IU senior quarterback Richard Lagow threw 17 interceptions last season.
It was his first season with the team, and he added 19 touchdowns to his stat line while guiding the Hoosiers to a bowl game for the second-straight year, but inconsistencies plagued him.
Bad outings followed the good ones, like when Lagow threw five interceptions against Wake Forest just two weeks after posting a three-touchdown, no-interception performance against Ball State.
But Lagow, his coaches and even those outside the program have expressed confidence that the Texas native will have an improved senior season, which will begin next Thursday night against No. 2 Ohio State.
Kirk Herbstreit, an ESPN college football analyst and former Ohio State quarterback, became familiar with Lagow this spring in San Diego. Both were spending time with well-known quarterback coach George Whitfield Jr.
Herbstreit said adjusting to the offensive system, used by then-IU Coach Kevin Wilson, likely had to do with Lagow’s rocky season, but Herbstreit said he now sees a different person in Lagow.
“I think his head was spinning a little bit,” Herbstreit said in an ESPN teleconference Wednesday. “He seems much more confident in not only his ability to make throws, but I think also more confident in knowing maybe the personnel, their strengths and their weaknesses.”
When "College GameDay" broadcasts from the south end zone of Memorial Stadium on Aug. 31, Herbstreit will be on the set as he is for every Saturday edition of the show. He’ll then call the game, his first of the new season, where he’ll be closely watching Lagow.
Herbstreit said he was particularly struck by Lagow’s belief in IU’s program and confident that this year’s Hoosiers will surprise people.
“Loves his teammates, just loves being a part of that program, and I think it’s a great story,” Herbstreit said.
Earlier this month, Lagow talked about meeting Herbstreit and said it didn’t shock him that enthusiasm for the current state of IU football was Herbstreit’s biggest takeaway from their encounters.
Lagow said the two attended a World Baseball Classic game in San Diego together, and the conversation eventually turned to new IU Coach Tom Allen and the prospects for his first full season in charge.
“I get excited when I talk about the direction of this program, when I talk about Coach Allen’s leadership,” Lagow said.
Excitement seems to surround both men as they prepare for the 2017 college football season. Herbstreit, for his part, said he was “fired up” to come to Bloomington for a big-time conference matchup to begin the year.
According to the broadcaster, Lagow is equally eager for the game against the Buckeyes, and the chance to take down Herbstreit’s former school. Next Thursday, Lagow will get his first chance to validate Herbstreit’s faith in him and show that he has matured as both a player and leader. The game can’t come soon enough for the senior captain.
“That was probably the lasting impression that I had, was that he couldn’t wait for Aug. 31,” Herbstreit said.
