CHOOSING COLORS

Spring is here. The air is warming, the snow has melted and the flowers are beginning to bloom. Tonight there will also be the familiar sounds of cracks from baseball bats and -- football helmets? The IU spring football season is about to come to fruition in the annual Cream and Crimson game tonight. \nOptimism is high heading into the game, as both the offensive and defensive units have strengthened since last season. \nIU's offensive line comes back with a full roster of returning players headlined by junior guard Adam Hines, junior tackle Isaac Sowells and sophomore tackle Justin Frye. The trio had the most action on the Hoosier team as they took 969, 967 and 821 snaps, respectively. \nHines brings serious experience to the Hoosier roster and has started in nearly every game of his two-season career -- dating back to the second game of his freshman season. \nThe Hoosier line will work to protect IU's ample backfield, which sports five quarterbacks, five running backs and four wide receivers. \nSenior Matt LoVecchio headlines the playcallers, leading the Hoosiers with 1,778 passing yards during the 2003 season. Sophomore Graeme McFarland will also return after being thrust into the starting role against Minnesota, where he completed 12-of-30 passes for 152 yards.\nIU's large backfield is bolstered by two players coming off season-ending injuries. Junior running back Yamar Washington is coming back from a torn anterior cruciate ligament, while freshman Kenni Burns rejoins the roster after breaking his arm last season. \nWhile Washington made a full recovery from his injury, he said he is not yet at the level he was before he tore his ACL one day prior to last season's spring football game. \n"I'm not quite (at the same level). I think after the summer, I'll be really good," Washington said. "I still have balance and explosion to work on right now."\nOverall, IU offensive coordinator Steve Addazio is pleased with where the offensive unit currently stands.\n"We're happy from the standpoint we have a great group of kids working hard everyday. That makes you happy," Addazio said. "The spring is about having a mountain of work and pecking away all spring long, and that is what we are doing right now."\nAs for established IU running backs, sophomore Benjarvus Green-Ellis has seen some improvement over his freshman season, when he ran for 938 total yards.\n"It's a little different (between freshman and sophomore years). I'm young enough to learn new things every day," Green-Ellis said. "I knew that I needed to get bigger, faster and stronger to get ready for the season. I can tell from lifting weights that I have more explosion and can break more tackles."\nThe Hoosiers have some weapons on the defensive side of the ball, as well. IU's defensive unit is led by fifth-year senior Jodie Clemons, a 2003 All-Big Ten honorable mention who compiled 33 tackles and six sacks. \nIU also has become stronger in the linebacker position, with five players competing for the position as opposed to perennially smaller numbers in past seasons.\nHoosier defensive coordinator Joe Cullen said he is pleased with the leadership role some of the players have taken since spring practice began.\n"We are older and more mature, and we have more leadership," Cullen said. "Up front, Jodie Clemons has been a guy you can count on from day one. Kenny Kendal is really having a good spring. He has matured and is making some great plays. We have some linebackers that are playing well, too."\nThere is one concern for IU coach Gerry DiNardo coming into Friday's scrimmage: good situations. DiNardo said both the offensive and defensive teams have not done well in optimal conditions.\n"We still need to work on situations that favor us," DiNardo said. "On third-and-long, we need to get off the field on defense. On third-and-short, we need to convert if we're on offense. In the red zone, we need to come away with points. If I had one criticism, it is that we are still not playing well in situations that favor us."\n-- Contact senior writer Dan Patrick at djpatric@indiana.edu.