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(10/26/18 8:20pm)
The last time 2 Live Crew released an original studio album was April 1998.
But more than 20 years after “The Real One” hit the radio waves, the1990’s hip-hop group has found a new pair to boast their name.
“[Bryant Fitzgerald] was a cool guy when we first met each other,” redshirt safety Juwan Burgess said. “And we just had a little spark. We had a little bond.”
Burgess and Fitzgerald admittedly haven’t listened to much of Luther Campbell, Chris Wong Won and Yuri Vielot’s music. In fact the nickname, while it coincides with 2 Live’s, comes more from football than it does music.
Safeties coach Kasey Teegardin said the name arose in spring practices. Rotating starters and backups, Teegardin referred to his second string group as “the twos.” When called upon, he’d yell “Twos you’re live.” That pairing was Fitzgerald and Burgess.
“I challenged them and started calling them a crew,” Teegardin said. “That’s kind of how it evolved to it, 2 Live Crew.”
In retrospect, the name correlates to Fitzgerald, Burgess and college football as a whole. Like the hip-hoppers they’ve been named after, Burgess and Fitzgerald are both Florida natives, though Fitzgerald eventually moved from Miami to Avon, Indiana.
As for the rappers, 2 Live Crew based their operations in Miami. Further, Campbell was a fixture within the University of Miami football program during the 1980s and 90s before he was embroiled in a pay-for-play controversy.
As for Bloomington’s version of the hip-hop icons, Fitzgerald and Burgess have brought a Sunshine State swagger and toughness to the Indiana gridiron in 2018.
After a paperwork issue within the IU compliance office forced Fitzgerald to redshirt last season, he’s been a stalwart in the defensive secondary.
“Just got to stay confident in yourself,” Fitzgerald said of how he kept his head during the unforeseen redshirt year. “Be ready whenever your time is.”
Last Saturday against Penn State, the Nittany Lions lined up for a third-and-long. Taking the ball, do-it-all running back Miles Sanders shot the gap, having just Fitzgerald to beat for the first down.
Rearing back and soaring like a missile through the open field, Fitzgerald annihilated Sanders, sending him flipping over himself in midair suspended above the Memorial Stadium turf.
Fitzgerald also flashed the athleticism that made him the No. 4 ranked recruit in Indiana as a prospect against Penn State. When redshirt sophomore husky Marcelino Ball forced a tipped ball, Fitzgerald stood alone. Rearing back he snatched a one-handed interception with his right hand.
“It was one of those opportunities I could go for the two-hand but it’s not as appealing so I had to go for the one-hand to boost it up,” Fitzgerald joked. “I was trying to make a college football pump-up video.”
Alongside Fitzgerald, Burgess has been equally instrumental in the Indiana defensive backfield. In the 33-28 loss to Penn State, the 6-foot-1, 191-pound notched back-to-back five tackle games against Ohio State and Iowa.
It’s worth noting that the Indiana 2-Live Crew’s collaboration is not limited to the gridiron. With limited time off and nearly 1000 miles between Bloomington and his family’s home in Tampa, Burgess has spent time at the Fitzgerald residence in the Indianapolis suburbs.
“We just treat each other like brothers,” Burgess said.
With Indiana nearing the closing stretch, Burgess and Fitzgerald are crucial for playmaking in the secondary.
Friday night the 2 Live Crew hit the road for their next gig – an 8 p.m. showdown with a middling Minnesota team in Minneapolis. And though these youngsters don’t even have a full season of division one football under their belts, stage fright isn’t mildly an issue.
“We may be young, but we’ve got all the confidence in the world,” Burgess said. “Just who we’re with, who we’re around that’s why we’re so confident.”
(10/23/18 4:44am)
We're back with another edition of the Monday Notebook. As always, we heard from head coach Tom Allen and offensive coordinator Mike DeBord. Peyton Ramsey joined the party. So too did Bryant Fitzgerald, Dameon Willis Jr., Reakwon Jones and Stevie Scott.
