Senior tackle Jason Spriggs has the advantage of being stronger and faster than opponents. Junior guard Dan Feeney is stronger than most, and IU Coach Kevin Wilson calls him the model of consistency.
For junior guard Jacob Bailey to crack a spot in the rotation on an offensive line that has been set in stone in four of five positions this season, he needed to find his own advantage.
“I have to be mentally better than my opponent,” he said.
Bailey has been competing with freshman Wes Martin for the left guard spot all season. Martin is a young player who Wilson says is more talented than Bailey; however, the freshman gets overwhelmed sometimes or hits a stamina wall as a young player.
Offensive line coach Greg Frey said the player with the best week of practice every week will get the start.
“Mentally, it’s just always being ready for when your number is called,” Bailey said.
Bailey has earned the starting spot at left guard the past four weeks.
Wilson said Bailey isn’t a guy with an arsenal of physical skills. He said he isn’t overly athletic. He’s strong but not too strong, big but not that big. However, Wilson said Bailey has a good attitude and commented on his intelligence.
“Kind of like a fungus or virus, he kind of wears on you the more he’s around you,” Wilson said.
IU runs a no-huddle offense. The offensive line doesn’t go in the huddle or have much time to focus on what blocking assignment it may have.
“We are doing everything at the line, and it’s gotta be quick, and you gotta know — you can’t think,” Frey said.
Martin is only in his second year with the program and his first as a rotation player. Frey said there is so much for a young player to learn and combining that with the pressure of not wanting to let the older players down can paralyze a player.
That is what coaches think separates Bailey.
He has been playing consistently for the past three seasons and has started nine game in his career. He said he can play left guard, right guard or — in cases of emergency — center. However, he has never been the full time guy at any spot.
“I know what I need to do, I know how to do it, and when you ask me to do it, I will do it,” he said.
Frey looks at the battle between Bailey and Martin as a good thing, as he said he still considers both to be starters. Combined with Feeney on the right side, IU has three starters to work with at guard.
In the past two games against two of the best run defenses in the Big Ten in Iowa and Michigan, IU has run for 227 and 307 yards, respectively. Bailey started in both of those games.
“It is something to put on the wall,” he said. “This is something that we did. Show the country that we are the offensive line that we think we are.”
