Indiana Football vs Eastern Illinois: 5 impact players to watch

Week two is upon us as Indiana football takes on Eastern Illinois on Saturday in the Hoosiers’ home opener, looking to go 2-0.

The Indiana football program got off to a good start in week one when it beat Ball State 34-24, and now turns its attention to the Eastern Illinois Panthers on Saturday. Eastern Illinois lost its opener and looks to rebound and win on the road in Bloomington.

Last season, the Panthers went (3-8) and finished sixth in the Ohio Valley Conference. Despite the record, they were able to put up points. The Panthers averaged 32.0 points per game, scoring above 50 points twice.

Adam Cushing now takes over the Panthers program and looks to turn it around after 15 seasons on Pat Fitzgerald’s staff at Northwestern.

Returning very few players from a season ago, nearly 50 percent of the players on the roster being freshmen, it will still be a learning process for most of the team.

Despite that however, there are still skilled players on the field for the Panthers.

Before we show our five impact players for the game, here are a few other names to keep an eye on for both sides.

Honorable Mention:

Bryce Dewberry (Eastern Illinois, DB) – The sophomore finished with 28 tackles, one interception, one forced fumble, and three pass breakups as a freshman in 2018. He recorded an interception in the Panthers season opener.

Terrell Greer (Eastern Illinois, DL) – 20 career starts for Greer has made him a preseason All-OVC candidate. Has amassed 96 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, and 3.5 sacks in his career.

Edwyn Brown (Eastern Illinois, DB) – Second team Freshman All-American in 2018, Brown finished with 55 tackles and two interceptions.

Michael Penix (Indiana, QB) – After his first start throwing for 326 yards, Penix looks to take another step up against a defense ranked second to last in OVC in completion percentage (63.9) and third to last in total passing yards (3,033) in 2018.