As Mondays go, this week was particularly eventful. Here are the news and notes from the morning:
Michael Penix tears ACL, out for season
In 2016, reigning honorable mention All-Big Ten receiver Simmie Cobbs Jr. went down with a season ending ankle injury early in week two against Ball State.
Last season, Nick Westbrook, also coming off an honorable mention All-Big Ten campaign, suffered an ACL injury on the opening kickoff of Indiana’s season opener against Ohio State.
Starting running back Cole Gest tore his ACL in the 2018 season opener.
Monday, Tom Allen confirmed the news that true freshman quarterback Michael Penix tore his ACL in the third quarter against Penn State. He will miss the remainder of the season, and will be a redshirt freshman in 2019.
“And as we close up the game just want to say that unfortunately we've lost [freshman quarterback] Michael Penix with an ACL tear,” Allen said, “which is a very tough thing for him to have to go through and my heart breaks for him. But it's part of this game.”
Penix, a 6-foot-3, 206-pound lefty, was a prized late coup for the Indiana coaching staff in the 2018 recruiting class. Rated the No. 13 pro-style quarterback nationally, the Hoosiers landed his commitment over perennial power Florida State.
In three games this season, Penix totaled 219 yards and one touchdown while completing 21 of 34 passes.
Though Peyton Ramsey remains the starter, the IU quarterback room gets a lot more interesting in Penix’s absence. Freshman Reese Taylor, a high school quarterback who has played offense, defense and special teams for the Hoosiers this year, will suit up behind Ramsey in the backup role.
“We had some packages we put him in there, did some things,” Allen said of Taylor. “Now it's obviously intensified. So before it was just more drill work and isolated situations. But he's played that position his whole life. So it was pretty natural at it.”
Allen said the plan is for Penix to throw in seven-on-seven situations in spring ball and be full-go when the summer session begins.
How does Indiana's kick coverage improve?
After the Penn State loss, Allen said that he would send kickoffs out of bounds every opportunity if it didn’t result in a penalty. And given his kick coverage team’s abysmal performance against the Nittany Lions, he still may be better served doing so.
That said, Allen noted changes are coming to the Indiana special teams unit.
“Special teams let us down and really disappointed in that,” Allen said. “And spent a lot of time over the weekend addressing our kickoff cover unit and different things there, adjusting personnel, and making corrections and changes we have to do to be at the level we need to be at in special teams to win those kind of games.”
Saturday, the Hoosiers gave up returns of 58 and 95 yards to KJ Hamler and Johnathan Thomas, respectively. Both resulted in touchdown drives for the Nittany Lions.
To say Indiana needs to sort out their special teams issues in a hurry is an understatement. Minnesota comes into Friday’s contest averaging 24.06 yards per kickoff return and 25.57 yards per punt return.
“Their special teams are excellent,” Allen said. “And really impressed with their kickers. Their cover units are really, really strong. The return units are strong. So well-coached football team, very well-coached.”
A loss to Penn State, though disappointing, isn’t the end of the world for Indiana. A loss to Minnesota would be crippling in its quest for bowl eligibility. Special teams are overtly controllable and Indiana must right the ship if they hope to win in Minneapolis Friday night.
Stevie Scott is rumblin’, bumblin’ and stumblin’
Raise your hand if you thought freshman running back Stevie Scott would torch the Penn State defense for 138 yards and two touchdowns.
Now put your hand down because you’re lying.
Following four straight games in which Scott gained 64 yards or less, the bruiser from Syracuse, New York grounded and pounded his way up, over and through the Nittany Lions' defense.
More startling, Scott averaged 5.3 yards per carry, while his longest run of the day was just 18 yards. Differently put, Scott’s yards per carry average was not skewed by one breakaway run.
“I felt I played pretty well,” Scott said. “The line blocked very well for me to help me accomplish that goal.”
Perhaps even more important than Scott’s resurgence is the effect he has on the passing game. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Peyton Ramsey stressed how given the respect Penn State had to show for Indiana’s ground game, things opened up through the air.
