2010 Commit's this past weekend

Here is a look at the top 5 performing commits this past weekend and how they fared.

1. Kofi Hughes (Indianapolis, IN Cathedral)- Another huge weekend for Kofi. He was 5-of-12 passing (42%) for 168 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed 21 times for 157 yards (7.5 yards a carry) and three touchdowns. Cathedral is the number one ranked team in class 4A in Indiana.

2. Matt Perez (Park Ridge, IL Maine South)- Perez carried the ball five times for 144 yards (28.8 yards a carry) and three touchdowns. He had two receptions for 25 yards. On defense he made two tackles.

3. Antonio Banks (Middleton, OH Middleton HS)- Banks finished with 189 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 15 carries (12.6 yards per carry). He also recorded one tackle.

4. Logan Young (Muncie, IN Delta)- Young had a huge game as he hauled in seven catches for 208 yards and a touchdown. Delta is the 6th ranked team in class 4A in Indiana.

5. Tim O'Connor (Cincinnati, OH Delta)- O'Conner finished with 173 yards receiving on eight receptions with one touchdown. Elder came into the game as the 4th ranked team in the nation according to the USA Today, and the number one ranked team in the Ohio Division I coaches' poll

Darius Willis 85 yd TD run

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZ0VNs6bHMg

IU Football Pro Potential 2010

Having players in the NFL can have a huge boost to college football programs for many reasons. First off it helps in recruiting. For instance, Lawrence Barnett was quoted to the fact that Tracy Porter going to the NFL helped him in his decision to come to IU. Another reason is that when players go off and make NFL money sometimes they tend to donate some back to their Alma Mater. For instance, Trent Green donated $250,000 to pay for IU's new locker room many years ago. So having more players go to the NFL can only help a college program. Although it is still early here is who I think could get drafted or end up on an NFL roster next year.

1. Jammie Kirlew- Only Aaron Maybin had more sacks than Jammie Kirlew in the big ten last year and he was a first round pick. With a similar year to last year Jammie could definitely be a middle round NFL pick.

2. Greg Middleton- so much hype surrounded him after his 16 sack out break two years ago. He took a step back last year but looks to be rebounding this year. Not only is he getting to the QB but he is also having more success with getting tackles for loss and defending the run. If he continues to play the way he is playing so far he could very much end up getting picked in the NFL draft next year.

3. Matt Mayberry- Mayberry showed a lot of promise last year. He registered 4 sacks against Central Michigan which really put him on the map. He has gained a ton of weight since coming to IU and has a great deal of speed. Last year he was inconsistent with his tackling but this year he has consistently led the team in tackles. Yesterday's game he registered ten more.

I think that depending on how some players senior seasons play out there could be 4 more players that have the potential to go to the NFL.

4. Rodger Saffold- He is probably our only offensive player who has a chance at being drafted next year. He has a ton of playing experience and gotten stronger this year by improving his bench roughly 105 pounds this off-season.

5. Austin Thomas- when he is healthy he is known to be a pretty big hitter. His two interceptions against Akron will help his stats as well. A good rest of the year could give him the opportunity to play on Sunday's.

6. Nick Polk- Polk was hitting hard against Michigan and played like a man on a mission. Depending on the outcome of this season Polk could have a chance to play on Sunday's.

7. Will Patterson- Like Saffold, Patterson also has a ton of playing experience. A pretty quiet guy off the field he is pretty tenacious on the field. He has played solid so far this year and I also think he could have an opportunity to get on an NFL roster if he plays very well for the rest of the year.

I know it is still early in the year to predict but getting players into the NFL is important to a college football program. I think Kirlew, Middleton, and Mayberry have the best opportunity to get drafted but also think that depending on how Saffold, Thomas, Polk, and Patterson play they could also have an opportunity to play as well. Polk and Thomas missed most of last year so they didn't really have the opportunity to play to their potential.

I know this could be pretty optimistic but that's just me. What do you guys think so far? Agree or disagree? Feel free to open this up for a discussion.

A Further Look

Here are some notable points on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball.

Offense- IU out rushed Michigan 197-149 and had a 6.0 yards per rush vs. Michigan's 3.0 yards per rush. IU also had more yards through the air edging Michigan 270-223. Overall on offense IU out gained Michigan 467-372 total yards. Darius Willis really emerged as the feature back in my opinion rushing for 152 yards on 16 carries and 2 TD's which made his per rush average 9.5 yards. Willis displayed his toughness and break away speed as he ran up the left seam 85 yards for a touchdown in a crucial part of the game.

