SB Nation - Andrew Means

2009 Indiana football preview: receivers and tight ends.

John M (The Crimson Quarry) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 01:57:23 -0000

IU faces quite a bit of turnover at the offensive skill positions, and wide receiver is no exception. The Hoosiers do, however, return some depth at tight end. IU's anemic 2008 passing game didn't produce any huge numbers last year, but the top two receivers, Ray Fisher and Andrew Means, are gone (Fisher is on the other side of the ball and Means is playing professional baseball), but here are the returning players and the newcomers:

WIDE RECEIVERS

The starters: Damarlo Belcher, 6-5 sophomore. Belcher played as a true freshman, and the 6-5 Fort Wayne product played well enough to draw occasional comparisons to James Hardy, although Belcher hasn't approached Hardy's level of production yet. Still, he is IU's leading returning receiver with 337 yards, 13 yards per reception, and 2 touchdown passes. Terrance Turner, 6-3 junior. Turner is the leading returner in number of receptions with 29, and he gained 289 yards but did not score a touchdown. Tandon Doss, 6-3 sophomore. Doss played in only 4 games as a true freshman, but gained 186 yards and scored a touchdown while averaging 13.3 yards per catch.

The reserves: Mitchell Evans, 6-3 junor. Evans was a high school quarterback and throws the ball occasionally. He caught 9 passes in 2008 for 129 yards. Matt Earnest, 6-2 sophomore. Earnest played sparingly in 2008, catching 3 passes for 18 yards.

The newcomer: Duwyce Wilson, 6-3 freshman. Wilson, a true freshman from Columbus, Indiana, is listed in the two deep by Rivals, but it's still possible that he will redshirt.

Obviously, the receiving corps is young and inexperienced. There isn't a single senior in the two deep, which is nice for 2010, but the lack of accomplishment returning is a bit scary. Still, we have some size and talent, and hopefully Ben Chappell can get the ball to these guys.

TIGHT ENDS

The starter: Max Dedmond, 6-5 sophomore. IU doesn't use the tight end as a receiver all that much, but Dedmond did catch 6 balls for 51 yards and is considered a possible contributor as a receiver.

The reserves: Troy Wagner, 6-5 senior. Wagner started five game last season, but has only two receptions in his career and obviously is more of a blocking tight end. Brad Martin, 6-4 junior. Martin has one career reception.

In sum, the tight and and wide receiver positions show some promise, but many guys will have to do much more than they have ever been asked to do before for IU's offense to succeed.

An early look at the Northwestern Wildcats.

John M (The Crimson Quarry) — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 14:00:11 -0000

More photos » by Stephen J. Carrera - AP

Why this photo, AP? We won!

Browse more photos »

Northwestern Wildcats
Last meeting: 10/24/2008 (IU 21, NU 19 in Bloomington)
Last NU win: 11/10/2007 (NU 31, IU 28 in Evanston)
Series: Northwestern leads 42-34-1
Coach: Pat Fitzgerald (4th year, 19-18)

Northwestern is the only Big Ten team on the schedule that owes IU any revenge. Thanks to last year's carnage and our historical futility against Michigan and Ohio State, IU is on a losing streak against 9 of 10 conference opponents. Last season, IU provided one of the few disappointing moments in Northwestern's 9-win season by upsetting the Wildcats 21-19 in Bloomington. The 2008 game was the fifth consecutive IU-NU game decided by a touchdown or less, but the first of those five that IU managed to win.

How did we do it? Here's the game in a nutshell:

The box score reveals a fairly even game statistically, although Northwestern's five turnovers certainly stand out. Still, IU modestly outgained the Wildcats (319-316). NU ran the ball more effectively than IU, but neither was great: NU ran for 152 yards and 3.2 per carry; IU managed only 72 yards and 2 yards per carry. Both teams were 22-35 passing, but IU threw for 247 yards and no interceptions, while NU passed for 164 yards and threw two interceptions. Kellen Lewis was dressed but did not play. Chappell went the distance. Also, IU was without senior WR Andrew Means.

