Most recent 2010 Commit

Before I finish the analysis of our 2009 recruits I thought it would be appropriate to quickly talk about our most recent 2010 commit, Jibreel Black. If you don't know Jibreel is the brother of current hoosier, Larry Black, who probably played a huge role in our ability to land him. Jibreel is an outstanding player. His final 5 list consisted of Indiana, Cincinnati, Michigan, Michigan State and Kentucky. Here is a list of the other schools that had offered him scholarships as well: Kansas, Minnesota, NC State, Purdue, South Carolina, USF, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Illinois and a few others. He will start out at DE for us and will likely be able to contribute right away. This was a HUGE get for Bill Lynch and Co and hopefully will be a domino effect for the rest of our recruiting for the 2010 class.

2009 LB Recruits

We got two LB's signed in our 2009 class Damon Sims and Dimitrius Carr-Watson. It was important to get some depth at this position in this class because we will be losing Matt Mayberry and Will Patterson after next season.

Damon Sims- Sims already has good size with his 6'3 220lb frame. He played on varsity for 3 years at Colerain High School in Ohio. He finished 36-4 over those three years. He finished his senior season with 5.5 sacks, 12 TFL's and 3 forced fumbles. He is a great open field tackler and will have an opportunity to contribute on special teams right away.

Dimitrius Carr-Watson- He came from a great high school program in Mount Carmel (IL). He was a 1st team all-state selection his senior year. He excels the most when he is coming in off the edge.

2009 RB Recruit

We signed one running back in the 2009 class Nick Turner

Nick Turner- He didn't play football his junior year and instead solely focused on track. This is most likely why he flew under the radar a bit. He's an extremely fast kid who had his durability questioned. However, he did manage to carry the ball 40 times against Pike this past year and did it successfully. His 2009 season he rushed for 2062 yards with 26TD's which got him named Marion county player of the year. He should be a good complement to the bigger backs that we have been bringing in because of his blazing speed. He is listed at 6'2 190 lbs.

A Possible New Run-In for the Hoosiers

I was reading up on scout and rivals forums the other day and noticed a topic being discussed. Somebody posted a link about other teams and how they run out onto the field in an enthusiastic fashion and such. I then e-mailed Coach Lynch who then forwarded it to the marketing director. He e-mailed me back saying that they are in the process of creating a new "intense and exciting" intro for the players to run out to. Check out the way Virginia Tech comes out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rQvu2lm_cw&NR=1

Personally I wouldn't mind seeing the Hoosiers run out to "let it rock" by Kevin Rudolf (I don't think any other school uses that song) then leading into the fight song by the IU band. What do you guys think???

Our 2009 D-Lineman

We got two D-lineman in the class of 2009. Replogle will play DT and Cornley DE.

1) Adam Replogle- He was a HUGE get for the hoosiers. Younger brother of Tyler he had offers from Cincy, Iowa, North Carolina State and West Virginia. He's a very thick, big kid with a high motor just like his brother. He has a great burst right off the line of scrimmage and should be a big addition to our D-line.

2) Javon Cornley- brother of Penn State basketball player Jamelle, Javon is listed at 6'5 220lbs. He runs well and is active and played basketball as well. Needs to put on a bunch of weight but should provide some good depth at the position considering we will be losing Middleton and Kirlew after this season.

2009 Secondary

We signed two players in the secondary. Lawrence Barnett will play CB and Nick Zachery will start out at Safety.

1) Lawrence Barnett- he broke his ankle in the first game last season that made him sit the rest of the year but he was a very important factor in his teams state run in football and basketball his junior year. Because he didn't play much his senior year I believe he is flying under the radar. He's not very tall (listed around 5'9) but he is very physical. Lynch said that he could be one of the incoming freshman physically ready to contribute. There will be a lot of competition at the CB spot but I am excited to see Lawrence compete. He is also a very dangerous return man. Right when he committed his recruiting was starting to pick up. He picked IU 6 days after getting an offer from Michigan State. The day he broke his ankle he got a call from the hoosiers re-assuring him of his scholarship and I think that meant a lot to him. I think he is going to surprise a lot of people during his time at IU.

2) Nick Zachery- played at a small school in Sheridan High School. However, he had so much success during his time there. He finished his high school career at 64-4 and was Mr. Indiana Football Runner Up. He led his team to 3 state championships and played a wide variety of positions. Lynch and company will start him out at safety. He was also nominated to play on the USA national team.

2009 QB's

We grabbed 2 great QB's in the 2009 class. Kind of funny how they both played in the same conference. They both bring something different to the table and should provide great competition at the position for years to come.

1) Ed-Wright Baker- He was the first to commit to the 2009 class. Also had offers from Louisville, Kentucky and Purdue. He's around 6'3 205 lbs. He's a dual-threat QB with great running abilities. Once he gets into the open field he has great breakaway speed. As a passer he has good arm strength and pretty good touch on the ball. He needs to work on his accuracy but he could really thrive in the spread/pistol offense.

2) Dusty Kiel- 6'3 220lbs. He threw 35 Td passes his senior year at Columbus East. He has a rocket arm and just loves the game of football. He's a good leader and is also pretty physical. He is not as fast of a runner at Ed-Wright Baker but he can certainly run if he needs to. He played with Duwyce Wilson in high school and I am excited to see him compete down the road for the QB spot.

A Look At Our 2009 WR's

We got two very good WR's in the 2009 class. There are videos of every recruit at http://www.iuhoosiers.com/ then you click on all-access then signing day.