“It was good to see Stevie bust a couple long runs in there and it helps the entire offense,” Ramsey said. “It helps the dynamic of our offense be able to run the ball and throw the ball and a little [run-pass option] action. So it helps a ton when you’re able to run the ball, especially that effectively.”
With a road trip against a Minnesota team that allows 158.9 rush yards per game awaiting Friday, expect the Golden Gophers to receive a heavy dose of Scott and fellow freshman Ronnie Walker Jr.
(10/21/18 4:11pm)
Following Indiana’s loss at Ohio State two weeks ago, head coach Tom Allen addressed the critical moments in football. His belief is that there’s a window in each and every game where a few plays, one or two series, can determine the final outcome.
In Saturday’s 33-28 loss to No. 18 Penn State, that aforementioned window came with just over 12 minutes left in the fourth quarter. Leading 26-21, Nittany Lions punter Blake Gillikin booted the ball 45-yards downfield to potent Indiana return man J-Shun Harris.
Harris made the catch and darted through the middle of the field. Seven yards into his return, Penn state safety Jonathan Sutherland popped the ball straight out of Harris’ hands as fellow defensive back Nick Scott pounced on the fumble. Five plays and 32 yards later, the Nittany Lions had themselves a 33-21 lead following senior quarterback Trace McSorley’s 4-yard touchdown scamper.
“Losing the ball on offense and then losing the ball on special teams was a really costly mistake, and I thought special teams really hurt us today,” Allen said referencing both Harris and freshman running back Ronnie Walker’s fumbles. “That was to me the glaring thing that I'm very disappointed in, and not good enough.”
For an Indiana team that is still wandering a meandering path to a breakthrough win, Harris’ fumble and kick coverage gaffes impeded its chances of success Saturday night.
On three returns, the Penn State duo of senior Johnathan Thomas and redshirt freshman receiver KJ Hamler torched Indiana’s kick off team for 173 yards.
Addressing the coverage issues postgame, Allen was frank in his special teams play. He pointed to both leverage and youth as being the primary reasons for blunders.
“We have nine true freshmen -- nine freshmen on our kickoff coverage unit,” Allen said. “That's a fact. But they're good players. They're just young.”
Trying to avoid further damage after Hamler took his first two kicks 58 and 21 yards, respectively, redshirt sophomore kicker Jared Smolar directed a pooch kick to senior linebacker Koa Farmer. Then came the breaking point.
After Indiana took a 21-20 lead on a 3-yard Stevie Scott touchdown plunge, Smolar lined up to boot another kick downfield.
Again attempting to avoid Hamler, Smolar guided the ball to Thomas. Fielding the kick at his goal line, Thomas weaved through the Indiana defense, soaring 95-yards before stepping out of bounds at the IU five-yard line.
McSorley finished the job on the ensuing play with a scramble off a run-pass option to put Penn State ahead 26-21.
“To me it's really, really frustrating to give up those – to play so well on offense and defense and give up those kind of return yards,” Allen said. “It just makes me want to puke.”
That said, Indiana had plenty of their own special teams chances. On a windy afternoon in Bloomington, Penn State returners combined for three muffed punts. They salvaged all three. That’s an anomaly.
Indiana also recovered an onside kick after Scott fumbled the bounce to give the Hoosiers a shot at redemption with 49 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. A sack and a holding penalty negated any chance of victory there.
Allen referenced breaking through in his postgame press conference, as he does seemingly every time Indiana loses a tight contest to one of the Big Ten’s elite. The narrative is overblown at this point, yet there was a belief and intensity in his voice that Indiana is capable of that signature win.
Special teams lapses crippled the Hoosiers Saturday night. But Tom Allen won’t let that define this team.
“You go back, you evaluate, and you stay the course, and you keep doing the little things right over and over again,” Allen said. “It takes tremendous mental toughness to do that because it's easy to get discouraged, but this team will not get discouraged because they believe in what we're doing, and I can see it in their eye, and we're going to get back in here early in the morning after we evaluate everything tonight and get ready to take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers up in Minneapolis.”
