Quarterbacks Kiel, Wright-Baker play late at Ohio State

Senior quarterback Ben Chappell left Saturday’s game at Ohio State frustrated.

IU’s starting quarterback failed to lead the Hoosiers to a scoring drive while in the game and was replaced in the fourth quarter after the Buckeyes’ took a 38-3 lead.

Chappell’s departure meant that redshirt freshmen quarterbacks Dusty Kiel and Edward Wright-Baker would get a chance to play on the biggest stage of their young careers.

Previously, Kiel’s only action of the 2010 season came in the third quarter of a 51-17 win against Towson in the season opener. He completed one of five passes for 21 yards.

Playing in front of a scattered home crowd against Towson was different than playing the then-No. 2 team in the country in front of 105,000 fans.

With IU down 38-3 in the fourth quarter, Kiel understood that playing in a place such as Ohio Stadium was a moment he made sure to appreciate.

“I was just trying to have fun,” Kiel said. “We were already trying to battle back from a big lead, so in my mind-set we just had to keep getting first downs.”

With the first-game jitters out of the way, Kiel went to work.

He got his first third-down conversion as a Hoosier on a 7-yard pass to true freshman Kofi Hughes.

With the Hoosiers close to the Buckeyes’ red zone, Kiel connected with freshman tight end Ted Bolser on a 21-yard pass across the middle.

It appeared Bolser would have room to get into the end zone — giving Kiel his first career touchdown pass — but Bolser was tackled at the two-yard line.

Being able to come up with such a big-time throw was something that Kiel had not done since his days at Columbus East High School in Columbus, Ind.

“It felt really good,” Kiel said. “That pass gave me a lot of confidence going forward.”

Still eager for his first touchdown as a Hoosier, Kiel ran a read play on second down to true freshman tailback Antonio Banks. Kiel tried pulling the ball for the quarterback keeper on the goal line, but Banks kept it for the score as both went into the end zone still holding onto the ball.

“(Banks) had different ideas of who was going to take it, so he wasn’t giving it up,” Kiel said. “We scored, so that’s all that matters.”

While Kiel only played one drive, he said he believes it was a different performance than the Towson game.

“I felt like I learned from the first time I went out there, and I just relaxed,” Kiel said.

Getting in sync with the IU offense will be crucial for Kiel in future seasons. With Chappell in his last year as the signal caller, Kiel will be a leading candidate to fill his shoes.

Someone who could prevent Kiel from stepping into that role is Wright-Baker. The redshirt freshman also got his second appearance of the year last Saturday but did not have as much success as Kiel.

Wright-Baker completed one of five pass attempts for seven yards and threw an interception on a heave to the end zone with two seconds remaining.

He received a rude awakening on a hit from an Ohio State linebacker when he was tackled on a play. Getting popped like that is just Big Ten initiation, according to Wright-Baker.

“It was something I really needed to get use to the Big Ten,” Wright-Baker said. “I was
seeing stars out there, but it felt pretty good.”

But Wright-Baker also showed improvement, looking more natural in the pocket against the Ohio State pass rush while showing off some of his mobility.

Neither quarterback has been crowned the favorite to take over in the post-Chappell era.

For now, all the IU coaching staff can do is evaluate Kiel and Wright-Baker on a game-to-game basis.

“I thought they both showed good poise in a tough place to play,” offensive coordinator Matt Canada said. “They are both going to be very good when their time comes.”