Indiana successfully defeated Florida International 34-13 in their first game of the season in Miami. While they were shaky at first, they knocked some of the rust off in the second half and rode into the sunset for a victory. There’s many positives and negatives to takeaway from the game, but lets try to focus on three specific points of emphasis.
1. Nick Westbrook quickly becoming a favorite of Lagow
In the wake of the suspension of number one wide receiver, Simmie Cobbs Jr., one of the wide outs had to step up and make plays for his quarterback.
With the talented wide receiver core, some thought it might be one of the more experienced seniors, Ricky Jones or Mitchell Paige.
Instead, it was a name some might not be accustomed to so early in the season, Nick Westbrook.
Westbrook proved to be safety blanket for Lagow during the game as he caught six balls for 70 yards. Lagow trusted Westbrook and made multiple key third down conversions over the course of the contest.
Westbrook has impressed teammates during the spring, specifically fellow wide receiver Simmie Cobbs. During IU media day, Cobbs said, “Nick is getting stronger, faster, and just developing that big play ability of his game.”
Praise has been standard for the sophomore, as evidenced by Cobbs’ comments. Cobbs also mentioned how the physical aspect of his game is really coming into play.
“Nick is getting stronger, faster, and just developing that big play ability of his game.”
Westbrook is currently slotted in the depth chart behind Simmie Cobbs at wide receiver. Westbrook did what he needed to do to fill in for Cobbs and he has proven himself early in the season which should translate into much more playing time down the road.
2. Defense turning up the heat
As many Hoosier fans have come to know in recent years, the defense has become the main weakness of the team, but Tom Allen is trying to change that culture. Last night they held the Panthers to only 331 total yards and also forced three interceptions, two of which were returned for TD’s.
While the total defense numbers don’t look that impressive, its an immense improvement from last season where IU ranked 120th out of 127 programs in the country, giving up 509.5 yards per game.
Tom Allen elected to play some inexperienced freshman during the first game, one that stood out in particular was husky, Marcelino Ball. Ball made the start at the innovative husky position, a hybrid between safety and linebacker.
Ball is also another young player drawing praise from teammates and coaches as Marcus Oliver pegged him as “a freak athlete”. Kevin Wilson also chimed in saying, “he doesn’t look like a freshman.”
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During his playing time, Ball had five tackles and one pass breakup. His stats could have been more impressive, as the pass breakup was originally ruled a force fumble on the field until the booth reversed the call.
Marcelino has impressed the entire team thus far, so it isn’t unlikely to think that he will continue to start at that husky position for the foreseeable future. We could be seeing a freshman star breaking onto the scene, similar to what we saw of Jonathan Crawford during the non-conference slate last season.
Considering last seasons numbers, this defense is already a huge improvement over past years. Although FIU is a lesser opponent, the signs bode well for the Hoosiers defense for the rest of the season.
3. Running back by committee
During the 2015 season, the Hoosiers relied solely on Jordan Howard until he started getting banged up due to his physical running style. This year it seems like the Hoosiers learned their lesson.
While Devine Redding still remains the bell cow going into the season, rushing 22 times for a total of 135 yards, IU experimented with other options to give Redding a rest. Three other backs had the opportunity to rush for more than five attempts – Mike Majette, Devonte Williams and Cole Gest.
Majette produced the most of the three rushing for 47 yards on ten attempts. He got the most reps of the remaining backups last season, rushing for 186 total yards as the third string back behind Howard and Redding. It appears that Majette will be the backup behind Redding for this season unless Williams or Gest succeed him.
Devonte Williams was the tailback with the third most carries with eight tallying 31 yards. Williams was originally listed as an athlete last season and has been the primary kick returner the past two seasons. The kid is athletic but has to improve his field vision as he routinely runs through the wrong holes during kickoffs.
Cole Gest, the true freshman has garnered praise from coach Wilson, as Gest was mentioned as one of the freshman to get significant minutes this season. He had six rush attempts and totaled 17 total yards with a long of 11. Gest was very fortunate on one occurrence, however, as an FIU defender put his helmet on the ball and forced a fumble – fortunately the ball landed right in the hands of left guard, Wes Martin.
The Hoosiers also have other running backs vying for carries such as Tyler Natee, Alex Rodriguez, and Camion Patrick, once he is back healthy. It looks like the coaching staff is looking to spread the wealth around this year to avoid injuries and fatigue. They take a beating on every carry they get so it makes sense to keep each back fresh into each series.
Wrap Up
The Hoosiers got out of Ocean Bank field with a win and that’s all that matters at this point in the season. These story-lines are just some stuff to keep an eye out for the rest of the year. The season to come sure looks like it will be a year full of excitement because that’s just what Indiana football is accustomed to. Should be another roller coaster ride of a season for the Hoosiers.