Indiana head football coach Bill Lynch is continuing to prove why he landed a long-term contract after the season the Hoosiers had last year. Since our last update, three more players have verbally commited to come play football at IU in the fall of 2009.
The first commit this week was coveted place kicker Mitch Ewald from Illinois. Ewald has only 2-stars in the Rivals rating system, but according to Chris Sailer he is one of the top kickers in his class. Sailer had this to say about Mitch on his website: "Mitch is a fantastic kicker. He has a nice leg, is fundamentally sound, and can kickoff at the highest level. He is the best pure kicker in this class. No one is better off the ground. Oustanding kicker! Great fit for Indiana!" Maybe a Rivals 2-star, but as kickers go this appears to be a blue-chip pick-up for the Hoosiers.
Next to hop on board with Lynch and Co. was Ohio offensive lineman Pat McShane. McShane is another Rivals 3-star and is ranked 62nd at his position (guard) in the country. He had offers from three MAC schools as well as interest from Purdue and West Virginia.
More big news came today from in-state cornerback Lawrence Barnett of Bishop Luers in Fort Wayne. Barnett was highly sought after by both IU and Big Ten rival Michigan State. He had offers from Wyoming and a host of MAC schools along with interest from Louisville and Illinois. Barnett is already the ninth 3-star recruit that IU has landed this summer. Even bigger in this case may be the fact that top in-state talent is beginning to look closer at the Hoosiers and pledge to be a part of what is being built. Barnett is ranked 16th in the state according to Rivals preseason rankings, making him the fourth player in the state's Top 25 to choose IU.
My hat is off to Coach Bill Lynch and his staff. This is going to be the best class that IU Football has seen in a long, long time. Coach Hep got the ball rolling and they are doing him proud. Amazing what some belief, inspiration, and dedication can do to a struggling program isn't it? :)
|
