Former Hoosier selected to 3rd Pro Bowl

Per iuhoosiers.com:
Dec. 29, 2009

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Former Hoosier and current San Diego guard Kris Dielman was selected to his third Pro Bowl Tuesday evening. Dielman has started all 15 games for the NFL's second-highest scoring offense.

"It's always an honor," Dielman told Chargers.com. "I'm lucky to have a lot of great teammates around me that help me. Playing next to Marcus (McNeill) and Scott (Mruczkowski) and Nick (Hardwick), having Philip (Rivers), I know I benefit a lot from those guys. (Offensive line coach) Hal Hunter is another guy that's really helped me get to this point in my career."

Voted one the Greatest San Diego Chargers of all-time earlier in the season, Dielman and the Chargers are 12-3 on the season. They clinched the AFC West and the second seed in the AFC.

A two-time honorable mention All-Big Ten at IU from 1999-02, Dielman played both tight end and defensive tackle. He was named the team's most valuable player in 2002 after leading the Hoosiers with five sacks and 14 tackles for loss.

The Goshen, Ind., native finished his career with 62 tackles in 23 games with the defense. Dielman posted 26 catches for 361 yards and five touchdowns at tight end

2009 #5 Yatta Kiles DB

More recent highlights.

LENYATTA KILES 2008

For more information and highlights of Kiles visit http://recruiting.scout.com/2/932407.html or http://rivals.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Lenyatta-Kiles-106135

JUCO Commit

It has been confirmed that JUCO CB Lenyatta Kiles from California has committed to the hoosiers. Most of the schools that were interested in him were from the WAC. He is listed at roughly 6'0 190 lbs and runs a 4.5 40 yard dash. He will most likely come in and compete for a starting job. I don't think that by him signing it has anything to do with the possibility of Andre Kates going elsewhere but you never know. It is good to see Coach Lynch and staff bringing in some JUCO's to address key positions that we could need help at next season.

Offensive Line Outlook

The offensive line was improved this year over last year and has some young talent as well. The offensive line will lose two starters to graduation, Rodger Saffold and Pete Saxon. The returning starters are Justin Pagan (LG), Will Matte (C), James Brewer (RT).

Justin Pagan- probably has the most potential out of all of our offensive lineman. He played as a true freshman and almost every single position on the line. He bulked up a lot in the off season and plays physical with a mean streak in him.

Will Matte- started as a red shirt freshman this past season. He is a bit undersized but will get bigger as time goes on. His biggest asset is his nasty streak. He should be a solid center for the hoosiers over the next 3 years.

James Brewer- last year was his first year as a starter. He is a huge player listed around 6'8 331 lbs. He needs to improve on his quickness a bit but will should be very much improved now that he has a year of playing time under his belt. He will be a senior next season.

Now we need to replace the left tackle position and the right guard position. One of the possible replacements at the left tackle is red shirt freshman Charlie Chapman. He is listed at 6'6 304 lbs. He bulked up a good deal during his red shirt year and he has pretty good feet. Another player who will be competing for it is Andrew McDonald. He has some experience and will be in the mix. One of the other possibilities is moving Justin Pagan over from guard to tackle. The last player to throw into the mix is red shirt freshman Colin Rodkey. He had offers from West Virginia and Pitt coming out of high school.

A young player in the mix for the right guard is red shirt freshman Pat McShane. He was one of the lineman who was most ready to play as a freshman. Along with him will be red shirt freshman Aaron Price competing for the job. He had a pretty good camp showing and will be a good player for the hoosiers. One of the veterans who will probably practice with the starting unit in the spring will be Alex Perry. He has some good experience but was banged up during the year. The last player to consider is Cody Faulkner. Like Alex, he was banged up most of the year as well. He was the probably the most heavily recruited out of high school. Walk on Mike Reiter has also seen some extended time on the line the last two years as well.

We should have some decent depth on the line next year. Red shirt freshman Mark Damisch saw some good playing time this year behind Justin Pagan. JUCO transfer Jordan Marquette will likely be Will Matte's back up at center.

Program Mentality

One of the key stepping stones to turning a program around is to make the players believe that they can win. After long bowl season droughts for many programs, it is easy for players to get used to constantly losing. This is most likely what Indiana has had for numerous years but now they are on the verge of turning the program around. We have more skilled players in place and have brought together a group of players who want to be in Bloomington and believe that they can turn this program around. The bowl season did many great things for the football program but the last two years have then been disappointing seasons. Next season becomes a critical year as to whether the hoosier program continues to improve and get back on the rise, or whether they stumble and continue to fall back to what so many hoosier fans are used to. Although IU only got one more win this year as opposed to the year before, they made a vast amount of improvement. They stayed in almost every game (except OSU and Virginia) and easily could have won a handful more (Michigan, Northwestern, Iowa, Wisconsin etc.). This upcoming year will be a true test for the coaching staff and players who are knocking on the door of becoming a bowl eligible team again.

I was reading an interesting article the other day about the SMU program and how important it is to get your players to believe that they can win. (http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/colleges/topstories/stories/122409dnspotaylor.3a8b02b.

html)

It had been 25 years since SMU played in a bowl game, the 4th largest drought in college football. The last 2 seasons they finished 1-11 and managed to turn things around this year finishing 7-5 and a Aloha bowl bid against Nevada.

This just shows that what can happen when a team buys into what the head coach is saying and believes that week in and week out they can win. Once that mentality takes over, players start to believe that each week they will find a way to win the gain instead of finding a way to lose. This is why I think next year is such a critical year for the hoosier program. The players of the 2007 team believed they could win and starting to turn the program around. We have taken a few steps back the last two seasons but made a lot of improvements this past season. However, another losing season next year could put the program right back where it has been for many years. A winning season and a bowl birth can get the program headed back into the right direction. With better players in place that have the right mentality we have more tools to get us back to a bowl game next season than we have in years past.

Plenty of Post Season Honors for Hoosiers

According to iuhoosiers.com, 10 hoosiers have been recognized for some variation of post season honors. Here is the list from the website.

Larry Black Jr. - CollegeFootballNews.com Freshman All-America honorable mention
Tandon Doss - Phil Steele All-Big Ten first team, CollegeFootballNews.com All-Big Ten
Ray Fisher- ESPN.com All-Big Ten, SI.com honorable mention All-America, Rivals.com All-Big Ten first team, Phil Steele All-Big Ten first team, CollegeFootballNews.com honorable mention All-America, CollegeFootballNews.com All-Big Ten
Nick Freeland - Rivals.com Big Ten All-Freshman team
Jammie Kirlew - Phil Steele All-Big Ten second team
Matt Mayberry - Phil Steele All-Big Ten third team
Will Matte - CollegeFootballNews.com Freshman All-America honorable mention
Rodger Saffold - Phil Steele All-Big Ten second team
Adam Replogle - CollegeFootballNews.com Freshman All-America third team
Darius Willis - ESPN.com All-Big Ten Freshman team, Rivals.com Big Ten All-Freshman team, Phil Steele All-Big Ten third team

Hoosier Commit in Sports Illustrated

Hoosier commit Matt Perez made it into the "faces in the crowd" section of the recent issue of Sports Illustrated. Here is the link to read more about it.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/scorecard/faces/2009/12/21/

Recruiting Nuggets

Boy signing day can't come fast enough. I was reading an article on Andre Kates about him winning the award that goes to best JUCO player of the year and the article says that Kates is still committed to IU but is planning on still taking a few more official college visits to Miami (FL), Oklahoma State, and Minnesota. Hopefully he sticks with his commitment and becomes a hoosier but there still is a slight possibility that he may end up elsewhere. Taking these visits is something that worries me and should be a small concern. On the other hand, Jibreel Black has decided to take 4 more official visits. He is still committed to Cincinnati but he says a big part of his decision will be who is named the next head coach. I think rumor has it that the Central Michigan coach will be given the job. Black is expected to visit UC on Jan. 8 and Michigan State on Jan. 15 and could visit Louisville Jan. 22 and Indiana Jan. 29. As of right now IU is still in the running for him.

