During Saturday’s Cream vs. Crimson spring football game, there were no special teams. At the end of a set of downs, one punter would come onto the field and punt to a return man, who would call for a fair catch.
But IU Coach Kevin Wilson still wanted his special teams unit to play.
With less than 30 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, sophomore quarterback Zander Diamont threw a touchdown pass to Damon Graham from 11 yards out. That put Crimson up 13-10.Wilson decided to end the game there and give his ?kicker a chance to tie it.
“We weren’t playing for anything,” Wilson said. “It was nice to say, ‘OK, we got two good kickers. If called upon, can you make it now?’ I looked at the score and go, ‘Why not?’ I just thought it was a chance to get the kickers to be a part of that.”
In the end, the 13-10 score stood. Saturday’s game, which included other rule variations such as no tackling the quarterback, served more as an open practice for Thursday’s spring game.
But Saturday was the fans’ first look at IU since the Old Oaken Bucket Game ?in November.
Senior Nate Sudfeld, returning from a shoulder injury he suffered at Iowa last season, quarterbacked the No. 1 offense.
Sophomore Zander Diamont, Sudfeld’s backup who started in the final six games, led the No. 2 offense.
Sudfeld opened the scoring with a touchdown pass to tight end Anthony Corsaro.
A couple drives later, Aaron Del Groso kicked a 25-yard field goal for a 10-0 lead going into halftime.
With Sudfeld back, Wilson, who’s been working a lot with the quarterbacks, has put more emphasis on speeding up the offense. Offensive lineman Jason Spriggs said that’s come easily with Sudfeld’s ability to get guys lined up quickly.
“No particular guy’s going to be the superstar as of now, just young guys ?developing,” Sudfeld said. “We’ve got a committee of guys who can play.”
The senior quarterback was 17-of-24 passing for 187 yards. Redshirt freshman walk-on Alex Rodriguez led all rushers with 63 yards on 12 carries.
Sudfeld threw one interception, a one-handed catch by Darius Latham, and then attempted to tackle Latham.
“That was not smart,” he said after the game, smiling. “I was waiting for them to blow the whistle. I’m not going to let them score.”
During the offseason, Wilson said, the coaches have tried to emphasize tackling and blocking — and not just in positions where those skills are consistently necessary.
“I will say this, we’ve tried really hard to quit coaching schemes and coach playing hard and culture,” Wilson said. “You can’t run for 200 and throw for 200 if you don’t block.”
In the second half, Diamont took over for Sudfeld in the ?No. 1 offense, while Danny Cameron replaced Diamont in the No. 2 offense.
Diamont finished 8-of-16 for 108 yards and one ?touchdown.
The spring game wasn’t just about the players. Wilson wanted IU fans to have a chance to see what some of their drills looked like in a practice atmosphere.
Prior to the scrimmage, he ran through drill work with a small crowd on display. Wilson also took control of the microphone, commentating the drills as they went.
“I thought it would be good for fans to see some drills,” Wilson said. “To me, this is practice 12. We’ll be popping the pads on Thursday.”