(10/07/18 1:19am)
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Saturday, after one half of football, it looked as though Ohio State's darkest day might have a sequel.
With 7:04 remaining in the half, redshirt sophomore quarterback Peyton Ramsey reared back and hit redshirt junior Nick Westbrook on a fade route in the back right corner of the end zone to put Indiana ahead 17-14 following the extra point.
For a few minutes, something felt different.
Following the Westbrook touchdown, Ohio State got scores from Paris Campbell and Terry McLaurin, the later by way of a controversial overturned fumble, to grant the Buckeyes a 28-17 lead.
But in a show of resiliency that has persistently lacked for the Hoosiers, Indiana responded with a 37-yard Logan Justus field goal to stay within eight.
“I'd say in the first half, we looked really good,” Ramsey said. “We were able to move the ball and score touchdowns, which was important.”
In true Indiana fashion, the second half featured missed opportunities, miscues, and ultimately another loss to one of the Big Ten’s elite. But for one half of football the Hoosiers legitimately went toe-to-toe with one of the nation’s best.
Head coach Tom Allen said postgame there’s no such thing as morale victories. For an Indiana team that’s historically a conference bottom feeder, there’s something to be said for pushing a team like the No. 3 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes.
Ramsey flashed the downfield ability that Allen and other coaches have preached existed, but nobody had seen until Saturday. The pass to Westbrook was a brilliantly placed ball that was completed despite pass interference by Ohio State corner Jeffrey Okudah.
One possession before that, Ramsey rolled to his left on a fake reverse, planted between the hashes and delivered a 32-yard floater to Peyton Hendershot for a touchdown. While the throw wasn’t stellar, Ramsey overshot a wide-open Westbrook two plays prior. Thus, his toss to Hendershot, a more concerted under-throw, demonstrated the kind of adjustments players must make to spring an upset.
“He just has a solid swagger to him where he knows he's prepared for every situation so he knows exactly what he's going to do,” Westbrook said of Ramsey. “It's huge. Having that confidence in yourself makes it so much easier to play the game.”
Defensively, Indiana’s maligned defensive line offered a glimpse at its full capabilities. Though Ohio State racked up 351 yards in the first half, Indiana kept fabled tailback duo JK Dobbins and Mike Weber in check, giving up just 43 yards in the first quarter and 65 in the second.
Further, after being challenged by Allen to cause more turnovers this season, the Indiana defense caused two in the first half. The first, a fumble recovery by Cam Jones, came after Brandon Wilson ripped the ball from Weber’s grasp on the first Ohio State drive of the game.
The second turnover came when freshman defensive back Devon Matthews grabbed an interception after freshman husky Cam Jones clocked Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins as he threw.
Point being, the Buckeyes weren’t making mistakes. Indiana was forcing turnovers.
“Our goal coming in was we were going to fight these guys,” Allen said. “We were going to look them in the eye and fight for 60 minutes and not back down. So we just ran our stuff.”
Of course, Ohio State would win Saturday’s game 49-26, maintaining its undefeated season and moving them one step closer to the College Football Playoff.
That said, Indiana sought a darkest day encore in Columbus. It didn’t come. But their day reckoning is coming – Saturday’s first half showed why.
(09/16/18 2:51pm)
As J-Shun Harris sprinted past the Ball State bench en route to an 86-yard punt return touchdown, so too did head coach Tom Allen.
With both arms raised and fists clenched, Allen coordinated the celebration along the Indiana sideline as Ricky Brookins and A’Shon Riggins hugged Indiana's speedy return man in the end zone.
Harris' gallop to paydirt handed the Hoosiers a 17-3 lead early in the second quarter. It allowed Indiana to create separation against an inferior in-state opponent, and play with ease.
“It’s just great to actually put a game together and finish,” redshirt junior linebacker Reakwon Jones said. “And you know that has been our biggest problem in the past so it’s just great to see people come out and compete.”