Kirlew and Saffold selected to play in the...

85th East-West Shrine game (Saffold) and the Pro Football Hall of Fame Texas vs. the Nation Challenge (Kirlew). Saffold ended up being a 2009 second team All-Big Ten selection while Kirlew collected second team All-Big Ten accolades.

http://indiana.scout.com/2/929383.html

The JUCO Recruiting Trail

Most Indiana football fans know that we don't usually recruit many players from the Junior College ranks. Yet so far this year we have 2 JUCO commits and have a couple more coming to campus to visit. With some of the needs on next years squad I strongly believe that the staff needed to go out and get some JUCO's. Generally, the big ten teams don't recruit many Junior College players because the big ten has a tougher standard than most other conferences for those players academically. However, I am so glad that we have picked up two so far and am telling you that you shouldn't be surprised if we pick up 1-2 more. We currently have 23 commits and 25 available scholarships so we could potentially pick up some late commits.

Looking at the 2 JUCO's we have verballed so far it looks like they will be immediate impacts. Andre Kates (cousin of Clinton Portis) is likely to start from day 1 at corner and Jeff Thomas will probably start at one of the linebacking spots. Usually you don't bring in a player who only has a few years left of eligibility to play back up but I think the JUCO's we have landed can fill holes at some critical spots. Looking at our linebacking core, we lose Matt Mayberry, Will Patterson, and Justin Carrington. This leaves Tyler Replogle as the only remaining starter. I think our young linebackers all have bright futures for IU but it makes sense to bring in a guy like Jeff Thomas (the other JUCO commit) because he already has some experience and is more developed physically than some of the younger players. By filling in a spot at linebacker and corner it will lessen the pressing needs that we have going into the season. Going after the right type of JUCO is key, and I believe that Coach Lynch and staff have found two very good ones so far. The two biggest reasons why players choose to go to a Junior College is either because they weren't highly recruited out of high school or they couldn't make the grades to get cleared to play Division 1. If you read the link at the bottom of the page you will see in Andre Kate's situation however, those weren't the case.

This past week we had another JUCO linebacker visit IU by the name of DeAndre Boughton. He seemed to have had a very good time and will be making his college decision very shortly. The reason being that the JUCO's would like to enroll for the spring semester to give them more time to acclimate to the college and get a familiarity with the football team. Don't be surprised to see another commit or two in the coming weeks from the JUCO ranks.

I have found a great article written about Andre Kates. It is a goo read and will give you a better understanding of how hard this kid has worked and how much he deserves success. http://www.fiveborosports.com/ssp/news?news_id=3783

Jeff Thomas 44 Foothill College soph

Here are a few more highlights of him.

Jeff Thomas # 44 MLB highlight film 2008 foothill college

Here are some highlights of the hoosiers most recent commit Jeff Thomas.

Hoosiers Grab JUCO Linebacker

Jeff Thomas becomes the 23rd commitment for the hoosiers. He is listed at 6'1 240 lbs from Foothill C.C. in Los Altos California. He was named the Nor-Cal Conference Player of the Year. This season he recorded 104 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss, 6 pass break ups, 2 sacks, 2 interceptions and 2 forced fumbles.

and the 2009 JUCO player of the year goes to...

2010 hoosier commit Andre Kates. Congratulations to him and I can't wait for him to be suiting up next fall for the hoosiers. He will be a very big difference maker at corner for us.
On a similar note, congratulations to Adam Replogle for being named on the 3rd team 2009 All-Freshman defensive team by collegefootballnews.com. Larry Black was also an honorable mention. We have a bright future for the defensive tackle position at IU.

New Uniforms

I will post up a copy of the road uniforms when they get announced. Here is what the home jersey's will look like next year. What do you guys think?

Lawrence Barnett 2007-08 Highlight Film

Here are some clips from his junior season. Remember that he broke his leg in the first game of his senior season so there are not a lot of clips to show from his senior year. The first two minutes or so are of kick off and punt returns. The rest should be of his corner play.

2010 Outlook at Corner

Ray Fisher will be the only starting corner that we lose. I would have loved for him to stay healthy because I felt like he had so much promise at the position. I think if he would've had two years of playing corner back under his belt he would have been a phenomenal player. Enough of my ranting, it's time to look ahead to next season. The thing that excites me the most about the corner position is bringing in Andre Kates. I've seen plenty of highlights of him and his list of scholarship offers in incredible. In his interviews he talks a lot about how he wants to bring some swagger to Indiana and be able to build some tradition for the football program. He has said all the right things and has all the tools to be an incredible player. I think he will start from day 1 and if he plays to how capable I think he is, I see him playing in the NFL after his time at IU. (He will be playing in the JUCO All-American game tomorrow in Arizona)

The other spot I think will be an open competition ( like most positions this off season) between Donnell Jones, Richard Council, Adrian Burks, and Lawrence Barnett. Donnell Jones played well considering he had an injured elbow most of the year. He is undersized at 5'10 but he has good closing speed and can play physical. His coverage skills are pretty good as well. Richard Council is a bigger corner who has good experience under his belt. For the limited amount of playing time Burks got last year, I felt like he impressed me the most. He showed good coverage skills and all around good fundamental play. He was just sort of thrown into some tough games due to injuries and responded very well. Lawrence Barnett red shirted this year but I think he may have the most promise out of any of our young corners. He went a little under the radar in recruiting because he broke his leg in the first game of his senior season. He had received an offer from Michigan State a week or so before he committed to the hoosiers and i'm sure other big time schools would have offered him had he stayed healthy. He has great quickness and speed to go along with his physical build. He was one of the most big ten ready freshman coming into the year, but due to numbers it wouldn't have made sense for him to burn his red shirt. He will have to compete against many other corners but I think he will be in the mix for playing time if he has a good off season. Regardless of when he starts to get to see the field, I think he has an extremely bright future at IU and could help turn our corner back position into a team strength.

I have posted a 10 minute video clip of some of his junior year highlights. The first two minutes or so are his kick off and punt return highlights. The rest is of his play at corner. Check it out above.

UC coach Kelly goes to ND so what happens to Jibreel Black?