Obviously, the most encouraging aspect of the IU-NU game was the fine performance of Ben Chappell. The Illinois game that I recapped yesterday was one of Ben's worst days as a Hoosier, but last year's NU game was his best so far. It must have been sweet revenge for Chappell: as a redshirt freshman, Chappell saw his first meaningful game action with 5 minutes left in the first half at Northwestern when Kellen Lewis missed a play because he was shaken up. IU led 14-3 and faced 3rd down and 6 to go. Instead of playing it safe, the coaching staff allowed Chappell to throw the ball downfield. He locked onto James Hardy and threw an interception that NU returned to the house. That play was 99 percent the coaching staff's fault, but because of that play I'm sure it was gratifying for Chappell to get his first Big Ten win against NU.

The Northwestern offense, like IU's, will be replacing several key players at the offensive skill positions. Quarterback CJ Bacher is gone, and Mike Kafka will be the starter. Kafka played late in the IU game because of an injury to Bacher and played poorly. Late in the game, while trying to avoid a sack, Kafka threw the ball away--backwards. It was, of course, a live ball, and ended up as a 24 yard loss for NU. Kafka fumbled on the next play, and IU recovered, effectively sealing IU's victory. Nevertheless, Kafka started the next two games and played reasonably well, particularly in a win at Minnesota, in which he completed 12 of 16 passes and also ran for 217 yards, so he's no pushover. At tailback, NU loses the excellent Tyrell Sutton and replaces him with Stephen Simmons, who was injured and less-than-impressive last season. NU also is breaking in a new crop of receivers, but the O-line is experienced. Like IU's, the defense is NU's more experienced unit, and most starters, including the entire secondary, return. Here is NU's NCAA stat report. The Wildcats were particularly effective at rushing the passer.

NU will be seeking revenge, but hopefully IU isn't done exacting payback for the four heartbreakers that preceded last year's win.

Know thy Opponent 2009: Indiana Hoosiers

BoilerTMill — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 12:00:18 -0000

I have become an expert at NCAA Football '08. Sure, I could get the newer version, but I am a self-employed writer and the '08 version still has the actual Orange Bowl in it. The point of this rant is that I recently played the 2010 season and destroyed Indiana 84-40. My defense was terrible, but my offense generated the Lee Corso comment of , "Either lie down and lose by 50, or pick yourself up and start playing" When I jumped ahead early in the game.

That is what happened with last year's Bucket game. Both teams were terrible, making it like a mid-90's Bucket game again. Indiana chose to lie down and lose by 50 instead of playing with a little pride to keep the Bucket. Were we 52 points better than the Hoosiers last year? Probably not, but they still rolled over and died before 10 minutes were gone in last year's game. It was so bad even I was embarrassed by the lack of effort Indiana put forth. If you listen to the "experts" you can expect a similar atmosphere in this year's game in Bloomington in that the loser gets last place in the Big Ten. The optimistic fans on both sides see the Bucket game as a chance for a bowl, however, as long as each team reaches five wins before it.

2008 Record: 3-9 (1-7 Big Ten)

Bowl Result: none

Blog Representation: Crimson Quarry

Series with Purdue: Purdue leads 69-36-6 (Purdue leads Old Oaken Bucket portion 55-26-3)

Last Purdue win: 11/22/2008 at Purdue 62-10

Last Indiana win: 11/17/2007 at Indiana 27-24

A common sight and rare sight in the Bucket's history. You pick which is which.

So much for the momentum of a bowl game. Since Austin Starr sent his game-winning kick through the uprights in the 2007 game, Indiana has returned to its usual self on the football field. Season opening wins over provisional D-1A member Western Kentucky and Murray State gave way to a 3-9 finish in the year. Ball State and Central Michigan, two of the best teams in the MAC, rolled Indiana at home and the Hoosiers only managed an unexplained win over a ranked Northwestern team the rest of the way. I will give IU credit there. They have beaten multiple ranked teams since our last win over a ranked opponent. Things got so bad last year that John, the very good Crimson Quarry blogger, declared it Indiana's worst Big Ten season and our win the worst loss in Indiana football history. Injuries were a major factor, but "worst ever" is still stiff criticism for last year's team considering IU's football history.

