CHICAGO -- IU Coach Kevin Wilson likes to say you can spread the ball until you are blue in the face, but none of that matters unless you have an offensive line to open things up.
So at Big Ten Media Days on Thursday in Chicago, Wilson had to answer a lot of questions about strengths and weaknesses in the team. He admitted a lot of issues, like the defensive secondary struggling and a young group of wide receivers.
But he consistently said that the success of the 2015 IU football season will come down to its strength on both the offensive and defensive lines.
“It’s a line of scrimmage league, it’s a line of scrimmage game,” Wilson said, “and that’s the strength of this football program. And that’s why we have a lot of confidence that we can be a solid team.”
The narratives for the Hoosiers have been a matter of additions and subtractions. They have to replace a 2,000 yard rusher like Tevin Coleman, but they will be bringing back a highly touted quarterback from a season-ending injury in senior Nate Sudfeld. But what has not changed much is the depth on both lines of scrimmage, except maybe more depth.
The Hoosiers return six players who have started on the offensive line and six rotation players on the defensive line, in addition to freshmen that have impressed Wilson as well, like Brandon Knight, Simon Stepaniak, Jacob Robinson and Brandon Wilson.
While the receiving corps loses its top four targets to departure or injury, Wilson refers to the unit as the most skilled he’s had in his five years. But that skill has not yet been paired with experience. Wilson’s mentality is that those players, as well as the new running backs, will have more comfort to step up because the security the offensive line provides.
“We are going to be pretty good on offense because I think we are very mature and deep up front at tight end,” he said. “I think we are very mature at quarterback. We have some experience and talent at quarterback, and those young skill kids need to play up to their talent.”
Senior left tackle and soon-to-be four year starter Jason Spriggs said that the difference he has noticed is the depth IU now has. In past years, the team may have struggled to replace an injured or graduated player. Now, he said they can call the next guy up because they are two to three deep at each spot and will not lose much production.
For instance, Wilson likes to play the best five guys on the offensive line. Position is not exactly black and white. So in the spring, junior Dimitric Camiel played left guard so that Tim Gardner could play right tackle because that would mean the best five played. Now that Ralston Evans has been granted a medical hardship and his football career is over, the right tackle depth is not as strong.
So Camiel may be back in the loop at right tackle, he may play left guard. Former starters like Jacob Bailey and Wes Rogers are in the loop at left guard too.
“If Dimitric is best five at tackle, he’s tackle,” Wilson said. “If he’s best five at guard, he’s guard. If he’s not starting, he’s not one of the best five.”
On defense, the front seven is what coaches and players consider to be IU’s strength. IU has brought in talented recruits in this area and senior defensive lineman Adarius Rayner said he has seen a lot of improvement in first and second year players paired with the experience of more veteran players.
“That’s the basis. Starting in the trenches,” Rayner said. “Both lines are going to be good this year.”
Wilson mentioned that the linebacking unit is set to be a good complement to the defensive line, and that the team is becoming more comfortable with the 3-4 defensive scheme in year two.
Similar to the wide receivers on offense, the defensive backs will have to grow under the comfort of a reliable front seven.
“You’ve got some talent in the secondary,” Wilson said, “but it’s young, inexperienced, and those are the guys that are going to need to step up.”
The high-octane offenses of past IU seasons are highlighted by aerial pass attacks and long runs from star players like Coleman. But Wilson understands that those successes are all conditional on what sets those plays up. He doesn’t consider the defense to be much different.
“Even though we're a spread, no-huddle attack, if you can't block it, you can't do it,” he said. “And if you can't play up front in the Big Ten, you can't play winning Big Ten football.”
