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Thursday, March 28
The Indiana Daily Student

sports football

Perry centers the trenches of the new-look offense

Sophomore Alex Perry prepares to snap the ball to quarterback sophomore Ben Chappell during preseason practice. Perry will be the  center in this year’s new no-huddle offense.

No matter how imperfect or seemingly impervious a football team can be, there will always be questions heading into the team’s season opener whose answers will dictate success.

For the IU football team, much has been made of the turnover in the secondary, the lack of size at wide receiver and whether or not the offensive line will be able to handle the new no-huddle scheme.

After losing to the NFL, cornerbacks Tracy Porter and Leslie Majors, and the top receiver in Indiana football history in James Hardy, coach Bill Lynch hopes additions like sophomore transfer Jerimy Finch in the secondary, freshmen wide receiver Damarlo Belcher and tight end Max Dedmond can help sure-up any holes left from last season.

Lynch might have answers for critics of his offensive line as well, and they most likely involve sophomore center Alex Perry.

Perry played in only four games last season as a redshirt freshman, but has been getting all of the starter’s reps this preseason.

“It’s been three years and a lot of hard work, and (an opportunity to start) is coming up so I’m really excited about it,” Perry said.

The hard work has not gone unnoticed by Lynch.

“He came in off of an ACL surgery that he had, so that always slows you down a little bit that first year,” Lynch said of the 6-foot-7, 300-pounder. “But he has worked extremely hard. He is a great weight room guy, very smart and has developed some confidence.”

Intelligence will be key on the offensive line with the team’s transition to the no-huddle.
As it implies, the offense will rarely group into the traditional pre-snap circle. Instead, Perry and the rest of the line will immediately get in their stances for the next play as junior quarterback Kellen Lewis calls out the new play and makes any audibles.

The no-huddle tends to wear out a defense, not allowing it to make many substitutions in a drive. But at the same time, it requires every member of the offensive line to work well with one another and quickly, something Lynch feels Perry excels with.

“He mixes very well with the rest of those guys and I think that’s the thing I like,” Lynch said. “The line has really developed a great chemistry because for the most part they came in to school together.”

The linemen Lynch referred to are Perry, who redshirted his freshman year along with Cody Faulkner and Mike Stark. Those three came to IU at the same time as juniors Pete Saxon and Rodger Saffold.

“When you take Saffold, Saxon, Perry, Faulkner and Stark, they’re a close knit group and have developed that chemistry – or whatever that word is – that with an offensive line, that’s really important to have,” Lynch said. “I like the way they practice, I like the way they communicate. When they make a mistake, they talk about it. They understand they’ve all got to work together and the communication is so important.”

Perry, the line and the rest of the Hoosier football team kick off their season against Western Kentucky at noon Saturday at Memorial Stadium.

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