The wide receiver were all solid in the game. Tandon led the group with 5 catches for 104 yards. Terrence Turner displayed his toughness on a few of his catches as he dragged multiple defenders with him to get a few extra yards. He finished with 5 catches for 48 yards. Max Dedmond had 4 catches for 35 yards with a few of his catches coming in some crucial points. In a key 4th and 2 Chappell rolled out and found Dedmond in the flat to get the first down. I'm happy to see our TE's used more in the offense. Dedmond is way too athletic not to be utilized. Even Darius Willis caught a few passes out of the back field.

Chappell had a nice game throwing for 270 yards. Chappell looked very poised in the pocket and was never rattled throughout the game. He made smart throws and threw to the open receivers. He showed his arm strength hitting Tandon Doss down the left sideline for a 56 yard game.

The O-line played very well again this week. Chappell was sacked for just the 2nd time this whole season. They did a good job creating some holes for our backs throughout the game. On Darius Willis' long run Will Matte showed his ability to pull and get out in front.

The hoosiers had to settle for 4 field goals and just 1 TD in the redzone which came back to haunt us. Hopefully we can convert more in the redzone in the next coming weeks.

Defense- Matt Mayberry led the way with 10 tackles for the hoosiers. Greg Middleton recorded both of our sacks but we had many players register some TFL's. Matt Mayberry, Nick Polk, Jammie Kirlew, Greg Middleton, and Larry Black Jr. all recorded at least 1 tackle for loss. The defensive line was able to generate consistent pressure on the QB throughout the game. Jammie Kirlew also had a forced fumble. Tyler Replogle made some nice plays as well to stop the run. Nick Polk came to hit after on three separate occasions giving big blows to the wide receivers. He was also sporting the phrase "go time" on his eye black which was pretty sweet. The first two drives Michigan had for long TD's we took some bad angles on the play which led to the long TD's. After those drives they really kept Michigan in check on the big plays.

Initial Post Game Reaction

That was a really tough one to swallow. The interception call down the stretch doesn't go our way but there is nothing we can do about it now. Overall here are some generally thoughts:
1. The hoosiers played very well. Every time Forcier dropped back the hoosiers applied constant pressure on him throughout the entire game. Outside of the first couple of Michigan drives the Hoosiers did a great job containing the QB, getting pressure on him, and stopping the run.
2. Darius Willis is going to be a very good running back. Making that huge run for a TD on the road in front of 108,000 people was pretty big time. He started out as the number 1 back and played a good game throughout.
3. Chappell played very well as well. He remained poised in the pocket the whole game and made good throws. I like the call on 4th and 2 with the throw to Dedmond. He made smart passes and never threw balls into tight coverage for the most part. We need to convert more in the red zone instead of having 1 TD and 4 field goals.
4. It was nice to see Bill Lynch showing some emotion. Usually when things go bad he just sits back and takes it. Not this game. He was fired up for most of the game and it was nice to see him really fighting for our team.
5. It was also nice to see the play book open up a lot. Mitch Evans played very well in the wildcat and we did different things than him just running up the right or left seam. The triple option to Doss for the score was a very good play. The play where the line set up on the left side and Chappell and the center lined up on the right was a nice thing to see. It was good to see us change it up the play call and get creative.
I will post more tomorrow with more stats and position analysis. Photo complements of the IDS.
What are your thoughts on how we played?

Darius Johnson ruled out vs. Michigan

Unfortunately DE Darius Johnson has been ruled out from tomorrow's game against Michigan with a shoulder injury. Being from the state of Michigan this was one of his limited opportunities to play in front of more family and friends. In his spot, Deonte Mack will be the 3rd DE behind Middleton and Kirlew. Health wise we should be ok. The only other players ruled out are Kyle Kozak, Fred Jones, and Alex Perry.

3 things I want to see against Michigan

This post is hopefully going to be humorous so i'm going to give it a try. 3 things I want to see against Michigan.

1. Every game Michigan always runs out and touches the banner. I would really like to see one of the Michigan players jump up and touch it then fall and completely embarrass himself. It always seems to happen a few times a year. This year in their opening game it was a freshman linebacker who fell into the trap. All this adrenaline running through his system so he can get up and touch the banner only to fall awkwardly on his ankle and fall on his back in front of 110,000 people.

2. After a first down sometime during the game I wouldn't mind seeing Bill Lynch swing his arms up and down doing the IU first down dance that it found all over the stadium at Memorial Stadium.

3. After an IU touchdown I would like to see the wolverine faithfuls reaction to a Lambeau Leap. Every once and a while an NFL player will do it in an opposing stadium and I would like to see the reception IU would get after jumping into the stands to celebrate a TD.