New year brings personnel shake-ups to football team

IU wasn’t one of the 10 Big Ten teams in a bowl game, but the past few weeks haven’t been boring for the football program.

Five players committed to IU since Dec. 11, all of whom will line up on the defensive side of the ball when the 2012 season starts. Four are from junior colleges, and one, defensive tackle Ralphael Green, is from Sam Houston High School in San
Antonio, Texas.

As players committed to the Hoosiers, however, a pair of coaches left the program. Co-Offensive Coordinator Rod Smith accepted a job in Arizona’s coaching staff alongside Arizona Coach Rich Rodriguez, with whom Smith coached at West Virginia and Michigan.

On Monday, Defensive Ends Coach Brett Diersen resigned his position and accepted a job at Florida Atlantic University. Although defensive end recruit Nick Mangieri said Diersen was important to his commitment to IU, he is keeping his commitment and believes the team will recover well from the loss.

“He was the guy that recruited me,” Mangieri said. “He’s a great guy, and I always enjoyed talking with him and everything, but he was not the sole reason I chose the school. I wish him the best at Florida Atlantic.”

Just a day after Diersen left, IU Coach Kevin Wilson announced former Arizona Offensive Coordinator Seth Littrell would take Smith’s place.

Wilson made Littrell the sole offensive coordinator after Littrell’s offense in Arizona averaged 30.8 points in 2011 and set school records in completions (398) and completion percentage (.690). This past season, IU completed 211 passes out of 378 for a completion percentage of .558.

Though he will be the sole offensive coordinator, Littrell said the entire coaching staff will have a great effect on the offense.

“The biggest thing about anything is you work as a staff,” Littrell said. “You come in and talk as a staff and work as a staff, and everybody has input on every game plan, so it’s not like I come in here and do everything on my own.”