Sophomore running backs Nick Turner and Antonio Banks have quit the football team, IU Coach Kevin Wilson said Wednesday. Neither back was getting any real playing time because of the emergence of Matt Perez, Stephen Houston and D'Angelo Roberts.
This announcement means all three backs that played last year -- including Darius Willis, who is out for the season with a knee injury -- are no longer on the Hoosiers' roster. While that is partially due to the emergence of guys like Perez, Houston and Roberts, it also speaks to something larger.
Wilson made the comment back in the spring that the younger guys might be ahead of the older guys because they haven't been at IU long enough to learn how to play soft. It was a striking comment then, but we have plenty of evidence now that he wasn't kidding.
Wilson has played young guys over old guys on multiple occasions this season, and he seems to be content with developing them now rather than getting the veterans time. Freshmen safeties Forisse and Drew Hardin, for example, are still listed as the starters for this week against Illinois -- both over veteran Chris Adkins.
Plenty of freshmen have played on the offensive line, and freshman defensive end Bobby Richardson is listed with the first team on this week's depth chart. Freshmen wide receivers Cody Latimer, Jay McCants and Shane Wynn have seen the field a lot, too.
I don't think it's necessarily a negative sign that Turner and Banks quit the team, as long as Wilson truly is playing the best guys and not just the new guys. But what are your thoughts? Do you like how much Wilson has played his freshmen this year, or would you like to see more of the veterans?