CFN, in its effort to paint a rosy picture for every single team, gives a bowl game as the best case scenario of Indiana this year based on the experience returning. Other football publications have them as the only team behind us in the Big Ten with good reason. The defense was terrible last year even by Indiana standards. IU lost its one proven playmaker in Kellen Lewis. The non-conference schedule is stiff with only a home game against Eastern Kentucky as a guaranteed win. Western Michigan is a very good MAC team that can beat them, and road trips to Akron and Virginia aren't easy. The home schedule features few gimmes outside of Eastern Kentucky. Road dates in Big Ten play at Michigan, Northwestern, Iowa, and Penn State make it very hard to see an IU bowl game this year.

The audio was disabled for this, but it is still a quality video with respect for Hep as well.

Indiana offense:

This team is much worse off losing Kellen Lewis at quarterback. I have no doubt that Ben Chappell is a talented quarterback. He has more in-game experience than our own Joey Elliott and has the benefit of knowing he was going to be the starter since the ill-advised move of Lewis to wide receiver. Still, Chappell does not offer the same running element that Lewis does. Chappell saw significant action last year, yet didn't have an official rushing attempt. Lewis, meanwhile, ran for 500 yards and three scores in a down year for him. Teams like Indiana cannot beat other teams on talent alone with their current roster. They need that extra element a player like Lewis gives. If you don't have to worry about Chappell beating you with his feet it makes Indiana that much easier to defend. Chappell is a threat with his arm though. In limited action he threw for 1,001 yards and four scores. Indiana is moving to a pistol-style offense, so it will likely mean more running from Chappell.

In another strange move, coach Bill Lynch has said he wants Indiana to be more of a downhill running team. That's great, except that Indiana's top two rushers are no longer on campus. Brian Payton (350 yards, two scores) has the most experience running the football. Now that we have a defensive coordinator that recognizes a halfback draw is a legal play we are allowed to stop we might be able to play defense against Indiana. It was incredibly frustrating to see Marcus Thigpen gash us on simple draws two years ago, but he is gone. Darius Willis is a redshirt freshman who could make some noise after sitting out last season. Demetrius McCray also has experience at tailback with 224 yards and two scores.

A main reason that Indiana struggled last year was the departure of James Hardy. No one could replace his production, as Ray Fisher (42-373-5) was the best receiver. In another move I don't understand, he has moved to the defensive side of the ball at cornerback despite being the team's best receiver. Andrew Means (34-450-1) has decided to pursue a baseball career, so he is gone too. That leaves junior Terrance Turner (29-289-0) as the best returning receiver. Tandon Doss (14-186-1) showed some promise as a freshman last year, but did little outside of a 107 yard performance against Northwestern. Damario Belcher (25-337-2) at 6'5" provides and interesting size element we lack as an outside receiver.

If there was one unit that effected Indiana's season strongly last year it was injuries along the offensive line. The group gave up 28 sacks and struggled to generate a consistent running game other than having Lewis run for his life. Only Roger Saffold at left tackle with 10 starts was consistent. He returns to protect Chappell's blind side, but Pete Saxon at center may be the line's best player. Coach Hep made the offensive line a priority in his too short tenure in Bloomington. This is the year that it should bear fruit in terms of his recruiting efforts. Cody Faulkner at right guard, James Brewer at right tackle, and Justin Pagan at left guard were all Hoeppner recruits groomed for this specific season to start. I'll give coach Hep credit. He knew what he was doing in Bloomington. If this group of five can stay healthy Indiana can be much better on offense.