I know I'm a little late on some of these things. I just finished with my I-core project and still recovering from having my wisdom teeth removed. There has been a lot of speculation on what Jibreel Black will do. If you don't know, Jibreel Black originally committed to the hoosiers but changed his mind and committed to the Bearcats. I don't think Black will follow Kelly to ND. They have tough standards for academics and I don't know if Jibreel would qualify with his SAT score. ND also has signed some very good prospects for the defensive line. Depending on what new coach gets brought it that could play a big role in whether or not he stays with his commitment to the bearcats. However, this could open up a slight chance for Black to re-consider IU. I have heard many mixed rumors, from professional sources, that he still has a firm commitment to Cincinnati but others have said that IU may still have a chance with him. So only time will tell and I will try and keep you up to date about what his current situation is.

*** Here is some updated information on the situation. Black has spoken a little bit about the situation. "I'm still a Bearcat, I'm still solid. I still like the fact that I have an opportunity to play for a great university and play in front of my home town, in front of people I know."

On the other side of things here was his last facebook status update. "stepin back and lookin at things all over again... uh here we go...dam kelly. jus couldn't keep ur word."

2010 Safety Outlook

At first glance it looks very scary that the hoosiers will be losing 3 out of their 4 starters in the secondary. However, with some guys coming in and a position switch or two it won't be as bad as people originally thought. Let's first take a look at the safeties.

We lose both starters in Nick Polk and AustinThomas. We also lose some backups in Collin Taylor and Matt Kurz. So who are going to replace these guys? Well it will definitely be open to competition but lets look at a few names.

Chris Adkins- made the switch to safety from corner this past season. I really like this move. He started at corner as a red shirt freshman and had a tough time. I always felt like his skills would be better utilized as a safety. So look for him to most likely have one of the starting spots at safety next season.

Jerimy Finch- every since transferring from Florida he has yet to really see significant playing time. His role has been mostly on special teams. Nobody seems to know what is going on with him. There are always rumors about him having a poor relationship with the position coaches and that he can be a problem sometimes. He was the top rated safety coming out of high school but when he played at Florida they moved him to outside linebacker so, he has yet to really play the safety position at the college level. Although he has been a mystery while he's been at IU, he has a lot of potential if he can get his head on straight. He is a big physical player who can come up and make a big hit. He will have the opportunity to compete for the starting job as well.

Shane Covington- he is a guy that got moved to the defensive side of the ball when he came here. The only time I got to see him play the position was in the spring game. He flied to the ball pretty well and showed he can be physical as well. He was also recruited by Illinois and Kansas State coming out of high school so you know that there was good interest in him.

Nick Zachery- He red shirted this past season for the hoosiers. In high school he seemed to do everything for his Sheridan high school team. I believe he won 3 state championships during his high school career. A red shirt season will allow him to get more comfortable with the defensive schemes and a chance to bulk up a bit. Coach Lynch has said good things about him and believes he has a bright future at the safety spot. He will be in competition with all the other guys for a starting spot.

Mitch Evans- Mitch will most likely move to safety this off season. He has played safety before and we seem to have a very deep core at receiver. He is athletic, versatile, and has done a variety of things for the hoosier program. Since we lose so many players in the secondary it would make sense for him to make the position switch to possibly start or provide depth.

Jarrell Drane- had a wrist injury that kept him out most of the year. Hasn't gotten much playing time so it's difficult to assess his skill set as of now. He does has good size and will continue to get better.

When looking at the long list of potential replacements at the safety position, I think Chris Adkins is the only one that has a spot locked up. Everybody else will have a chance to compete for the starting job and playing time in general. Hopefully everyone will make great strides this off season because of the competition that will be taking place. Although I don't see any true freshman starting at safety next year, I should note that our class is filled with a lot of safeties or athletes that could play safety. I can't wait to see the position battle start, it should be fun.

Hoosiers Hosting many Commits this Weekend

Many 2010 hoosier commits will be visiting Bloomington this week/weekend. So far it has been confirmed that the following players will be in town this weekend: linebacker Matt Zakrzewski, linebacker Ishmael Thomas, running back Xavier Whitaker, defensive tackle Pete Bachman, safety Drew Hardin, wide receiver Logan Young, wide receiver Tim O’Conner, offensive lineman Cody Evers, safety Shaquille Jefferson, defensive end Harrison Scott, offensive lineman Bill Ivan and running back Matt Perez. Here are some quotes from some of the players about how their trip has been.

Harrison Scott: "It went great," he said about the trip. "I got to see the facilities and the campus more in depth, and it was a real enlightening experience. The last time I was at Indiana most of the facilities were not completely finished yet and I was able to go through and see them completely done, and that was really cool."

"We got to sit down and talk a little bit about what they see me as," Scott said. "They said they are looking at me as a defensive end. They like the film that I've given them and I have a lot of upside to me. They just want me to keep progressing."

"It's a team that has tons of potential and they have all the talent they need to win games, and I feel like I can be a piece to help them get to a Big Ten championship."

Bill Ivan: "I thought it was a good chance for me to get to know the coaches down there and to meet with the academic advisors," he said. "And I was able to meet with a professor so it just gave me a better feel for the university overall. I hadn't really looked around the student union all that much, but I got a chance to do that and that was very impressive. And I also got to go into a couple of the dorms and I just got a good look at how the campus is laid out. I hadn't really seen that before and I was impressed with that."

"I had a long conversation with Coach (Bobby) Johnson about at the position I am playing," he said. "The way he put it was that he prides himself on having the best taught class on campus, and that's the offensive line. And a big thing is the mental side of the offensive line and that's going to be a big adjustment, but he doesn't see that being too big of an issue because there's a lot of older guys that won't have any problem taking me under their wing and teaching me how to watch film and get through that."

Hoosiers receive LB commit

Orrville (Ohio) linebacker Chase Hoobler committed to Indiana following this weekend’s official visit. He is a 3 star from scout.com and had offers from Louisville, Boston College, Central Michigan, Ball State, and Akron. He is listed at 6'2 220 lbs and he totaled 167 tackles, 22 tackles and six sacks, and on offense he caught 22 passes for 375 yards and five scores as a tight end. He originally verballed to Akron until their coach got fired. That made him re-open his commitment. Hit head coach had this to say about him when speaking about Indiana.
“From the get-go, they used phrases like All-Big Ten linebacker,” Davault said. “They felt right off the bat he could play at a very high level for them right away. Now can he step in next year? Who knows. That depends on who they’ve got, but he’ll certainly make an impact right away.”

Linebacker outlook 2010

It will be very difficult to replace both Matt Mayberry and Will Patterson. Matt Mayberry was a tackling machine who had good leadership abilities and speed. Will was a solid 4 year starter for the hoosiers who played physical and was a good leader as well. Also leaving is back up linebacker Justin Carrington. That leaves Tyler Replogle as the only returning starter for next year. He will most likely move from outside linebacker to inside linebacker and be the senior leader. He has a high motor and one of the best work ethics on the team. The other two linebacker spots will be up for competition between many young players. Some of them include Chad Sherer, Damon Sims, Griffin Dahlstrom, Dimitrius Carr and former walk on Leon Beckum.

Here is what Coach Lynch said about the situation. "And then the other freshmen kids that we brought in that we redshirted I think all have great futures," Lynch said. "I think Damon Sims…I would say a lot of places would've played him this year, but we decided not to. He would've been a great special teams player. He would have been a great guy covering kickoffs and covering punts, but we redshirted him. I think Griffen Dahlstrom, who came in injured, he's gotten bigger and stronger. He fits what we're looking for in a 'Mike' linebacker. And Dimitrius Carr will get nothing but better because he was really a safety and this was his first year playing linebacker."