1) Duwyce Wilson- A 4 star recruit according to scout.com, he is listed at 6'4 190lbs with a 4.44 in the 40-yard dash. He also had offers from Cincy, Iowa, and Wisconsin. He's got good speed and can go up and grab the ball. He has great running after the catch abilities with his long strides. He's more of a gazelle type receiver and just recently won the long jump competition at state. He is getting bigger and has a very bright future at IU. Has the potential to be a first year impact for the hoosiers.

2) Jamonne Chester- Listed at 6'2 193lbs. He played at a very small private school in Michigan (Redford Covenant) He has good size and hands and he uses his frame well to shield defenders. He also does a great job with jump balls and is very elusive after the catch. The biggest knock on him is that he does not have blazing speed. Coach Lynch predicts that he will be one of the bigger receivers playing around 215lbs.

2010 Recruiting Outlook

Generally the summer time is big for IU getting commits. IU's camps started a few days ago and they usually bring a ton of kids in, offer them, then they generally commit before there season starts. This off-season seems to be a little different. The coaching staff has offered a lot more kids scholarships from Florida, Georgia, Ohio, and Michigan. Ohio and Michigan are regular recruiting hubs for us but we usually only take one of two players from the south. I have a feeling that more players are going to wait out and see how IU performs this year before committing. Two of our commits last season ended up de-committing after our season. Completely not living up to expectations probably scared them away. I still think we will sign a bunch of players during the summer but don't be surprised of more players than usual commit during or after the season. We are also looking to sign many more kids this year because we have more graduating seniors this year than we have in the past.

Adding Mizzou to the schedule for 2013/2014

http://www.columbiatribune.com...ture-schedules/

In an effort to beef up our non-conference schedule we have scheduled a home and home with Mizzou for 2013/2014. In case you didn't know we also will be playing South Florida in the near future. I like what we are doing with the scheduling. We have been looked down upon for scheduling so many "cupcakes" every year that it is about time we start scheduling tougher opponents. This is definitely taking the right step forward.

The North End-Zone Project

The north end-zone project is something that I am ecstatic about. Not only will it make the stadium much more visually appealing it will drastically improve the football facilities. The estimated costs for the project are roughly $40 mil. Here are some of the highlights that the new project will include:

· 100,000-square-foot, multi-level and multi-purpose facility
· Stadium enclosure connecting East and West stands
· 24,000-square-foot strength and conditioning center with state-of-the-art equipment
· Indiana Football complex featuring staff offices, position meeting rooms, team room and pedestrian walkway that connects to practice fields
· Hall of Champions, an entertainment space for special events that spotlights and celebrates great achievements in the history of IU Athletics

http://iuhoosiers.cstv.com/photogallery/gallery_index.html?school=ind&sport=&

Top 3 Reasons to get excited for the new facilities:

1. It will make our stadium more visual appealing and a better game day experience

2. Provide a huge "WOW" factor for future recruits that should positively impact the caliber of players that we will be able to bring into the program

3. The new 24,000 sq. ft. weight room will be the largest in the Big Ten and should allow our players to develop better (currently our weight room is under 5,000 square feet and our whole team can't even lift at the same time)

The new weight room should be accessible to the players in the month of July. I have talked to some of the incoming freshman and they seem very excited not only for the new weight room and facilities but to help come in and turn the program around. I feel like the new facilities will allow us to finally compete against most other big ten schools in terms of recruiting. This could prove to be one of the most important things to happen to Indiana football in a very long time. It shows that the school is becoming more dedicated to the football program and I can't wait for kick off on Thursday night under the lights. Get excited!!!

Here is a link for a current streaming web cam. You can see what the stadium looks like at this very moment!!!

http://build.iu.edu/

Here are some pictures of the facilities as of May 18. (I wish I could get larger images)

The Big's Up Front

So much of this year's success is going to depend on the play of our o-line. Last year they performed below expectations and I am hoping this year they can turn it around. I saw some good things this spring and they will bring more experience and size this year. Here's a look at the starting 5.

LT- Rodger Saffold- He has been bit by the injury bug the last couple of seasons. When healthy he is arguably our best offensive lineman. This off-season he improved his bench around 105lbs which has allowed him to get even stronger going into his senior year. He should supply some great protection to Chappell's blind side this upcoming season.

LG- Justin Pagan- last year he played almost every position along the offensive line as a true freshman. He was also mentioned to have increased his bench press this off season around 105lbs. He is a big physical guy who has so much upside. Should be our LG for the rest of his time at IU and I think he is one of our best.

C- Pete Saxon/Will Matte- This position will be up for competition. Saxon brings experience going into his senior season. Matte is a red shirt freshman who is slightly undersized but brings a warrior mentality to the line. He bulked up this off season and should give Saxon a run for his money.

RG- Cody Faulkner- Cody was one of our higher rated offensive lineman coming out of high school. I'm not 100% sure if he will be the starter come first game, the position will also be up to competition. He brings experience to the table.

RT- James Brewer- He only played a year of high school football but he is just a beast. Listed around 6'8 340lbs he is clearly our biggest offensive lineman we have had in a very long time. He made great strides this off season and the coaching staff is confident in his abilities to start at the RT position.

There will be a lot of pressure to perform this season for our o-line. I think with the pistol offense being implemented our o-line will benefit because it allows them to be the aggressor coming off the line of scrimmage instead of dropping back like they did in the spread offense. They should be experienced this year and will no longer be able to use youth as an excuse. A ton of our success will be riding on them this season.