IU defense focuses on stopping Indiana State's Bell

For the second consecutive season, Indiana State will return to Memorial Stadium tonight for its and IU’s first game of the season.

The Hoosiers are 4-0 all time against the Sycamores, but ISU put up a strong fight in Bloomington last season thanks to then-junior running back Shakir Bell’s 223 all-purpose yards.

Bell rushed for 192 yards on 24 carries against the Hoosiers in 2012, including a 54-yard scamper in the first quarter to give the Sycamores an early lead, and he caught four passes for 31 yards.

The senior from Indianapolis’ Warren Central High School is listed at only 5-foot-8 and 185 pounds, but his sub-4.5 second speed for the 40-yard dash makes him elusive out of the backfield.

IU Defensive Coordinator Doug Mallory said ISU’s running game will provide an early test for the Hoosiers’ defense.

“He’s a great back. I don’t care what level he’s playing at,” Mallory said. “He’s not big in stature — he’s hard to get a clean shot on. He’s a very physical back for an undersized kid. Elusive and I think he’s got the speed, like you saw last year.

“If he gets out in the open, he’s capable of taking it the distance.”

In 2012, IU allowed 35.2 points per game, which ranked 104th in the country.

After starting the season 2-0, the Hoosiers lost their next five games. Four of those losses were by a combined 10 points, and IU allowed 936 rushing yards in those games.

Mallory said the Hoosiers put a strong emphasis on defending the run in the offseason.

“Coach Wilson has done a good job servicing us this spring,” he said. “Just giving us a lot of the two-back, one-back run power-type game that we’re going to continue to see throughout the year.

“That’s something that if you’re going to be a good defense, you got to be able to defend the run first, so we put a real strong emphasis on that, whether it’s going against scout work or going against our offense. I think it’s going to carry over to this season.”

Mallory said he has read reports that Mike Sanford, ISU’s first-year head coach, and his staff are working on getting the ball to Bell out in the open more often.

Wilson said Bell is one of the premier players in all of college football, and he could make it to the NFL.

“He looks as good or better than guys we play with and have played with,” Wilson said. “A Big Ten level back, and that’s a credit again previously to all their linemen and what they’ve done in the past.

“Shakir Bell is a tremendous player. He is basically the Heisman Trophy-type player of that division of football.”

Wilson said IU will have better defensive line play this season as well as more depth on defense because of the freshmen that will be “in the mix.”

He said Bell and the Sycamores’ offense will be a good challenge for the Hoosiers’ defense.

“They’ve always been committed to it,” Wilson said. “Their linemen are used to it, so even though it’s a coaching change, that’s an environment that was used to running the football. Running is more attitude and mindset than scheme, and stopping the run is the same deal.

“It’s going to be a great starting point with Indiana State, and whether we can win 3-2 — whatever we can do to get a ‘W,’ we need to get a ‘W.’

“It needs to be a physical style of play to get a ‘W,’ and I expect those guys to come in and play a tremendous game.”

Follow reporter Andy Wittry on Twitter @AndyWittryIDS.