Spring ball starts Saturday for the Hoosiers, and after a workout Thursday morning, IU coach Tom Allen took some time to provide updates on the status of the program.
Tom Allen indefinitely suspends three players
Junior tight end Jordan Fuchs, sophomore quarterback Danny Cameron and sophomore defensive back Wesley Green are all suspended from the program indefinitely, Allen said. IU’s head coach wouldn’t give any explanation as to why.
“That’s all I’m going to say about that,” Allen said.
The trio have played varying roles with the team throughout their IU careers. Before Fuchs suffered a season-ending injury in the 2016 season opener, the tight end had amassed seven receptions, three touchdowns and 69 yards in 19 games played. Cameron’s only appearance came during the 2015 loss at Penn State as he had to fill in for the injured Nate Sudfeld and Zander Diamont.
After spending 2014 with South Carolina, Green transferred to IU and sat out 2015 due to NCAA transfer rules. He had previously been suspended indefinitely before the 2016 season opener, however, according to IU Athletics, Green did make appearances in wins against Maryland and Purdue.
Injury updates
Allen said junior wide receiver Simmie Cobbs Jr., sophomore running back Mike Majette, freshman running back Cole Gest and sophomore offensive lineman Brandon Knight would be back for spring ball after losing significant portions of their 2016 seasons to injury.
Allen also said other players who underwent surgeries after the season won’t participate fully this spring. Defensive lineman Joe Belden, who redshirted in 2015 before suffering a season-ending injury in 2016, was granted a medical hardship waiver.
“Overall I like the health of our team,” Allen said. “I think that the direction we’re going in terms of getting guys back to being full speed and obviously the objective is to be full speed by Aug. 31. We’ve got a lot of work before then.”
Cobbs’ return throws another upperclassman leader back into the mix. Allen said Cobbs showed he was mature enough to stay focused off the field while he dealt with his injury, and that while the receiver will have to earn back the right to be a verbal leader, he’s succeeded at leading by example.
Looking ahead
After praising the effort put forth by his team and the training staff, Allen said the Hoosiers still need to focus on the little things. Work remains to attain the discipline it’ll take to allow IU to make a difference in critical, late-game moments.
As the players work on that, the host of new coaches will be working on developing relationships with their new guys. So far, Allen said he’s been pleased.
“We’ve attracted some really high-quality people,” Allen said. “I know one of the strengths is relationship building and being able to do it in their own way, everybody has their style. I feel like so far, it’s very new for sure, not a lot of time involved here, but spring ball will create a lot more of that time for that.”
