Wilson looks to Houston for leadership
Junior running back Stephen Houston says he has changed a lot since his arrival at IU from Independence (Kan.) Community College last July.
"I can honestly say with 99.9 percent certainty that the grumbling and moaning is gone. It did happen,'' Houston said at IU Football Media Day. ''I had to let my ego go.''
Head Coach Kevin Wilson has taken notice. He said Saturday after practice that he confronted Houston and told him to talk to a couple of late junior college student-athlete additions to the IU roster about his experience last year and what he learned, so that they don't go through the same hardships as he did.
"You need to talk to those guys about how to practice hard, go hard and listen to your coaches because last year you thought we were screwed up,'" Wilson said he told Houston. "'And you missed a third of the season because you were a late JuCo add.'"
Houston did not start the first four games of the 2011 season and did not play in two before proceeding to become IU's leading rusher in 2011. He compiled over 800 rushing yards and eight touchdowns in his first season with the Hoosiers.
Quarterback competition remains open
As expected, sophomore quarterbacks Tre Roberson and Cam Coffman and freshman quarterback Nate Sudfeld all split repetitions at Saturday's practice, the first one of the Fall open to the public.
Though Wilson admits the options he has at the quarterback position this year is better than last year's, he says there is still much work to do.
"We've got a lot going at them," Wilson said. "It's not as good as we need to be, but you can see they're all playing."
Wilson has emphasized the need for Roberson to improve his passing ability this season, and has shown hesitancy in allowing a true freshman to start at quarterback for a second straight year. He has also expressed worry in Coffman's lack of the mobility Roberson possesses.
"We're better at that position right now, it's still not as good as we're going to need it to be though," Wilson said. "Tre's better, but we need all of them to be better for how we need to play."
Wilson has positive things to say about freshman class
During the 2011 season, IU played 32 freshmen and started 16 of them at some point.
Through the first three days of Fall practice, it appears freshmen will be getting serious looks at playing time once again.
Wilson mentioned several newcomers as standouts Saturday afternoon, including defensive end Nick Mangieri, defensive linemen Ralphael Green and Alex Todd and running back Tevin Coleman. Wilson also acknowledged walk-on tight end Anthony Corsaro, saying he is playing "as good as our second-team tight ends last year."
"Those guys again, they're swimming and thinking," Wilson said. "But there's some second- and third-year guys that need a great sense of urgency because we've seen them pushing 20 months, and some of these guys we've had three days with are as good, or better today."
Wilson went on to say that freshmen offensive linemen Jason Spriggs, Dan Feeney, Jacob Bailey and Wes Rogers are currently on the second team offensive line. He also noted Rogers, the second-string center, is dealing with a slight foot injury and will be back to fully practicing in "a couple of days or the next week."
"I'd like to see where some of those third-year guys step up," Wilson said. "If not, some of those second-team freshmen are going to be playing like last year's freshmen, whether it be a lot or as quality backups"