In Saturday’s 38-10 win over the Cardinals, Allen’s bunch played their most complete game to date.
Aside from Harris’ punt return Indiana flashed its full capabilities on both sides of the ball.
Offensively Peyton Ramsey was lights-out. Despite starting the day a mediocre 2-for-5, he finished 20-of-27 for 173 yards and rushed for a touchdown.
“He's proven to everybody why I picked him, and I believe in him,” Allen said of Ramsey.
On the ground Stevie Scott and Ronnie Walker Jr. showed glimpses of a lightning and thunder duo. Scott bruised his way an 18-carry, 114-yard, two touchdown performance, while Walker added a speedy 41 yards and a touchdown.
“Our whole running back group is very perfect,” Scott said. “We all can run the ball. We all can do things to help this team win.”
As for Allen’s unit, the defense held Ball State quarterback Riley Neal to just 115 yards through the air. And though James Gilbert scampered for 89 yards and a touchdown, the Hoosiers largely limited big plays in the ground game.
Further, after totaling just a single sack in their first two games, Indiana tallied three on the day.
“I feel like we stood up. Finished the game.” senior safety Jonathan Crawford said.
It’s also worth noting this wasn’t your average Big Ten-MAC contest. The narrative can be overblown, but Allen said all week that Indiana wasn’t taking Ball State lightly given the in-state factor and that just a week ago the Cardinals took Notre Dame down to the wire in South Bend. Ball State had also won three of the past four meetings against the Hoosiers.
IU’s first two games also furthered the trap-game notion. Though the result was never really in doubt, Indiana let FIU hang around before finishing them off 38-28. Monsoon-like conditions and three-straight stalled fourth quarter drives in Virginia territory kept the Cavaliers within striking distance in week two. But Saturday Indiana finally did what was expected and stomped an inferior team in all facets.
“Really proud of our team to come together and to be 3-0,” Allen said postgame. “It was something we knew we needed to do, we wanted to do, but had to go out and earn it, and that's what our guys did.”
(09/07/18 7:27pm)
For twin brothers T.D. and Mic Roof, Chick-Fil-A was an almost daily breakfast routine throughout high school.
One morning after a stop at their preferred fast-food outlet, one of the two spilled their breakfast in their truck on the way to school. The accident led to one of the brothers' patented feuds.
A quarterback by trade, Mic is the cagier of the twins, using his wit to verbally poke and prod. Conversely, T.D., a linebacker, is more visceral and lets his physicality do the talking.
As they pulled into the lot at Buford High School, the spilled food argument continued. Having had enough, Mic took T.D.’s backpack containing his books, keys and wallet and launched it over a locked fence before sprinting away.
Ted Roof, Mic and T.D.’s father and a defensive coordinator at Georgia Tech at the time, was visiting Buford that morning on a recruiting visit when he caught wind of his sons’ transgressions.
“I was going to school that morning and they both had first period weightlifting with football,” Ted said. “ So I happened to walk in on the tail end of it and got to straighten it all out.”
Today, T.D. and Mic live roughly 575 miles apart in Bloomington, Indiana and Charlotte, North Carolina. Meanwhile, Ted – a 31-year college football coaching veteran – now resides in Raleigh, North Carolina in light of his move to N.C. State as a co-defensive coordinator and associate head coach. But for what this family lacks in immediacy, they more than make up for in their football camaraderie.
“My dad definitely let me be my own person or whatever,” T.D. said. “But definitely growing up around this environment, essentially at different programs and stuff just being at practice, you see things and you kind of get ready for things.”
For T.D., a sophomore linebacker at Indiana, he wandered a winding path to Bloomington. Roof originally committed to Georgia Tech out of high school where he played one season under his father.
“This will be my 32nd year doing this and I’ve recruited a long time, but the hardest recruiting I had to experience was recruiting my own son 'cause I was dealing with his mother,” Ted quipped.
As a coach, managing how to play one’s own child is a difficult one. There’s the obvious factor of favoritism that can be shown if you play them when they’re not ready. Ted took this issue to heart when T.D. arrived on campus.