Both Damon Sims and Chad Sherer are both pretty physical players. They have gotten bigger and stronger since they have been at IU. Leon Beckum brings some experience to the position and will be in the mix. Dimitrius Carr has some pretty good speed considering he played safety in high school. If I had to guess I think most of them will all get playing time next season but I think Chad Sherer and Damon Sims could both find themselves in the starting lineup for the first game of the year along with Tyler Replogle. A lot could change throughout the spring and summer though. The linebacking core will be pretty young outside of Tyler Replogle next year but it could provide the needed experience that allows a few of them to really shine in two years or so. See the video below of an interview this summer of Damon Sims. (He is the second half of the interview)

Defensive Tackle outlook 2010

The defensive tackle position will most likely be the strongest part of our defense next year. Going into the year it was the biggest question mark because of how much inexperience we had. This year I think they definitely exceeded expectations and there play will only get better for the next couple of years. We return pretty much everybody at the position and should have 5th year senior Jarrod Smith healthy for next season. True freshman Adam Replogle, who won a starting job as a true freshman, was very good and will only get better with experience and an off-season of lifting and conditioning. I thought Larry Black Jr. was arguably the biggest surprise out of the young tackles. He is a bigger body that we haven't had the luxury of having for the past few years. Larry and Adam combined for 61 tackles, 12.5 TFL and 5.5 sacks. Like Adam and all the other defensive tackles, they will only get better with more experience and more time in the weight room.

The best part about this position for the upcoming years is the depth. Back up red shirt freshman Nick Sliger and Mick Mentzer are also very talented and you can almost interchangeably use the four young tackles. Being able to rotate defensive tackles without having a large drop off in skill will allow us to stay fresh throughout games and will prevent opposing offenses from running down our team late in the game. Not to mention Jarrod Smith coming back to provide depth and leadership experience. With another year under there belts the defensive tackle position will clearly be one of the strongest points of our defense for the future. The biggest thing that they will bring for the next couple of years is size and depth.

Agree? Disagree? Feel free to leave your thoughts.

Defensive End outlook 2010

This will be the first installment in the outlook for each position for next season. Obviously it will be very difficult to replace the production we have gotten from Jammie Kirlew and Greg Middleton. They were both very good players here at IU and good ambassadors for the program. However, I don't think our production will drop next year as much as some people think. Two things that people must keep in mind is that Darius Johnson and Fred Jones were injured most of the year. Darius made the switch this season from LB to DE and when he played I think he played pretty well. He is a bit undersized for a DE but he has a great motor and will only get better this off season. His quickness could pose a big problem for some slower tackles our there. Fred Jones was hurt all year and came back I believe for the Penn State game. He made some pretty good plays against Purdue and I think this could be a good off season for him. We also return Deonte Mack and Coach Lynch hinted that some of the tackles may shuffle around on the outside as well. We also have some young guys who have made some great strides this off season. Javon Cornley possesses some good quickness off of the line and he put on 15 pounds since he has been at IU. He could be a young player who gets an opportunity to show off his skills next year. I think the combination of a healthy Darius Johnson and Fred Jones along with the return of Deonte Mack and some younger players our defensive ends will surprise some people next year. I don't think it will be as bad as some people think. I also wish the best of the luck to both Kirlew and Middleton in the pursuit of the NFL.

Agree? Disagree? Share your thoughts.

The Official Highlight Film Of Andre Kates

Here is a video clip of future hoosier Andre Kates. He plays CB and could be an instant starter for the hoosiers.

Nothing stops Perez in State Championship

Maine South finished off the year 14-0 to win the Illinois Class 8A title. IU commit Matt Perez set a state championship game record with 316 yards and 5 touchdowns. Maine South has now won 2 straight state championships. The more surprising part is that Perez had a left thigh bruise, a right ankle injury and possibly a broken left hand he has been nursing all week. He didn't let any of those injuries stop him on Maine South's 41-17 victory over Marist. Perez finished the season with 2,246 yards and 34 rushing touchdowns. He had a total of 38 touchdowns. Congratulations to Maine South on the championship and Matt Perez on an outstanding year.

2010 QB #11 Kofi Hughes 2009 Season Highlights Part Two

Here is part 2 of his highlights.

2010 QB Kofi Hughes 2009 Season Highlights One

Now that the season is over it is time to start looking at our recruiting class. I will post any highlights that I can find of our 2010 commits. Here is part 1 of a video of Kofi Hughes who will likely either play WR or somewhere in the secondary for the hoosiers.

Hoosier Commit named ESPNChicago.com POY

Running back Matt Perez is certainly not falling under the radar anymore. The Chicago Sun-Times already named him the best player in the state of Illinois a few weeks ago and now he is getting national attention. ESPNChicago.com has named Perez the high school player of the year. Perez has rushed for 1,930 yards and 29 touchdowns on 181 carries. He has averaged 10.7 yards per run. He has caught 30 passes for 391 yards and two touchdowns. He has returned two punts for touchdowns. He also has 59 tackles, 19 of them going for a loss. Twice this season, he ran for 300-plus yards and four touchdowns against Glenbrook South. Matt Perez's team will take on Marist tomorrow in the state championship game at Memorial Stadium at the University of Illinois. Next year there is a possibility that he could move from running back to either line backer or safety for the hoosiers.

Lynch sees Improvement

Coach Lynch talked to the media today to wrap up the season. Although nobody is happy or satisfied with how the year ended he noted that the biggest bright spots have been with the overall consistency of how hard people have brought it at practices and players taking accountability. This year brought about on average 10,000 more fans to each game. The mentality of the program seems to be changing in the right direction. What should also help the program is the fact that the past few years we have been able to red shirt so many players. Lynch said that unless a freshman is going to come in and start he will most likely be red shirted. Lynch talked about how he feels very good about the D-line. We do lose Kirlew and Middleton but we have 6 solid defensive tackles coming back and we should have Fred Jones and Darius Johnson finally healthy next year. He did talk about that there is room for people to shuffle around on the d-line. At the defensive end position he said specifically that freshman Javon Cornley has improved a lot. He has great quickness and has put on 15 lbs this year and he could be a young kid who makes a good contribution next year. He said that Tyler Replogle will most likely move inside and he thinks Chad Sherer will be a very good line backer when he has more of an opportunity next year. Freshman Nick Turner has done a good job on the scout team this year and should provide a good back up to Darius Willis next season. Lynch said that usually after seasons he likes to take some time off before he gets back at it but after this season he is extremely eager to get back at it. Overall, Lynch thinks the program is headed in the right direction. He likes how our young kids have developed and the staff has done a good job recruiting the type of kids that they are looking for.

Changes on the Horizon?

Every off-season there are always a few changes. Whether or not it is a coaching change of some sort, a position move, or a change in philosophy. I by no means have any inside information whatsoever but if I had to guess here are a couple of changes that might be made this off season.