Indiana defense:

The best way to sum up Indiana's defense is "What defense" last year. Injuries and inconsistent play made this unit awful. All-American Greg Middleton had an incredibly disappointing year with just 14 tackles and 4 sacks. He is too good of a talent to have those low of numbers. He had 16 sacks in 2007 alone. Jammie Kirlew on the other end picked up the slack with 74 tackles and 10.5 sacks. It is rare that Indiana has multiple All-Americans, but that was the case last year with Middleton and Austin Starr. Kirlew and Middleton are probably the best two rush ends in the conference. If they can regularly get into the backfield Indiana's defense will be much better. Deonte Mack (21 tackles, 2 sacks) and Nick Sliger (redshirt freshman) must play better against the run at both tackle positions for Indiana to have marked improvement.

I think Indiana's history at linebacker can be summed up in one John Kerr. Kerr led Indiana in tackles in 2002 as a freshman, but immediately transferred to Ohio State. Once there, he hung around for a few season before going undrafted in the 2007 NFL draft. It is pretty bad that your leading player on the defense parlayed a great season into a transfer and scholarship offer at a better program only to be an also-ran there. Indiana does not have to worry about that anymore, as senior Matt Mayberry has put in his time and returns for his final year on campus after leading Indiana in tackles last year. He had 89 stops and five sacks last year, so he is a versatile linebacker that can play all over the field. Will Patterson and Tyler Replogle give Indiana experience at the linebacker position that we lack. Patterson, now a senior, has been around the IU program for years and had a 104 tackles season in 2007. This unit is very experienced and gives Indiana a solid base at the conference's most necessary defensive position.

Just as we should be afraid of relying on defensive backs to help our receiving corps, Indiana should be afraid in its secondary. A major reason IU went to a bowl game in 2007 was the fact it had two great cornerbacks. Now they must rely on Ray Fisher, a converted wideout, to evolve into a shutdown corner. He is quick, but at 5'9" He is going to be pushed around like Chris Clopton in the 2001 Rose Bowl. Chris Adkins started all 12 games last year at the other corner position and had 54 tackles but no interceptions.

At safety is the Jeremy Finch. An Indiana High School legend, Finch committed to Florida before transferring to his second choice, Indiana. Finch battled injuries last year, but the former 4-star recruit has to play up to his talent level this year in order for Indiana to achieve its full potential. The Hoosiers thought they were getting a steal with Finch last year, but he contributed just six tackles in five games after sitting out a season due to transfer rules. Still, he is IU's best option at safety. Nick Polk and Austin Thomas are solid backups, but Finch really needs to be the star of the show in the secondary.

Overall, Indiana's defense was nothing to fear last year. Even our popgun offense went off for 62 points against them. We were hardly the best offense they face either. The only drive we didn't score on in last year's game was because we didn't feel interested in scoring. That gives me a ton of confidence.

Indiana Special Teams:

Austin Starr was supposed to be the best kicker in the nation, but he struggled to hit 10 of 17 field goals. The kicking position is now up for grabs with junior Nick Ford and his one extra point experience giving him the lead for the position. Mitch Ewald is an unproven true freshman who could challenge for the job. Starr also struggled on kickoffs, as opponents averaged 24 yards per return.

The Hoosiers to have a solid punter in Chris Hagerup, whose brother we are recruiting heavily. Hagerup averaged better than 42 yards per kick last year and held teams to a 6 yard average per return. The return game will suffer with the departure of Marcus Thigpen. DeMetrius McCray is the most likely candidate to return kicks while Fisher will likely return punts.

Intangibles:

I am going to get cocky for a moment.

It's Indiana.

We know we are better than them at football. We had a terrible season last year, the worst in the 12 year history of that coach, and we still won 62-10. If we don't win we have no reason to go to a bowl. In my mind, it would take something drastic on our end for the Hoosiers to suddenly overcome a 52 point differential. We were virtually even coming to that game and the only reason the score wasn't worse is because we didn't want it to be. Many of the players on our teams are very used to kicking the living crap out of IU for the Bucket, and there are still plenty that remember the one time since 2001 IU won the Bucket.