Not wanting to show any favoritism, the coaching veteran was notoriously hard on T.D., admittedly pushing him more than his other players. Then a handful of coaches chimed in.
“About two weeks in a couple other coaches on the staff came to me, they said “You know what? You really need to play your son ‘cause he’s earned it. He’s a good player. He can play,” Ted recalled. “It kind of just caught me off guard because I wanted to do what was right and fair by everybody and at times I probably wasn’t fair to [T.D.] because of that.”
Upon breaking into the lineup, the younger Roof played in all 11 contests for the Yellow Jackets, totaling five multi-tackle games.
But despite the successful freshman year, T.D. decided to transfer away from Georgia Tech at season’s end.
“I think it was just best for everybody,” Ted Roof – who took the NC State job after the 2017 season – said. “So he made his decision and I made mine and that’s how it worked out. But his deal was totally independent of my deal.”
When it came to choosing a new institution, Indiana was immediately atop Roof’s list. Like anything related to football and the Roof clan, family was involved. Indiana linebackers coach Kane Wommack’s father, Dave, a former defensive coordinator at Arkansas, Georgia Tech and Ole Miss, is a longtime confidant of Ted’s from their years of coaching in the south.
But more defining, Indiana posed a chance for T.D. to break from his father’s shadow – something following Ted to N.C. State would not.
"He said, ‘You know dad, I think it’s time for me to blaze my own trail, cut my own path,” Ted recounted.
Under NCAA transfer rules, players who change schools are required to sit out a year of competition. That was expected to be the case for Roof once he arrived in Bloomington in January.
But with the help of the IU compliance department, Roof was granted an immediate eligibility waiver and subsequently a chance to suit up for the Hoosiers in 2018.
"I could tell you otherwise that I was bought in, and I thought I was. But a switch just flips when you get that ‘You're good to go this year. You can play,’” Roof said. "I wish I could just be that the whole time when I wasn’t, but there's definitely extra motivation when you're good to go."
In Indiana’s 38-28 victory over Florida International last Saturday, Roof picked up where he left off in Atlanta, accruing three solo tackles. And for a defense that desperately needs linebacker help given the departures of Tegray Scales and Chris Covington to the NFL, the sophomore figures to see those numbers jump as the season progresses.
Now a few years matured from their backpack-tossing dispute, T.D. and Mic, a quarterback at the University of Charlotte, maintain a tight relationship – though quarrels still arise from time to time. And like that fight back at Buford High School, their father remains squarely in the middle of the twins’ relationship.
“Oh gosh yes,” Ted said of whether his boys remain close. “The month that T.D. was home and Mic was home it was awesome. As a parent it was exciting to see them together ‘cause they enjoy each other and love each other so much – whether they want to admit it or not.”
(08/20/18 8:01pm)
The end is near.
Head coach Tom Allen said Monday that he hopes to have his starting quarterback named sometime this week.
Redshirt sophomore Peyton Ramsey, freshman Michael Penix Jr. and graduate transfer Brandon Dawkins have been entrenched in competition for the lead role since they arrived on campus.
In terms of who “the guy” is, Dawkins was the favorite on paper. He had racked up 2,418 yards passing, 1,582 yards rushing and 35 combined touchdowns in his four years at Arizona. But Dawkins didn't arrive in Bloomington until mid-summer because of graduation, thus creating challenges with settling into Indiana's offense. There are also concerns with his arm accuracy, as evident by a 15-to-12 touchdown/interception ratio at Arizona.
Coming off a season-ending injury and having not played since early in 2017, there has been apparent rust for the Oxnard, California native. At an open practice last week Dawkins missed a number of fairly simple throws, including one to a wide-open Peyton Hendershot 15-20 yards downfield during a red zone drill that had touchdown potential.
As for the other competitors, Ramsey is a pretty well-known commodity in IU football circles. After taking over for Richard Lagow midway through last season, he went down with a season ending injury in week nine against Maryland.
