Sudfeld is out. True freshman Chris Covington is in.
Just 14 months ago, before the 2013 season began, the Hoosiers had three options at quarterback who had all started for IU.
Then Cam Coffman transferred to Wyoming in January. Tre Roberson transferred to Illinois State in June, leaving Sudfeld as the ?unquestionable starter.
Now Sudfeld will miss the rest of the season after having surgery to repair his left, non-throwing shoulder separation.
With No. 8 Michigan State coming to Bloomington Saturday for a 3:30 p.m. Homecoming matchup, it’s Covington’s team.
His first test will be to navigate the IU offense against a Michigan State team ranked fourth in the Big Ten in total defense.
“It’s going to be a tough challenge, no matter if you had Peyton Manning sitting back there,” IU Coach Kevin Wilson said. “This is a good defense you’re playing ?this week.”
Covington was a late addition to the 2014 IU recruiting class. He was brought in at safety and eventually moved to linebacker.
He was moved to quarterback during IU’s preseason camp after his arm strength quickly caught the attention of the IU coaching staff.
IU offensive coordinator Kevin Johns said from the early plays of training camp, it was obvious to him that he would be a quarterback.
“The first time we saw him throw,” Johns said when asked when Convington stood out. “He has the strongest arm on this team, stronger than Nate Sudfeld’s.”
Though Johns and Wilson agree Covington’s arm strength is stronger than Sudfeld’s, the two quarterbacks have distinctly different ?playing styles.
While Sudfeld is more of a pro-style quarterback, Covington is a dual-threat option, much in the same way that former Hoosier ?Roberson was.
The 6-foot-2, 214-pound Chicago native passed for 1,993 yards and 26 ?touchdowns as a senior at Al Raby High School. On the ground, Covington ran for 657 yards and 13 more scores.
Wilson said he’s open to playing fellow true freshman Zander Diamont and redshirt sophomore Nate Boudreau. Wilson admitted there will be a few growing pains with Covington, but for the time being, it will be his job to lose.
“He’s a young guy,” Wilson said. “He’s going to make some young guy ?mistakes.”
Covington played nearly three quarters in IU’s loss to Iowa.
On his first play, he handed the ball off to junior running back Tevin Coleman, who ran 45 yards for a ?touchdown.
Covington had mixed results after that.
He completed just 3-of-12 passes for 31 yards and ran the ball 11 times for 41 yards after coming in ?unexpectedly.
IU junior offensive lineman Ralston Evans applauded Covington’s work ethic and said Covington immediately took control of the offense when Sudfeld exited the game.
“When he comes in the huddle, he demands the huddle,” Evans said. “He comes in and says, ‘Hey, I’m in. This is my turn. It’s my time to go.’”
“When he came into Iowa, he was confident. You didn’t hear none of the jitters, or he didn’t act like he didn’t know what he was doing. He came in confident.”
IU will be running a more read-option-based offense with Covington in place of Sudfeld.
Evans said the adjustment won’t be that difficult because of the amount of times the team practices with Covington in.
The Hoosiers mostly ran the ball with Covington against Iowa, but Wilson said he’s confident in Covington’s arm strength that he “throws the ball a lot better than most people think.”
Wilson said the Hoosiers won’t be able to simply give the ball to Coleman and let him run.
Michigan State is fifth in the nation in rushing defense, limiting opponents to just 83 yards per game.
One week ago, the Spartans held Nebraska’s Ameer Abdullah to just 45 yards on 24 carries.
Whether Covington plays the whole game or the Hoosiers use a mix of options at quarterback, Johns said IU will try to keep play calling consistent despite the radical change.
“I have an extreme amount of confidence in what they can do,” Johns said. “We’ll just have to go to the drawing board and see what exactly that is.”