1. Tyler Replogle move to MLB- Tyler will be the only returning starting linebacker for the hoosiers next year. Coach Lynch always praises him for having the highest motor on the team and a fantastic work ethic. I think this move would make sense from a leadership perspective. Your MLB needs to be one of the leaders of the defense and since we will have to rely on some young players to fill the other line backing spots, it would make sense for a veteran to take control of the line backing corps.

2. Mitch Evans move to Safety- Mitch has done it all for the hoosiers during his time here. He has played Safety, Quarterback, and Wide Receiver. He played very well this year at both WR and QB when we had the wildcat formation. I really like Ed Wright-Baker as a potential player to run the wildcat next year and eventually be in competition for the starting QB spot so I think it might be advantageous to start getting him onto the field via the wildcat. Our wide receiving corps is a very talented and deep one. We graduate both our starting safeties and next year will have Chris Adkins, Jerimy Finch, Shane Covington, Nick Zachery and a bunch of young players to fill in those spots. I see a similar situation in what happened to Ray Fisher a year ago. He was a great WR but because we needed help at the CB position he made the position switch. We might need some depth and leadership and the safety position next year so it might make sense to move Mitch onto the defensive side of the ball. We return all of our wide receivers from last year and we have a lot of young players who have a ton of potential. Duwyce Wilson was our highest recruited player out of last years class and we have a lot of other younger players like Tyler Adetona, Jamonne Chester, Dre Muhammad, Matt Ernest etc...

3. Shake-up the coordinators- I'm not here to grill our coaching staff. We have had two losing seasons in a row and generally changes are usually made. Coach Lynch and staff have done a great job of upgrading the overall talent of our football team through the recruiting ranks. We still need more depth on this team but I don't think you can say that our team has lacked talent has been the reason why we haven't won more games. We had some very talented players on this years squad and I just feel like they may not have reached their full potential. It may be time to switch it up on the defensive side of the ball just to see if we can make some improvement. We graduate a lot of players on that side this year and next year will have a lot of young faces competing for spots. We will need many players to be coached-up this off season and it might be time for some minor tweaks and changes in the coaching staff to see if we can get many of our players to play to their full potential.

Like I said before I have no inside information here, I am simply just speculating on what could potentially happen. What do you guys think? Agree? Disagree? Any other changes that you think could/should be made?

The Good, the Bad, the Ugly of IU Athletic Facilities

A good look at all the new things that have been done/being done here at IU.

Bucket stays with Boilers

A pretty disappointing finish to a very frustrating year. It was even more disappointing because the student turnout was incredible for this game and for the season in general. Looking back, if a few games go our way we would've been in a completely different situation. I thought that there were so many reasons why we should have been hyped up to take down the boilers today but it just didn't happen. The bright spot happened to be the running of Darius Willis. I think he will definitely provide some excitement for the future of our running game. Too many turnovers was the moral of the story. Two interceptions by Chappell, and early fumble and a blocked kick all lead to the hoosier defeat. Although our record did not show it this year, in my opinion we made a lot of progress. You can debate me all you want but last year we had very bad losses of 42-20 (Ball State), 45-9 (Iowa), 55-13 (Illinois), 37-34 (Central Michigan), 55-20 (Wisconsin), 34-7 (Penn State) and 62-10 (Purdue). This year we were competitive in every single game except for Virginia. We could have had victories against Michigan, Northwestern, Iowa and Wisconsin. Most of the time it seemed like a roller coaster ride this season but I do believe it when Lynch and Fisher said in the post game that there were significant improvements this year. Stay tuned all off-season as I blog about off-season changes, recruits, and anything else regarding Indiana hoosier football. Thank you all 21 seniors on this years squad and I wish you all the best of luck with your future plans.

Any thoughts on the game/season feel free to comment.

Indiana Coach Bill Lynch finds a Better Way

Could be a Shootout

Don't be surprised if tomorrow's game has lots of scoring. Purdue's QB Joey Elliott leads the big ten in passing and Ben Chappell is 2nd. Keith Smith for the Boilers also leads the big ten in receiving with RB Ralph Bolden 3rd in rushing. With no bowl game in the works for either team expect both teams to really open up the playbook on offense. Darius Willis is probable for the game and Purdue has given up 3 straight 100 yard rushers. The hoosiers receivers have been bright spots for most of the season and I expect them to have a big day tomorrow. The student section has been expanded and has already been sold out. It should be a wild crowd at the Rock tomorrow and I'm expecting the hoosiers to come away with a victory.

IU beats Purdue, Nov. 17, 2007

One more video to get hyped for the bucket game tomorrow

Austin Starr's Game Winning FG Against Purdue

Good memories for old-times sake to get pumped for the bucket game.

Hoosiers Hyped for Bucket Game

Like Bryan Payton said “You like to think that you play hard every week and you prepare hard every week, but this one is double everything else.” This bucket game is more than just a game. A win may only count for a win just like any other game but it also gives you 1 year worth of bragging rights in the state. With Coach Lynch putting an emphasis on recruiting in our own back yard this game can be a good selling point for in-state recruits. This game has created legends such as Austin Starr. He was always a good kicker for the hoosiers but now he will always be remembered for his incredible kick that propelled the hoosiers the insight bowl. This week it seems like every time I log onto facebook and a football player has updated their status, it has something to do with how focused their are to take on the boilers and how hard they want to play to end their hoosier career on a high note. Coach Lynch emphasised that not only is it important for the seniors to end with a victory but also for the current players to take some momentum into the off season. This means that when they are doing their off season weight lifting and conditioning they've got an extra bounce in their step because we went out by beating the boilers. Fred Glass has expanded the student section to 15,000 for the game and hopefully everybody can come out and pack the rock and we can finish the season with a big victory and bring the bucket back to where it belongs.

Injury Report

Here is the injury report so far for the Purdue game.

Out: Ray Fisher, Darius Johnson, Jarrod Smith
Questionable: Jarrell Drane, Cody Faulkner, Demetrius McCray, Justin Pagan, Mike Reiter
Probable: Darius Willis, Terrance Thomas

Fred Glass just said that over 40,000 tickets have been sold for Saturday which now makes the season average over 40,000 per game. Student ticket sales this year averaged over 10,000 which is the first time that has happened since 1992. Also student ticket seats for the Bucket game have been increased from 8,100 to 12,500 and those are nearly sold out.

Purdue Preview

Purdue currently sits at 4-7. It has been an up and down season for them as well. After starting out 1-0 the boilers lost 4 straight games by 7 points or less to Oregon, Northern Illinois, Notre Dame and Northwestern. At this point I knew that there record didn't indicate there potential. Then a few weeks later they upset Ohio State and shocked a whole bunch of people. I was worried that after beating Ohio State they would use that momentum to really carry themselves for most of the season. Luckily they are 2-2 from that game suffering a blowout 37-0 loss to Wisconsin and a 3 point loss to Michigan State last week. This puts them out of any chance of becoming bowl eligible. Even though we have the same record they still are a dangerous team. Here is a look at some other things you should know about the boilers.

The offense is lead by senior Joey Elliott. He has thrown for just under 3000 yards this year with 18 touchdowns. However he has also thrown 13 interceptions. Ralph Bolden leads the boilers in rushing with 931 yards and 9 touchdowns. He's not a very big guy but he is extremely quick and can create some big plays. IU will have to do a good job preventing the big plays this week. Purdue's receiving core is really dominated by Keith Smith (86 catches, 1015 yds, 5 TD's) and Aaron Valentin (50 catches, 601 yds, 7 TD's). On defense the big name to know if Ryan Kerrigan. He has 11 sacks and 16.5 tackles for loss on the year.

