Senior quarterback Nate Sudfeld dressed and participated in warmups, and sophomore Zander Diamont had played against No. 1 Ohio State the week before, after Sudfeld suffered a foot injury during the near-upset.
The IU fans did not get their answer until the offense walked onto the field with Diamont in the huddle.
But when Diamont went down with a shoulder injury in the third quarter Saturday, redshirt freshman Danny Cameron, son of former IU Coach Cam Cameron, was put in.
“Just the way he’s born and the way he’s made, not just that he’s a coach’s kid, he’s reasonably calm,” IU Coach Kevin Wilson said. “Just his personality, he’s not over hyped up.”
After coming into the game Saturday, Cameron went 6-for-16, throwing for 65 yards and one interception.
With the play of Diamont and Cameron, as well as the possibility of junior quarterback Nate Boudreau coming off the bench, the quarterback situation becomes interesting if Sudfeld cannot play Saturday against Rutgers.
“If (Danny’s) a little bit off or not playing well, we need to play Nate (Boudreau),” Wilson said. “Nate was a guy we played last year. Put him in the Michigan game until he actually had a shoulder injury. He’s a fourth-year kid. So we need both those guys. We’ll see how Zander moves along, but we’ll push hard. We don’t need Sudfeld to play this game because we’ve lost. We need him to play because he’s capable of playing and can help us win.”
While Sudfeld is an high-caliber pocket passer who worked with the Manning Academy in the offseason, Diamont is a scrambling quarterback who can escape the pocket and led the Hoosiers to a 1-5 record in 2014.
IU offensive coordinator Kevin Johns said Sudfeld and Cameron have more similarities than differences in the way they play the position.
“(Cameron) is less of a runner than Diamont is,” Johns said. “He’s a very smart football player. He prepares every single week, mentally, to go. We talk in our quarterback room about the backup quarterback, or even the third-string quarterback, being the toughest jobs on the team because you have to prepare every week like you’re going to play.”
Junior receiver Ricky Jones has recorded 26 receptions for 505 yards, including 18 passes from Sudfeld, five from Diamont and two from Cameron this season. He said Cameron was in high spirits Saturday in the huddle and ran the team with confidence.
“We have faith in him,” Jones said. “We know how he can throw the ball, and he didn’t act too much like a freshman out there. We had a few miscues but played well overall.”
Jones also said Cameron has a strong arm and is able to get air under his deep passes, allowing his receivers to get under the ball and make plays.
On multiple accounts in the Penn State game Saturday, Cameron overthrew the ball to Jones. The freshman’s longest completion, a 20-yard pass over the middle to sophomore tight end Jordan Fuchs, threaded the Penn State linebacker coverage.
“Danny’s definitely a strong quarterback,” Jones said. “He’s got a great arm, and he can definitely sit in that pocket, take shots and throw the ball down the field.”
If Sudfeld can’t play Saturday versus Rutgers, the Hoosiers need a quarterback to take charge, a responsibility that falls on the shoulders of Cameron and Boudreau.
“This is Big Ten East football, and it’s not gonna get any easier,” Johns said, “That’s the way it’s going to be. Defenses are doing a good job of stuffing the box and stopping the run, so we need to make some plays on the perimeter and move the ball down the field.”
Wilson said injuries are just a part of the game in college football, so replacing players like Sudfeld and junior running back Jordan Howard is no excuse for losing games.
“It’s a little bit of a challenge,” Johns said about the injuries. “If it’s Diamont at quarterback, or if it’s Sudfeld or Danny Cameron, we kind of feel our offense is multiple enough that we can adjust and put guys in right places. Injuries happen, so we have to prepare and be ready for it.”