Indiana does have a little bit more experience returning on offense though. They are playing at home too. I like the improvements to Memorial Stadium, but I don't know how much of a home field advantage it will add.

Game Outlook:

All we need to do is get to five wins before this game. I feel that if we have a chance at getting to a bowl game when we head to Bloomington we will finish the deal. There honestly is not one thing that scares me about Indiana except the duo of Middleton and Kirlew. Despite how close the records were, we still hold a decided advantage in my mind. Indiana has made a series of questionable moves to its offensive personnel, while we seemed to be adjusting well to the hand we are dealt. It will be interesting to see how well things play out as the season progresses.

Prediction:

Indiana probably is not as bad as I think they are, so it will likely be closer than expected. It is still our Bucket though. They aren't due to get it back until about 2013 or so. Purdue 38, Indiana 24

NFL draft begins tomorrow.

John M (The Crimson Quarry) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 12:44:11 -0000

It will be a surprise if any former Hoosiers are selected in this weekend's NFL Draft. In today's Indy Star, Jeff Rabjohns notes that it's likely to be a slow day for all of Indiana's Division I-A programs (note to new readers: I don't indulge in the confusing FBS/FCS stuff: it's I-A and I-AA). Andrew Means is the only Hoosier given much of a chance to be drafted. I had presumed that Means, who spent the summer of 2008 playing baseball in the Cincinnati Reds system, would be doing the same this year, but according to a blog covering the Reds' minor leagues, Means left spring training and is focusing on football. Means impressed NFL scouts with his 4.36 40 time at IU's pro day. With any luck, someday TV broadcasters will refer to Andrew as a Wayne Chrebet-style third down/possession receiver with deceptive speed.

I would expect that kicker Austin Starr, an all-American as a junior who then struggled as a senior, and Marcus Thigpen, a dangerous returner, would end up somewhere as free agents. ESPN's Tuesday Morning Quarterback mocks the mock drafts by projecting the seventh round instead of the first. His mock-mock draft has Thigpen going to the Chargers. To give you a flavor of what TMQ's style:

224. San Diego. Marcus Thigpen, running back, Indiana. At 5-8, viewed as big back to alternate with Darren Sproles.

Clearly, the whole exercise is tongue-in-cheek, but that's all we have this year. SB Nation is all over it, of course, and has a group blog called Mocking the Draft that is keeping up with the action. BigBlueShoe of excellent Colts blog Stampede Blue appears to be contributing heavily.

There's a Game on Saturday? The No-Hardy Pants Party

Hawkeye State — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 00:19:45 -0000

You want to know how bad last year's game went?
This play ended in an Indiana touchdown.
That is not a joke.

Oh yeah, we almost forgot. There's a game tomorrow. Iowa-Indiana, 11:00, BTN.

The Indiana game has been a yackety sax-inducing comedy of errors for Iowa for the past two years. In 2006, Iowa entered the IU game off a 47-17 win over Purdue; the stunning loss that day was the final stake to the heart of the myth of Iowa as an up-and-coming elite program. Iowa fell out of the top 25 after that loss, and hasn't seen the poll since. Last year, every bouce went Indiana's way (how often does your quarterback complete a pass to the fullback in the flat, recover the fullback's fumble, and take it 71 yards for a touchdown?) and, despite one of Christensen's best days as a starting quarterback, Iowa never recovered. Of course, those two games included prominent displays of ineptitude by Adam Shada while "covering" James Motherfuckin' Hardy.