For some good news, Purdue ranks 107 in turnover margin. They have lost 15 fumbles and have thrown 14 interceptions. The bad news, IU hasn't really been able to capitalize on other teams turnovers this year. IU actually ranks 8th in the nation in turnover margin. Purdue has had 3 running backs the last three weeks run for over 100 yards on them. This could be a big day for our offense. Although we can't become bowl eligible this year, this game still provides ultimate bragging rights and a step forward from last years team.

Receiving Core shines for Hoosiers

One of the extremely bright spots for the hoosiers this year has been the receiving core. Not only have they had a lot of big play ability this season they also will most likely be the strength of this team for years to come. Here is a quick breakdown of our current receivers along with some young ones that we have that can make an impact in the next couple of years.

1. Tandon Doss- has really emerged as the hoosiers number 1 receiver this year. He has great hands and good speed. He has a ton of YAC and when he gets in space he can be extremely dangerous. He can stretch the field when we got play action and runs good routes.

2. Demarlo Belcher- with his big size he is drawing many comparisons to former hoosier James Hardy. He gets almost every jump ball thrown his way and creates many match up problems for almost any corner. He can be the go-to guy in the red zone and if he gets a bit of space he has the ability to make a defender miss. He got stronger from last year and I'm sure he will continue to get stronger for years to come.

3. Terrance Turner- Turner has been a pleasant surprise this year. Last year he didn't have a ton of balls thrown his way but this year he has made the most out of every opportunity. He is a great possession receiver and always seems to grind it out to get those few extra yards when he catches the ball. He shows good concentration and makes catches in traffic and has the speed and moves to make a defender miss and turn a 5 yard reception into a 10-15 yard reception.

4. Mitch Evans- Mitch has had many different roles throughout his career as a hoosier but he has done some good things at receiver. He excels more in the slot when he can get into open space. He has made some pretty spectacular catches this year. The one handed grab against Wisconsin and the touchdown grab really ring a bell for me. I'm not sure whether or not he will stay at this position for his senior year but Mitch brings athleticism that can be used at various spots on the field.

5. Matt Ernest- He hasn't had as many opportunities this season because of our depth. He was the Gatorade player of the year in 2006 for the state of Indiana. He has gotten stronger while he's been here at has some pretty good speed. Could project into a good possession receiver.

Here is a look at some of the young guys that could shine for the hoosiers down the road.

Duwyce Wilson- Our highest rated recruit in the 2009 class he has good size (6'3) with good speed as well. He is a gazelle type receiver who will have a bright future with the hoosiers. He can go up and get jump balls but he can also make plays in space with his speed.

Tyler Adetona- His tape shows that he can be very dangerous as a slot receiver for us in the future. He is very elusive in the open field when he can move around and has breakaway speed to burn it down the sideline.

Jamonne Chester- Not as tall as Duwyce but he also can go up and win jump balls. He doesn't have blazing speed but when he can catch the ball in the open field he can make defenders miss.

Dre Muhammad- Not a whole lot of people have heard of this guy. He is a transfer from Purdue and is a cousin of James Hardy. From what I've heard he is a very quick receiver but is on the smaller side listed at 5'10. He could be a sleeper for the hoosiers in the years to come.

This hoosier receiving core is going to be very dangerous for the future. We have a lot of playmakers and a ton of depth. They will most likely be the strongest part of our team for next year.

Hoosiers can't capitalize, fall to PSU

The game started out like a typical hoosier game. We had a great game plan going in (credit that to coach Lynch) and got out to an early 10-0 lead. Penn State seemed to be out of sync when we got out to the fast start. They battled back and eventually tied it up at the half. I think the biggest momentum changer was Navarro Bowman's 73 yard INT that was returned for a TD. We were driving pretty well and having success through the passing game up until that point. Then when PSU came with the blitz we had a perfect opportunity for a big play. We ran a quick screen to Trea Burgess but the ball hit him in the hands then was picked by Bowman and was returned to the house. The hoosiers forced plenty of turnovers in this game we just couldn't capitalize on them. Matt Mayberry led the hoosier defense with 15 tackles and an INT. This is the 5th time this year he has recorded double digit tackles. Our rushing game was pretty much non-existent totalling 48 yards 24 carries. Chappell did throw for 298 yards and the trio of Belcher, Doss, and Turner accounted for 175 yards and both hoosier touchdowns. This is definitely a bright spot for the future of the hoosier program. We are officially eliminated from bowl eligibility but everyone better be psyched up to take on the boilers next week. It serves an opportunity not only for ultimate bragging rights for 1 year but an opportunity to take out all of this years frustration and really put the boiler's in their place.

Hoosiers not intimidated

Today's match up in happy valley is going to be a very tough one. All you have to do is look at the roughly 27 point spread to know that the hoosiers are underdogs. However, we've had games like this before where it looked like we were huge underdogs in the game and we came out and competed very well. “Even though we’ve had a couple of heartbreaking losses, I still think they’re an offense we can get at,” Mayberry said. “They’re a good offense led by a good quarterback in Daryll Clark, but we hung in with all the offenses we’ve been playing, and I don’t think they’re any better than what we’ve been facing.” Penn State has an incredible defense and such a balanced offense. I'm not expecting the hoosiers to come out and shock the world (even though that would be nice) but I'm not expecting them to roll over and get blown out. Chappell will have to have close to a mistake free day and make some plays through the passing game. The defense will have to do their best at stopping Darryl Clark and Evan Royster. A big key will be for Kirlew and Middleton to apply some constant pressure on the QB. With the season dwindling down it is very important for some hoosiers to really come out firing if they want to have a chance at getting picked in next year's NFL draft.

Do look for PSU to come out fired up after a loss at home last week. It is also senior day for the the nittany lions.

Getting to know PSU

Penn State comes into this weeks match up with an 8-2 record with losses to Iowa and Ohio State. On offense Daryll Clark takes the snaps and had thrown for 2283 yards and 18 touchdowns this year. He's a veteran QB with lots of experience. He can also be a threat in the run game when PSU runs QB draws or anytime he needs to escape the pocket. Evan Royster is the tailback and he averages 5.7 yards per carry and has 5 rushing TD's this year. Did I mention Clark can run the ball? Clark leads the team with 6 rushing touchdowns. You may not have heard a lot about the PSU receivers but they are very good. In my opinion they are underrated because last year Penn State's top 3 receivers are gone. This is the first time this group of receivers have really been the go-to guys. Derek Moye and Graham Zug both have 5 receiving TD's this year.

On defense PSU has two outstanding linebackers in Navarro Bowman and Sean Lee. They don't have the dominate pass rush they have in years past but they still lead the big ten with 32 sacks. They have two great DT's in Jared Odrick and Ollie Ogbu. Those 4 players in particular will make it very hard for IU to gain a whole lot on the ground so it will be very important to pass the ball effectively and not have many turnovers if we want to put some points on the board. That’s easier said than done against a Penn State defense that ranks ninth nationally in passing yards/game allowed (166.1) and has surrendered 200 yards in a game only three times this fall. The Nittany Lions’ opponents are completely only 52.1 percent of their throws, and they’ve given up only five touchdowns through the air. But IU's receivers have shown big play capabilities against the top teams in the big ten. The hoosiers have never beaten Penn State albeit they have only been in the conference since 1990. The hoosiers are 0-12 all-time against the nittany lions.

