Coffman, Sudfeld battle to start

What fans saw from IU’s quarterbacks last Saturday against Northwestern was no one-time event.

Toward the end of the first half of the Hoosiers’ game in Evanston, Ill., with the team trailing 20-0, IU Coach Kevin Wilson removed starting quarterback Cameron Coffman in favor of freshman Nate Sudfeld.

The next drive, Coffman returned to the field. Following that, Sudfeld replaced him again and finished the game as the Hoosiers’ quarterback.

Despite Wilson saying at the start of preseason camp that IU will only use one quarterback, a pattern for the Hoosiers at the position has emerged.

“They’re close enough in skill level where it’s not a competition,” Wilson said. “It’s rather just, ‘let’s see who plays well, who communicates well and who gets us going.’”

Heading into the season, sophomore quarterback Tre Roberson was going to be the starter, with Coffman, a sophomore junior college transfer, backing him up. Sudfeld was not supposed to find the field this season, as Wilson intended to redshirt him his freshman year.

Through the first game and a quarter, it went according to plan. Then in the second quarter of IU’s game against Massachusetts, Roberson landed awkwardly while being tackled and broke his leg.

From that point, Sudfeld and Coffman were thrown into the ring to compete for playing time.

“We certainly didn’t go into it thinking we were going to lose Tre for the year,” said Kevin Johns, IU assistant offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. “You never know what to expect, and as a coach, you have to prepare for anything.”

During the next two games, Coffman started instead of Sudfeld, but the freshman played in all two.

The IU coaching staff has made it clear it will not hesitate to remove a quarterback when momentum goes awry. The players said they do not have a problem with that.

“It helps a lot because you never get complacent,” Sudfeld said. “You always are going in each week thinking you have to play your best today to help the team get better, and we both take that very seriously.”

Against Ball State, when Coffman left due to a hip pointer, Sudfeld gave the Hoosiers an offensive spark, leading them to a fourth-quarter comeback in which they scored two touchdowns in less than four minutes.

Against Northwestern, during the first drive of the second half, Coffman led the Hoosiers to a touchdown. When Sudfeld was put back into the game, IU came back to a one-score deficit in the fourth quarter.

All the while, the two quarterbacks have stayed supportive of one another. While trying to earn their stripes on the field, both players have said they adopted their coaches’ beliefs that team success is more important than selfishness.

“I obviously didn’t think I played very well,” Coffman said. “I couldn’t get the offense going like I had planned. Nate came in, and I thought he did pretty well, but just like everybody, we both have to keep getting better every day in practice and push each other to be our best.”

Moving forward, or until one quarterback sets himself apart from the other, Johns said it appears both will continue to get significant playing time over the Big Ten season.

“I think we’ll take it game by game,” Johns said. “Certainly in the Big Ten, there’s a chance we’ll continue to be switching between them. We’re going to need them both down the line.”