The wild card is Penix. He’s been a pleasant surprise since his commitment in December for Tom Allen’s bunch. A one-time Tennessee pledge, the Tampa Bay Tech product chose the Hoosiers over in-state power Florida State. Throughout camp, the left-handed Penix has flashed the most arm-strength of any quarterback on the roster and has also displayed the accuracy that led him to throw 61 touchdowns to just six interceptions in his two years as a high school starter. Penix enrolled early to learn the offense, and certainly has star potential.
“I’ve always said that I think Penix has the potential to be one of the best players in the country,” tight end Austin Dorris said Monday. “I mean he is so explosive with the plays that he makes with his feet and the ability to throw the ball while running. He’s incredible.”
The soft-spoken Penix was diplomatic in his assessment of Indiana’s quarterback decision this past Tuesday, explaining all three players are competing against one another yet they remain supportive.
“We’re all in the quarterback room, it’s a big competition going on that everybody knows about,” Penix said. “But we’re all pushing each other to do our best.”
The Hoosiers have a mock game scheduled for Saturday and Allen has said he wants to make the decision before then. He and the other coaches are meeting this afternoon to discuss the decision.
Dorris in the driver’s seat at tight end
Speaking of competition, quarterback is far from the only unsettled position on Indiana’s roster.
With Ian Thomas off to the NFL, tight end is a major question mark for the Hoosiers this fall. Thomas, though oft-injured last year, was prolific in the passing game and totaled 356 yards and five touchdowns in nine games.
With 12 days until the Hoosiers take on Florida International, Dorris has an opportunity to mold a role at the position. The redshirt junior has appeared in 19 games in two years of action and alongside senior Ryan Watercutter, is the most experienced at tight end. True freshman T.J. Ivy and redshirt freshman Peyton Hendershot are also among possibilities for contribution.
At 6-foot-5 and 256 pounds, Dorris has the prototypical size for a pass-catching tight end. A dual-threat quarterback and tight end in high school, he’s no slouch athletically either. In the pocket he racked up 1,100 yards passing and another 1,250 rushing.
Both offensive coordinator Mike DeBord and Dorris pointed to this summer as the difference maker in the Shadyside, Ohio native’s performance thus far.
“He really worked hard this summer and really improved his speed,” DeBord said. “So he’s playing a lot better that way and he’ll be a guy that plays for us.”
“There’s no reason to fret about what you’ve got to do,” Dorris said regarding offseason workouts. “Yeah it’s hard, that’s how you get better. You work your butt off.”
Nothing official has been announced regarding tight ends, but with just 12 days remaining before the Hoosiers head down to Miami to take on Florida international, expect to see Dorris help lead the mix there.
Tom Allen on player safety
In light of recent events at Maryland where strength and conditioning coach Rick Court and the university parted ways amidst the investigations into redshirt freshman offensive lineman Jordan McNair’s death during a team workout, player safety has again risen to the forefront of public forums.
In relation to Indiana, it should be noted that IU’s track record over the past few years is not spick and span. Former head coach Kevin Wilson was unceremoniously fired during the 2016 season in wake of player mistreatment allegations.
Wilson’s replacement, Tom Allen, was asked about player safety as it relates to his program and how he balances pushing kids without crossing the line Monday. His response: staunch.
“I think it totally fits with who we are as a program. It totally fits what I believe and why I got into this profession and it’s that I care about kids. I do,” Allen said of balancing pushing his players and demeaning them. “And it’s not just sitting up here and talking ‘cause it sound good. I care about them as a person and as a player. And I want us to win at a high level here at Indiana, but I’m not going to do it in a way that degrades a kid, makes him feel less of a person mentally, physically or whatever.”
Things in College Park may seem far removed from Bloomington. And though 624 miles separate the two campuses, player safety is an issue that engulfs every program in America.
For Hoosier confidants, it should be encouraging that Allen came out that strongly on an offshoot national landscape question he had no time to prepare for. If anything, it demonstrates that Allen truly does live by his team motto, “Love each other.”
