Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, August 24, 2015
Kevin Wilson has made Indiana a better program in his four seasons. But, he has no bowl appearance to show for it. That may change in 2015.
The talent level is at an all-time high under Wilson, who has a good offensive system and an idea of how to win in Bloomington. The offense looks good once again. But, success may come down to an often maligned defense delivering the goods.
Here are three things I?ll be watching at Indiana practice.
1. Is the o-line dominating? This has a chance to be a very good front. Maybe even (gasp!) one of the best in the Big Ten? Perhaps. It all starts with junior guard Dan Feeney and senior tackle Jason Spriggs. Feeney is one of the Big Ten?s best blockers; Feeney is a likely first-round pick. They need to lead the charge of what could be a good offense with junior UAB transfer RB Jordan Howard poised to carry the load for IU.
2. Is Nate Sudfeld healthy? The big senior quarterback was rolling in 2014 until a shoulder injury at Iowa in the sixth game of the year ended his season. It was a major bummer for the Hoosiers. IU was 3-3 when Sudfeld went to the sideline. It proceeded to lose five in a row before finishing with a win vs. Purdue. This is a QB-driven offense-especially now with RB Tevin Coleman gone. So, Sudfeld must stay healthy and sling it for over 3,000 yards if Indiana wants to end a bowl drought that dates to 2007.
3. Is the defense better? It?s no secret, so let?s just all say it together: ?The Hoosiers need to improve A LOT on defense.? This program hasn?t played good defense in forever. This will be the second year for coordinator Brian Knorr and his 3-4 scheme. And, there really is actually legit hope with a promising front seven that includes junior tackle Darius Latham, junior linebacker T.J. Simmons, sophomore linebacker Tegray Scales and senior nose man Adarius Rayner-among others. If this unit can just go from bad to decent, IU may go bowling.
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About Tom Dienhart | BTN.com senior writer Tom Dienhart is a veteran sports journalist who covers Big Ten football and men's basketball for BTN.com and BTN TV. Find him on Twitter and Facebook, read all of his work at btn.com/tomdienhart, and subscribe to his posts via RSS. Also, send questions to his weekly mailbag using the form below and read all of his previous answers in his reader mailbag section. |