Exactly nine days prior to their season opener against Ball State, the Hoosiers practiced in front of the media for a little over an hour Thursday night. They practiced a number of situations, and it was a bit clearer who will play with the first, second and third teams.
Quarterbacks: Sophomore quarterbacks Edward Wright-Baker and Dusty Kiel took the majority of snaps, as freshman Tre Roberson was a bit limited. Both sophomores looked confident running the offense, which was, as advertised, fairly fast-paced.
Head Coach Kevin Wilson said that there may not be an official announcement in terms of who the starter will be and that the first quarterback to play against Ball State next Saturday may not be the official starter.
"We still haven't had a bunch of meetings where, as coaches, we've sat around and talked about it," Wilson said. "We're just working hard and trying to get better (and) let that thing play out."
Co-Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach Rod Smith said that the decision-making abilities of the quarterbacks has improved, but he would like to see more from them in terms of fundamentals and technique.
"You can see they're gaining on it," Smith said. "There are some strides. We are making better decisions, which is a huge plus right now, but we've got a long ways to go: nine days left to go before we get the first one."
Running backs: Redshirt freshman Matt Perez and true freshman D'Angelo Roberts were most prominently featured. Both looked explosive and seemed to have good awareness of the field. Wilson said that the running backs as a whole have improved at running more downhill.
Kicking game: There were a number of kicking situations also included in practice. Junior kicker Nick Freeland looked to be the kickoff kicker, while the punting situation is still a bit up in the air. Junior Adam Pines and sophomore Nathan Reisman took a number of reps punting and it was unclear on who has the advantage.
Secondary: Defensively, Wilson said that the defensive backfield of senior safeties Jarrell Drane and Chris Adkins, coupled with sophomore cornerbacks Greg Heban and Lawrence Barnett and senior nickel back Donnell Jones is set.
Linebackers: Wilson also said that junior linebacker Chad Sherer is having knee surgery tomorrow and is likely out for the season. He said that they might play a defensive lineman at linebacker at times. Sophomore defensive end Javon Cornley saw some time at linebacker during practice, for example.
Offensive notes: On the offensive side of the ball, Wilson said that 17 to 19 players are still competing for the 11 starting jobs. Both Smith and Perez said that maintaining an offensive balance is important to this squad.
"How many times you do it, to me, it doesn't really matter," Smith said. "Are you doing it well? Executing is the key"
