This is the most important season of the Kevin Wilson era.
Entering his sixth season, Wilson is coming off an appearance in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl — the first bowl appearance for the Hoosiers since 2007.
His job is safe and secure following last season’s 6-7 season, but the program can achieve more. Certainly, it was a necessary step forward and should be built upon.
This next step is harder — it’s moving beyond being happy with getting bowl-eligible and consistently winning eight to 10 games a season. No, IU will likely never compete with the upper-echelon teams of the Big Ten, but being one of the best teams in the middle of the conference is an achievable goal.
It can be done, and Wilson is a good enough coach to do so.
Since he’s arrived in Bloomington, he’s changed the culture around the program, and that hasn’t been an easy task. It’s taken longer than a lot of fans would have liked, but implementing a winning standard takes time.
“When we first got here, no one ever said, ‘That’s not how we do it here’ or ‘This is how we do do it here,’” offensive coordinator Kevin Johns said. “I don’t know if there was really a standard, and it’s taken a couple years to get that standard set. But now the guys know.”
Johns has been with Wilson since the beginning of his tenure in Bloomington and seen the growth in the program as Wilson has set the standard for excellence.
This team knows how things are done. The players are Wilson’s handpicked recruits who have been developed.
The leaders have been coached by this regime for the entirety of their careers.
“Credit to our kids for buying in,” Johns said. “If you look at a lot of these fourth- and fifth-year seniors, they are a product of doing this year after year, getting some of the results that we want.”
Junior linebacker Marcus Oliver is one of those leaders, and he said he sees Wilson’s vision for the program coming true.
“For sure,” Oliver said. “It’s hard to build a program where you don’t know if players are going to buy in, and it’s hard to get players to buy in. I think people are able to see the things that he wants to do and that he cares for the players.”
They’ve bought in. They’ve seen the program be built. Now it’s time for them to be the ones to take the next step forward.
Forward is winning eight or nine games and being a threat against the best teams in the Big Ten. It’s building on the six wins of last season and not letting that momentum slip.
It’s not that the program would be doomed if they don’t achieve more this season — it just would be a waste of the positive step forward.
Rebuilding IU wasn’t easy for Wilson.
He’s laid the foundation, changed the culture and scheme and developed his recruits.
If you want to build successful football program, this is the year to prove just how good you can be. The floor’s been set — now it’s time to reach for the ceiling.
aphussey@umail.iu.edu @thehussnetwork
