Diamont completed just 5 of 15 passes for 11 yards against Michigan State on Saturday.
IU entered the weekend averaging 197 passing yards per game.
IU Coach Kevin Wilson blamed a combination of first-game excitement and extra energy that led to Diamont being rushed.
Diamont being rushed led to a number of misfires that sent passes both long, short and out of sequence Saturday.
“It’s just a different drop. The rush is coming a little different,” Wilson said. “You try as much to play at game speed. You talk about it. You try to practice at it. Still, when the game gets out there, it’s just easy to get a little hyper and out of sync.”
Because Diamont has spent most of the season third on the depth chart, he hasn’t gotten the amount of reps a starter is used to, which Wilson said led to discomfort in the game.
During practice, the No. 1 quarterback gets between 60 and 70 percent of the snaps and the No. 2 gets the other 30 to 40 percent.
At third string, Diamont spent most of his time getting individual attention or playing with the scout team.
Moving forward into the bye week, Diamont will be taking a majority of the snaps as he and his receivers look to get on the same page.
Despite not having impressive stats, Wilson was pleased with his receivers.
Now it’s just a matter of getting the receivers and Diamont in sync.
“That’s the key to every passing game, rhythm and timing,” Wilson said. “You’ve got to fight to keep it.”
IU wants no excuses
IU’s 56-17 Homecoming loss to Michigan State capped off a turbulent week for the Hoosiers.
IU had lost its third-consecutive Big Ten game in blowout fashion and saw two starting quarterbacks fall to season-ending injury in a matter of a week.
But immediately after the loss, Wilson had a message for his team.
No excuses.
“I don’t want excuse guys,” Wilson said. “I don’t want guys feeling sorry for themselves. We need to have a positive attitude, a winning attitude, a working attitude, and we’re going to keep pushing and keep building.”
IU is 3-4 overall and has lost three of its last four games.
The Hoosiers will likely be underdogs the rest of the way, even against a slowly improving Purdue team that IU beat by 20 points last ?season.
Wilson said he didn’t like what he saw out of his defense late against Michigan State while the Spartans were in the midst of scoring 42 unanswered points.
Although the game may have been out of reach, Wilson said he’s still working to create a culture and attitude of playing hard and tough.
“I just want to see our attitude and toughness continue to develop,” Wilson said. “And that’s the thing with this open date. We don’t want to beat our guys up, but we’ve got to challenge our sense of pride and have some toughness that you need to play in this league.”
Wilson said in today’s age of cell phones and social media, it’s going to be impossible for his players to completely ignore what critics are saying.
It’s not a simple task to ignore outside commentary when his players are mostly all on Twitter and a fan or critic can simply tweet at a player or coach to get them riled up.
“I think athletes in general are under just a little more public scrutiny or comment, so you have to deal with that,” Wilson said. “That being said, don’t let it affect you with your mindset.”
Spriggs participating in practice
IU junior offensive lineman Jason Spriggs is participating in practice again after suffering a head-on hit that forced him to be carted off the field in Saturday’s Homecoming loss to Michigan State.
Wilson said Spriggs’ injury occurred between his shoulder blades and was “more muscular than anything else.”
Spriggs appeared motionless as he lay on the field with about five minutes left in the fourth quarter Saturday.
Spriggs participation in practice will be limited for the immediate future, but Wilson said he expects Spriggs to be ready to play against Michigan on Nov. 1.
“I guess we’ll know more Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, but I’d expect him to be good to go,” Wilson said.
