Chappell, Belcher, Doss break out for IU

From the stands at Memorial Stadium earlier this season, sophomore quarterback Ben Chappell might not have appeared to be the leader the IU football team needed.

But in the huddle, in the locker room and on the turf at the Rock on Saturday, Chappell blossomed before fans’ eyes.

Forced into the starting role after Kellen Lewis suffered an ankle injury against Iowa two weeks ago, Chappell struggled in his first start at Illinois.

In a 55-13 thrashing at the hands of the Fighting Illini, the sophomore was sacked four times, had no touchdowns and completed only 12 of 29 pass attempts.

But in the Hoosiers’ 21-19 victory against Northwestern this past weekend, Chappell embraced newfound his leadership role, which wasn’t unexpected from his teammates.

“I can always see it,” said sophomore wideout Mitchell Evans. “In the huddle he’s always really vocal.”

What was unexpected, however, was Chappell’s speech to his offensive unit before it took the field Saturday.

“Ben came up to us and let us know that he trusted each and every one of us,” Evans said. “You have to respect the man more and want to play for him more.”
“He just got us ready to play.”

IU coach Bill Lynch said he didn’t know his quarterback was going to make the address.

“I wish I was there, I would have taken notes and used them myself sometime,” Lynch said in his post-game press conference.

Once on the field, Chappell began leading by example.

The Bloomington native completed 21-of-34 passes for 219 yards and a touchdown, while also punching in a score on the ground.

“I just think that Ben is taking on leadership,” Lynch said. “He played last week, and he knew that it was unlikely that Kellen was going to be able to play, and he knew that was his role and he stepped up and did it. I thought he played very, very well.”

In his 21 completions, Chappell spread the ball to six different targets, including a combined 14 to freshmen Tandon Doss and Damarlo Belcher.

“He is able to lead the team, control the clock, work the best option possible,” Evans said.

When the question was asked shortly after the game, Lynch dodged the notion of a possible quarterback position battle when Lewis returns to action.

“We have two good quarterbacks,” Lynch said.

Freshman wide outs rack up yards, scores

Freshmen wide receivers Tandon Doss and Damarlo Belcher combined for 14 catches, 189 yards and two touchdowns against Northwestern, as they emerged as legitimate
weapons in the Hoosiers’ offense.

Belcher had the tandem’s first touchdown reception, a 43-yard bomb down the middle of the field from IU quarterback Ben Chappell, on IU’s second drive.

“We worked on this play all week,” Belcher said of the play-action pass that led to his score. “Coach said it never failed when we executed it right, and we got the touchdown.”

Doss’ touchdown grab put the Hoosiers up for good. It came on a reverse to Mitchell Evans, who threw a 28-yard pass to Doss.

The score was the first of Doss’ young career, as he has been sidelined by various setbacks, playing in only half of IU’s eight games. Doss said he felt this game was his coming out party.

“I really haven’t been doing anything,” Doss said. “I’ve made a few catches here and there, but basically been sitting out the entire season.

“I thought this would come a lot sooner, but injuries and setbacks kept me out.”