“I believe kids respond to you when they know that you believe in them and you love them and when you get to those two points you can push them extremely hard,” Allen said. “And that’s the balance.”
Other news and notes
Offensive lineman Grayson Stover was granted a medical waiver and is no longer with the team. He will continue as a student at IU.
(08/13/18 7:13pm)
Tom Allen's Hoosiers know what they'll be getting from a few position groups in 2018. Indiana will likely rely on its proven secondary, cohesive offensive line, and experienced skill players at receiver and running back. Linebacker, quite simply, isn't one of those areas on paper yet.
Tegray Scales, a second-team All-American in 2016 and one of the best players in recent program history, has graduated and is fighting for a spot on the Los Angeles Rams. Chris Covington was an honorable mention All-Big Ten performer and the IU Defensive Player of the Year in 2017. He’s with the Dallas Cowboys now.
Simply put, neither Scales or Covington are easily replaceable. But with a defensive-minded head coach in Tom Allen at the helm, the Hoosiers have options and proven development tactics to solidify the position in 2018. Those options, though, are unproven.
Known commodities are few and far between at linebacker this season. Dameon Willis Jr. is perhaps the only one. Having participated in senior day festivities in 2017, Willis appeared to be off to the NFL. Instead he’ll be an obvious favorite to start. The redshirt-senior has played in 35 games in his four years in Bloomington and comes off a 27-tackle campaign.
“Back in ’14 those guys, such as Tegray, [Covington], we had a goal of changing the culture here,” Willis recalled. “And I think this year, this is the turning year that I want to be a part of as one of the Last of the Mohicans.”
Complementing Willis should be Georgia Tech transfer T.D. Roof. As far as second-year players go, the sophomore brings a wealth of experience from Atlanta. Roof played in 11 games last season with the Yellow Jackets and totaled 17 tackles, two sacks and a quarterback hurry. He also has the pedigree. His father, Ted, is a 31-year college coaching veteran and currently serves as the associate head coach and co-defensive coordinator at N.C. State. Further, Roof’s twin brother Mic is a quarterback at Charlotte.
Not originally expected to be eligible in 2018, the IU compliance staff worked with Georgia Tech and the NCAA to get Roof on the field this year.
“I feel like his strength is his burst to the football and ability to finish,” Allen said. “So that’ll show up here once we get pads on.”
Behind Covington and Roof, things get a little more complicated. Michael McGinnis, a JUCO transfer in 2017 and the only senior linebacker aside from Willis, played in 11 games last season but recorded just seven tackles. The head coach’s son, Thomas Allen, has shown flashes in spring ball and training camp.
Redshirt junior Reakwon Jones has appeared in 21 games in his two years of action, though mostly on special teams. A former high school defensive back and linebacker, his speed should help on the outside.
Mo Burnham, a redshirt freshman out of Georgia, was the No. 23 inside linebacker in ESPN’s class of 2016 rankings and should help shore up the middle of the defense depth-wise. True freshmen Micah McFadden and James Miller are two names that Allen has mentioned as play makers lately. At 6-2, 224 lbs, Miller chose Indiana over Florida State and was a heralded recruit in this season's class.
Aside from quarterback, linebacker brings the most uncertainty of any position for the Hoosiers in 2018. Willis will anchor the group. Roof should be a solid complement. Behind them, question marks remain.
If new linebackers coach Kane Wommack and Willis can expedite the learning curve with this youthful group, Tom Allen stands to have plenty of playmakers in the middle of the defense. If not, Indiana's linebackers could cause a major defensive setback -- particularly in the running game against national talents in Michigan State's L.J. Scott, Ohio State's JK Dobbins, Minnesota's Rodney Smith, and so forth.
“We’re very young but very eager,” Willis said. “With Mike McGinnis, Thomas Allen, Jr., Reakwon Jones, Mo Burnham, plenty of guys that are going to contribute. And as a guy that’s going to help play the bridge between those guys to continue how we play linebacker here it’s important for me to bring those guys along with urgency.”