Keep your friends close and the guy who treats you like a bitch closer

When Indiana Has the Ball

This year, there's no more Shada. There's no more Hardy. However, there still is Kirk Ferentz, who is 3-4 against Indiana in his nine seasons at Iowa (Indiana rotated off Iowa's schedule in 2003-04). There is an interesting correlation between Ferentz's success against Indiana and the mobility of the Hoosier quarterback:

YEAR	IU QB	RESULT
1999	Randle-El	IU, 38-31
2000	Randle-El	IU, 45-33
2001	Randle-El	UI, 42-28
2002	Hamdan	UI, 24-8
2005	Powers	UI, 38-21
2006	Lewis	IU, 31-28
2007	Lewis	IU, 38-21

Ferentz is 1-4 against Indiana when the Hoosier signal-caller can run the ball, and 2-0 when he prefers to stand in the pocket and wait. For anyone who has watched Iowa football over the last decade, it shouldn't be that surprising.

The bad news? Kellen Lewis is back. The good news? He's not necessarily the quarterback. Lewis has started every game behind center, but went only 11/25 in an embarassing loss to in-state stepchild Ball State (for the record, he ran for 150 yards in that game). The next week, he split snaps with sophomore Ben Chappell - and was used at wide receiver - in a home loss to Michigan State. Last week, he took the vast majority of the reps against Minnesota, but ran the ball only nine times for 18 yards.

Last year, it wasn't just Lewis and Hardy who tore apart Iowa's defense. Fullback Josiah Sears caught pass after pass in the flats with space to move. By the end of the day, he racked up seven catches for 58 yards (and the aforementioned fumble). The numbers weren't important; the catches came in critical down-and-distance situations and extended drives that should have been dead. Sears graduated, but Indiana has used receiver/back Ray Fisher as this year's outlet receiver, and starting halfback Marcus Thigpen is an accomplished pass-catcher from the backfield. Anyone who watched this year's Iowa-Northwestern game knows the Hawks are still susceptible to the swing pass. Expect Indiana to attack the flats all afternoon.

Fortunately, there has been no replacement for James Hardy. IU's top receiver, Andrew Means, has caught just three passes for 30 yards in two Big Ten games. Freshman Demarlo Belcher (which is Spanish for "of marlo belcher") has been their best receiver lately, but that's not saying much. The passing game - especially the deep passing game that has massacred Iowa the past two years - isn't much of a concern. Recent history indicates that if Lewis plays quarterback and runs effectively, either in designed run plays or while scrambling, Indiana has a good chance of racking up a bunch of points on Iowa. If he doesn't play, or is content to sit in the pocket, Indiana has virtually no chance of winning this game.

When Iowa Has the Ball

As for the Iowa offense, Indiana has been horrendous against good running backs. Ball State halfback MiQuale Lewis ran for 166 yards. Ringer followed that up with 198. Expect a healthy dose of the run from Iowa, especially from Shonn Greene (who even Michigan State fans are conceding might be the best back in the Big Ten). Indiana's pass defense has forced a bunch of incompletions, but has also given up huge chunks of yardage on deep plays. Given Iowa's speed on the outside, I think we have to throw d ... throw dee ... thrHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA! Of course we won't throw deep! That's the LOLZ!

I haven't watched enough of Indiana to know just how susceptible the Hoosiers might be to the three-yard out route. Clearly, their ability to defend the super-double-secret Iowa passing game will decide who wins.

Prognosis

The more I look at this, the better I feel. This is not a good Indiana team. They were never close in a home loss to Ball State. They were never close in a home loss to Michigan State. They were shut down by Minnesota. It's clear Bill Lynch is trying to move this offense closer to the pass-happy Purdue spread than the hybrid qb run/deep pass spread of the past two years. Throw in the Hawkeye defense's success when facing a similar offense against Iowa State (and the Clones offense might actually be better than this one), and this might be the one time we can keep Indiana under 30 points.

This is as close to a must-win as we get, though. A loss here effectively ends any hope of a bowl appearance and - let's face it - any hope of a quick turnaround. A win, and the "six plays from 6-0" meme lives to see another day.

In 2001, a young but relatively experienced Iowa team with a new starting quarterback started with three wins, dropped a couple of tough losses to start the Big Ten season, and got their first conference win against Indiana. Anyone else think it feels like 2001 in here?