as is replacing Thomas at TE. The line should be good offensively, and that is a start to finding stability elsewhere. Indiana will be hard pressed to find their way to a bowl game yet again, but anything is possible with a few bounces for this club. If they can avoid a mid-season slump like they had last season, that would help. The non conference schedule is manageable, and that helps as well.