Column: Arrivals outweigh departures

IU football coach Kevin Wilson tried to write it off with a joke.

“They are leaving IU with a perfect record,” he said before the assembled media for National Signing Day. “When has that ever happened before?”

On the same day Wilson and his staff introduced 21 new players to the IU program, Wilson announced that two more coaches had decided to leave the program.

Jerry Montgomery, defensive line coach for three weeks, is gone. Corey Raymond, cornerbacks coach for about a month, is gone.

That makes three guys — if you include Brent Pease — who have accepted IU jobs, then pursued opportunities elsewhere.

I was the first to commend Wilson for putting together a solid staff several weeks ago, and I still think this group can be good. After all, Montgomery wasn’t the first choice of co-defensive coordinators Doug Mallory and Mike Ekeler, and Raymond wasn’t
Wilson’s first choice.

But it is still a little worrisome. Think about the players, who were trying to move on after Bill Lynch was fired and were getting used to a new position coach. How do you think they feel right now?

I’m not saying this is going to hurt the Hoosiers in the long run because I don’t believe it will. I’m not even saying I blame Wilson for letting the coaches go.

It is troubling, however, that these guys said they wanted to help rebuild the IU football program and then bolted for bigger, better programs before beginning to help get that done. (Montgomery is going to Michigan, Raymond to Nebraska).

What if recruits — the same kids IU signed today — decide they don’t want to be part of the rebuilding project either?

“When you run with the big dogs, things like that happen,” IU Athletics Director Fred Glass said. “When you’re pursuing high-quality guys, you may have potential for a little more turnover than if you had guys that nobody wants.”

He paused for a moment and continued.

“I don’t think we’ve missed a beat. I’m still thrilled with the staff Kevin has assembled.”

As for the actual recruiting part of Recruiting Day, I thought Wilson and his staff did a good enough job in a short period of time.

The Hoosiers managed to keep the majority of the recruits Lynch had gathered and they picked up a few solid players late in the process.

I think wide receiver Shane Wynn — who had offers from Ohio State and USC, amongst others — will be an impact player in Wilson’s offense.

“That shows Kevin can recruit with the big boys,” Glass said.

In a couple years, Wynn, along with commit Cody Latimer, could replace what Tandon Doss brought to the team.

“(Wynn) brought something we needed,” Wilson said. “He’s a big-time playmaker, a little quick guy. He’s a guy we could use out of the slot to give us some juice.”

IU’s new class isn’t great and it isn’t bad. The important thing is it’s good enough.
Wilson understands how to develop talent — especially offensive talent — and he has proven through the years that three-star recruits can be stars at the collegiate level (Sam Bradford, anyone?).

Even though he’s lost a few guys from his coaching staff, I continue to like Wilson more and more each time I hear him speak — especially when he talks about his philosophies.

“Every freshman plays until he shows he can’t.”

It’s comments like that one that make me believe Wilson is going to be a successful head coach.