Injury Report

Here is the injury report for the Penn State game.

Out:Darius Johnson, Jarrod Smith, Ray Fisher
Questionable:Chris Adkins, Jarrell Drane, Cody Faulkner, Tyler Replogle, Austin Thomas, Terrance Thomas
Probable: Mick Mentzer, Darius Willis

Matt Weaver from rivals.com said that Ray Fisher is pretty much done for the year unless IU happens to make a bowl game. Although it is never good to have a lot of injuries at least most of the players on the injury list will most likely play this weekend.

Fisher and Willis injuries

Although it is still early in the week the initial depth chart has been released. Ray Fisher, who got injured two weeks ago, is not listed on the depth chart. Don't expect him to play this week. He will have another MRI on his knee sometime early this week to see if there is any opportunity he gets to still play this year. If you have been following Darius Willis you will know that he has been pretty banged up this whole year. He left the game this Saturday against Wisconsin with a leg injury but he is still listed as the starter on the depth chart this week. As of today he will be playing this weekend but there is still a possibility that throughout the week he might not be able to play. If he can't go Bryan Payton is listed as the backup. Payton was able to give the running game a spark in the 2nd half against the Badgers. It seems like with Darius Willis that he will probably just toughen it out the rest of the year then address his ankle/leg injury after the season.

*** The IU vs. Purdue game has been announced that it will be a 3:30 start next Saturday.

Hoosiers comeback stopped short by Badgers

The Hoosiers late comeback fell a bit short while the Badgers won 31-28. On the bright side, the hoosiers secondary held their own for the most part, the receivers played extremely well, and the hoosiers capitalized on some key situations. The only downside was that the Badgers running game was just too much for the hoosiers. Both John Clay and Montee Ball ran for over 100 yards. The Badger offensive line had their way in opening up holes in the running game. This loss will make it very difficult for the hoosiers to get to 6 wins. That would require an upset next week at Penn State followed by a home victory against Purdue to finish out the year. On the bright side, I saw a ton of progress yesterday versus when we played them a year ago.

Chappell threw for 323 yards with 3 TD's and 2 INT's. He made some deep throws that were very good. The wind, just like last week, also played a role in the passing game yesterday. Darius Willis went down with a right left injury but, Bryan Payton came in and played very well. He hit some holes hard and made some good runs to get some pressure off of the passing game. On some keys situations the hoosiers also converted which was promising. On a 4th and goal Coach Lynch put Adam Replogle in at fullback and Trea Burgess plunged into the end zone for a key touchdown. Demarlo Belcher let dropped two keys passes on some important downs only to catch a key pass on 4th and 5 and dragged Wisconsin defenders for a 30 yard game. Tandon Doss finished the game as the leading receiver with 92 yards and 2 TD's.

In the end it was the Wisconsin running game that was just too much for the hoosiers. At least this year they really competed for the whole game. They were down 10 at half time but just kept hanging around and eventually converted on some big plays to cut the lead down to 3. Although it was another tough loss and bowl eligibility might not happen this year the hoosiers are getting to the point where they know we can compete with anybody. A sign of progress for this program.

Final Injury Report

Here is the final injury report for the Wisconsin game.

Out: DE'S Darius Johnson and Terrence Thomas, CB Ray Fisher, Safeties Chris Adkins and Jarrell Drane, DT Jarrod Smith and OL Cody Faulkner

Questionable: Safety Jerimy Finch

Probable: RB's Zach Davis-Walker and Darius Willis, Safety Nick Polk, DE Fred Jones.

Like I said before Adrian Burks will be starting at corner with Donnell Jones. Terrence Thomas gets on the list this week but Fred Jones will likely play.

Enough Gas in the Tank?

Although we have suffered some tough losses the last two weeks I think it showed a lot of promise for this hoosier program. Although this team could be 7-2 at this point I am not going to dwell too much on the what ifs. To outplay the number 4 team in the country for 3 quarters is still very impressive. My only worry about suffering those 2 tough losses the past few weeks is that I'm not sure how much gas we have left in the tank. I say that because Wisconsin runs a unique grind it out style of football. They have a big offensive line and a great running game. This seems to wear teams down late in games. It will be tough in my opinion to stop Clay late in the game and I hope that we will be able to grind out it with them for all 60 minutes. What surprised me last week against Iowa was how much resilience this team had to come back and compete so well against an undefeated Iowa team on the road. It will be nice to come back to Memorial Stadium but the past few years Wisconsin has had out number. Not only will this be a big week for the hoosier squad if we want to remain in the bowl picture but it will show a lot about this hoosier squad in how they bounce back. I hope this hoosier squad has a lot left in the tank and that we can bounce back after a few tough games and pull off the upset.

Lynch and Patterson on Dan Dakich Show

Both Coach Lynch and Will Patterson were on the Dan Dakich show today. Here are a few of the highlights from both of their conversations with Dan Dakich.

Lynch- the staff has also completely moved on from the Iowa game. They came back at it and had a good game plan ready to go early this week. The biggest thing from the Virginia game to now has been the change of attitude for the hoosier squad. The team's intangibles have improved greatly since that game.


Patterson- The team has completely moved on from the Iowa game. They came back and had a very crisp practice yesterday. The team had a good grasp of the game plan for Wisconsin and executed well during the practices this week. The Wisconsin game is going to be a very physical game but they will be ready to go.

Lynch Handling Officiating Situation with Class

I just finished listening to Coach Lynch's weekly press conference. One of the things that really stood out to me was how well Lynch was handling the officiating situation from the Iowa game. Yesterday on his radio show he made a quick note that the university has contacted the big ten and he was confident that it will be handled appropriately. Today in his press conference he was asked many times about the officiating situation.

He first noted that there were 173 plays in the game and that 171 of them were correctable. That is why this year they have stressed to "play the next play" because after the game you don't want to look back and say this was the play that changed everything. One reporter asked Lynch if he ever got to the point that he felt like taking the $10,000 fine and blasting the officials in the media to get his point across. He responded by saying that was not the way he was brought up and would never handle the situation that way. He's not the guy to use the media to grab more attention for himself. He has been handling the situation very well in my opinion. He acknowledged the fact that the university has contacted the big ten but understands that there were so many other plays in the game that were not affected by the officials and the team has completely moved to the Wisconsin game on Saturday.

He talked briefly about not taking the mindset that the hoosiers were just unlucky. That he said leads to sloppy practices and players showing up on Saturday just hoping that things will bounce their way next time. He did say that the interception that bounced off of 4 players was a crazy play but their could have been things done to prevent it. For instance, we could have gotten the throw off a tad earlier or sustained our blocks for a split second longer. I feel like he has taken the right approach this week in handling all the different things going on around IU football.

