It is only mid-July, but for some of us the buzz over IU football is hitting stride early. Fall camp opens in about 3 weeks and last season's starting QB and leader has been reinstated to the team for fall play. Kellen Lewis was suspended prior to spring practice for undisclosed reasons. A flurry of rumors surrounded the suspension, but for the sake of hearsay and Lewis's privacy I won't dare speculate on the official reasons behind it. All I know now is that KL is back and he should be the key to the Hoosier offense this season. Coach Lynch installed a no-huddle offense in the spring under replacement QB Ben Chappell. Lewis will likely have to earn back his starting spot in fall camp by displaying improved timing and accuracy on his passes, but it is hard to imagine the IU offense without him given his ability to scramble and rack up rushing yards. Last season, only two other college quarterbacks threw for over 3,000 yards and ran for over 700 yards: Dan LeFevour of Central Michigan and Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow of Florida.
In other important news, the Hoosier recruiting staff is off to a blistering start in receiving
verbal committments from talented prospects. Already this summer Coach Bill Lynch has received nine verbal committments, and seven of those are rated as 3-star prospects by Rivals.com. Since the start of the Rivals.com rankings, the most 3-star recruits IU has had in a class was seven in 2003, and that was a 25-player class. Arguably the best class in recent years was 2004, when IU had five 3-star players. Included in that class were James Hardy (a 2-star) and Tracy Porter (not rated at all), both of whom were second round pick's in this past spring's NFL draft. Of the verbals received so far, Indiana has picked up some top in-state talent as well as solid players from surrounding states. An early sign of big things was the committment of Edward Wright-Baker, a fast and athletic QB from Jeffersonville, IN. The Hoosiers picked up another athlete in Nick Zachery (Sheridan, IN) and a big WR in Duwyce Wilson (Columbus, IN). All three of these players are 3-star recruits in the Rivals database. IU has also heard from linebackers Jeremy Gainer and Dimitrius Carr, wide receiver Jamonne Chester, defensive tackle Adam Replogle, defensive back Kenneth Watkins, and tight end Ted Bolser. The Hoosiers are still in the mix for several solid players and we could see some of the 3-stars become 4-stars with solid senior seasons this fall. Overall, this is becoming to best recruiting class IU has seen is years, coming off of its first bowl game in over a decade. Be sure to check back for updates, as I will be working to increase the Hoosier content here at Arin It Out to help fill the void left by our friends from The CobraBrigade. The countdown to football season has begun! One month away my friends!!!
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Comments
Primary ball carriers will likely be Marcus Thigpen and Bryan Payton. A healthy Demetrius McCray could contribute as well as Trea Burgess and true frosh/stud prospect Darius Willis out of Franklin Central in Indy.
We're expecting Andrew Means to return from a summer of minor league baseball to play in the fall as the top returning wide receiver. Other WRs of note should likely be: Ray Fisher, Brandon Walker-Roby, Collin Taylor, Terrance Turner, and Matt Ernest. A lot of that should be established during fall camp.
The offensive line is bigger and more athletic than in years past. They get good reps in practice against one of the top D-lines in the Big Ten last year and are constantly gaining valuable experience. Hep's "7 Blocks of Limestone" are developing into the anchors of the team now and could be the foundation of an even stronger offense this year. It should be a very competitive fall camp to see who earns the spots to start on this team. Far deeper than we've seen at every position in a long, long time.
Though the O-Line certainly has every chance to be impressive, I can only reserve judgement on the potency of the offense. Lewis still has to hold onto the ball, after 30 turnovers (fumblllllle), and who makes the big catch catch on third down or in the red zone. My guess is that Lewis's rushing yards will up to nearly 1000 this season.
We all know what it was.
My concern is that with the loss of Hardy and Bailey that Lewis blew a spring that otherwise should have been spent cultivating new relationships with receivers. Who gonna run the ball?