Offensive Commits Ranking

Every recruiting service has disparities between where player and team rankings are. After looking at a bunch of them and watching film on each player here is where I would rank our offensive commits.

QB:

Kofi Hughes- Considering he was the only QB in the class he gets my vote for best QB

in the class. He was the Gatorade player of the year in the state of Indiana. His passing yards and rushing yards were almost identical this past season. He is a very explosive player when he is in the open field. Coach Lynch will start out by giving Kofi the option of playing where he wants to play but I would love to see him end up at the receiver position. He could also get some time in the “wildcat” sometime in the future.

RB:

Matt Perez- his numbers senior year were incredible. I watched the state championship game as he ran for 316 yards and 5 touchdowns. Maine South did not lose a game the last two years and finished ranked 5th in the nation. Perez played through a lot of bumps and bruises during the game and showed he had great toughness. He listed at 5’11 and 200 lbs. He has some pretty good speed and is a bruiser, usually fighting through an extra few tackles before he gets taken down. He is good enough to switch positions to either safety or linebacker but I believe he will be starting at running back until further notice. He was also listed by Parade magazine as an All-American and finished his career with 5,170 yards and 68 touchdowns.

Antonio Banks- he is listed at 5’10 and 210 lbs. Like Perez he is also a physical back. Antonio has

good break away speed. The big thing that will help him is the fact that he graduated early and is already on campus. Going through winter conditioning and spring practice will help him get adjusted quicker to the college game and he will most likely put on a good amount of muscle through IU’s workout regime. The running back position is going to get a little crowded because we already have Darius Willis, Nick Turner, Trea Burgess, Zach Davis-Walker and the newcomers from the 2010 class. Don’t expect an immediate contribution from our running backs in the 2010 class but we got some good ones. He seems like a very determined kid to become the best running back he can.

Xavier Whitaker- I don’t mean to knock Xavier here listing him as the 3rd best running back in the class but to his defense he unfortunately suffered a season ending ACL injury on the first play of the second game. He is 6’2 and 195 lbs. There is a possibility that he could move to the defensive side of the ball to safety. This is what happened to Shane Covington a few years ago as well. He definitely has the body type to do it. Even know he didn’t get to play much his senior season he was still ranked as the 13th best prospect in the state of Wisconsin. In his junior year he ran for 872 yards on 116 carries (7.5 average) and 12 touchdowns. I believe the other running back on his team is a University of Wisconsin commit.

WR:

Tim O’Connor- both our wide receiver commits are very good and it is almost a toss up to say who is better. They are so similar in measurables (6’4 and 190 lbs) and body type. O’Connor had a wrist injury that prevented him from playing in 4 games. Finished his senior season with 42 catches for 635 yards and 9 touchdowns. In the 2008 state championship game he had 15 catches for 184 yards and 2 touchdowns. Elder high school was ranked as high as 3rd nationally this past season.

Logan Young- like I said just above he is so similar to Tim O’Connor. You can’t really say one is much better than the other. They both run 4.5 40 yard dash times as well. Logan was named the 2009 Mr. Football at wide receiver in the state of Indiana. He can go up and get jump balls pretty well. Both him and O’Connor have good hands. His 3,110 career receiving yards ranks fifth all time in Indiana. He now is the all time leader in receptions, yards, and touchdowns for Delta high school. He is rated the 11th best prospect in the state of Indiana and was selected as an all-state player.

OL:

Cody Evers- he already has good size coming in at 6’4 and 315 lbs. He is going to

start out at guard and is surprising quick for a guy his size. He also played on the defensive side during high school and can move his feet for a big guy. He’s a little underrated, probably because not many people make it up to Little Chute, Wisconsin. Because of his size he could find the field sooner rather than later in his career. He is a mauler and was selected to play in the All-Star Shrine Bowl this July.

Bill Ivan- similar to Cody, Bill came from an area where not many college scouts go. He is probably more of a tackle where as Cody will probably play guard. Right now he is on the smaller side at 250 lbs and 6’4. He is the first division 1 player to come from his high school in the past 21 years. He has good feet and has played high school basketball, baseball, and track. Will need to put on some weight but after a redshirt season he will probably fit right in.

TE:

Paul Phillips- him and Leneil are both very good and I can’t really say one is much better than the other. Paul is a little bit leaner being 225 lbs and 6’5. He had an offer from Syracuse and Richmond outside of IU’s. He is going to be more of a receiving tight end and as the athletic ability running in his family. He has two brothers who play at Virginia and Stanford.

Leneil Himes- he is listed at 6’3 and 245 lbs. Plymouth high school didn’t throw the ball a lot so Leneil’s numbers aren’t as good as they should be. He still leaves them as the all time leading receiver. He was the 2009 Mr. Indiana football for tight-ends. If tight end doesn’t work out he also has the body type to play defensive end.