Fisher to miss game vs. Wisconsin

Yesterday during Bill Lynch's radio show he said that Ray Fisher will miss this week's game against Wisconsin because of a knee injury. Fisher injured it on the opening kickoff against Iowa last Saturday. The good news is that Wisconsin is a pro-style running team and they don't air it out as much. Wisconsin's QB Scott Tolzien has thrown 9 TD's and 8 INT's. Look for Adrian Burks to be starting alongside Donnell Jones at CB.



***Update***
Fisher will undergo surgery on Wednesday. It isn't major surgery and Lynch isn't ruling him out for the rest of the season. He will take another MRI next week and evaluate his knee from there. Adrian Burks is listed as the #1 opposite Donnell Jones and Richard Council and Andre Lagrone are listed as the backups.

Lynch Contacts Big 10 Over Calls

Here was an article written by Dustin Dopirak after he listened in to Lynch's radio show today.

"Indiana’s Bill Lynch said on his radio show Monday night that Indiana has made contact with the Big Ten over the controversial calls in Saturday’s game against Iowa.
“We’ve made contact with the Big Ten,” Lynch said. “We are certainly confident that it will be handled appropriately.”
The key call that infuriated Lynch at the time and Indiana fans was a touchdown catch by Terrance Turner that was overturned by video replay."

I'm glad to see Lynch sticking up for the hoosiers.

A Look at the Badgers

It's time to forget about the past and look ahead to the future. Wisconsin has squeaked back into the top 25 with their crushing defeat over the boilers. The Badgers have a 6-2 record with victories over Northern Illinois, Fresno State, Wofford, Michigan State, Minnesota, and Purdue. Their two losses were against Ohio State and Iowa. They don't have any marquee victories this year but they have played solid throughout.

Wisconsin's running back John Clay is the only running back in the big ten who averages over 100 yards rushing per game. He also leads the conference with 10 rushing TD's. He is a big, physical runner listed just shy of 250 lbs. Scott Tolzien is the QB and he has completed 62.5% of his passes so far this year with 9 TD's. On defense, O’Brien Schofield leads the nation in tackles for loss with 16.5. The badgers have 3 TD's on special teams this year. The AP Poll has Wisconsin ranked 24 while the BCS has them at 21.

This is going to be a huge week for the hoosiers. A win this weekend makes them one win away from bowl eligibility while a loss would pretty much eliminate them from becoming bowl eligible. The hoosiers have come out firing the last two weeks but need to work on finishing games late. The hoosiers need to bounce back after two tough weeks and take down the badgers to get us back on track.

*** Fun Stat of the Day: The hoosiers lead the big ten in turnover margin at +9

Can't Say It Any Better

If you haven't read the OSR report here is an article that sums up the Iowa game better than I can.
Official Sports Report: November 01, 2009A Truly Uphill Battleby Jeremy GrayIOWA CITY, Iowa- This will possibly get me in trouble with my national editor, but I don't know any other way to write this column. I have never done this before, and likely I will never do it again. This line of argument is almost always facile and simplistic. Only rarely does it come off as anything other than whiny and small.
However, to make anything else the focus of this column would be inexcusable. It should be said. In my time of watching football, Indiana's 42-24 loss to Iowa was one of the most grotesquely officiated football games I have ever seen.
It wasn't one bad call. It wasn't two bad calls. There were a slew of them and they were not bifurcated evenly between the two teams. And unlike with modern medicine and av! iation, technology didn't seem to help.
Before I rehash my grievances, let me state and acknowledge the following…
Iowa deserves credit for taking advantage of their opportunities. The Hawkeyes also battled through a litany of injuries to pull out the win and that deserves praise and recognition. The Hoosiers failed to stop misdirection plays throughout the game, and didn't respond when they began taking on water in the 4th quarter. The Hoosiers also failed to capitalize on all of their turnovers.
But…
It's a little tough for an underdog to win a game against a top five team on the road when officials unjustifiably took away two touchdowns, made a phantom pass interference call, made woeful spots after IU offensive gains, and made a questionable unnecessary roughness call on Donnell Jones that prolonged an Iowa drive.
And what did Terrance Turner do to undermine his football karma! ? Did he forget to send his grandmother a birthday card? He makes two brilliant touchdown catches and both of them got wiped off the board.
To their credit, Indiana responded exceptionally well to most of these setbacks.
The bad pass interference call against Adrian Burks in the first half was made irrelevant by a Collin Taylor interception later in the drive.
Turner's first touchdown catch that was rendered an incomplete pass, was quickly made up for by a fabulous touchdown connection between Ben Chappell and Damarlo Belcher.
The Hoosiers also overcame a bad spot in the first half. Running back Darius Willis clearly plunged over the first down marker, but the officials spotted it a full yard behind the marker. They reviewed the spot, and unfathomably upheld the ruling on the field. On 4th and 1, Ben Chappell was able to get the Hawkeyes to jump offside on a hard count and the Hoosiers sustained the drive.
But the other bad spot cost Indiana dearly. In the first hal! f, Damarlo Belcher made a catch and touched the ground with his hand before plunging ahead for a significant gain. The officials spotted the ball where his hand touched the ground, rather than where he actually went down. The Hoosiers were forced to punt. It should be noted that this occurred at a juncture of the game that the Hoosiers were moving the ball fairly easily and the defense was overwhelming the Hawkeyes.
But the real whopper took place in the middle of the 3rd quarter. Indiana led the game 21-14. The offense was in a groove, and Iowa quarterback Ricky Stanzi looked like Gerry Cooney after taking his first shot from Mike Tyson. The Hoosiers were responding to the most inexplicable only-against-the Chicago Cubs-like interception return in history. They methodically drove down field and were on the verge of levying a devastating blow to the Hawkeyes. The Hoosiers were near the goal line and Chappell unfurled a perfect strike to a darting Ter! rance Turner. Turner hauled it in, drug his back foot two feet inside the endzone, and slid toward the Iowa cheerleaders in exaltation.
The official, standing a scant three feet away and possessing a perfect view of the play, raised his hands to signal the touchdown. The players went bananas, I scared my dog, and the Hoosiers were up 28-14.
But…
The officials decided to review the catch. The ESPN crew replayed the catch over and over again. Iowa fans, Indiana fans, Bob Davie, Lou Holtz, Mark May, Barack Obama, John McCain, Kanye West, my shaken golden retriever, Lady Gaga, and Boilermaker Pete could all see that it was a touchdown.
But after several minutes of deliberation, the officials wiped off the points and deemed it an incomplete pass. Nick Freeland missed the subsequent field goal attempt, and the Hawkeyes were still within striking distance.
The toughest part of that scenario to wrap my mind around&#44! ; was the fact that the play was deemed a touchdown on the field. To overturn, there has to be conclusive evidence. If it was conclusive, why did it take so long to review it? Not even Hawkeye partisans Chuck Long and Tom Brokaw could convince themselves that there was conclusive evidence.
The Hoosiers responded again with another interception. They drove down the field and booted a field goal. But the Hawkeyes were given new life and the rest, unfortunately, is history.
Certainly Iowa's track record suggests that they could have mounted a comeback no matter what the score was.
And just as certainly, the Hoosiers have struggled to hold onto leads in 2009.
Would the Hoosiers have won a well officiated game? I think so, but I'll never know for sure. But I certainly would have liked to have watched that game instead.