Are the Indiana Hoosiers Bowl Bound with Kevin Wilson?

2 of 5

Offense

Wilson might have been saved a quarterback controversy with Tre Roberson’s decision to transfer in June. Nate Sudfeld had a pretty decent sophomore campaign in 2013, throwing for 21 touchdowns and 2,523 yards, but he struggled against tough competition, and Tre Roberson stepped in the final game against Purdue and threw for 6 touchdowns. However, Sudfeld has gotten better this year, and there’s no reason to think he won’t take another step forward this year, as long as he can deal with the loss of his two favorite targets.

More from College Football News

Those targets, Cody Latimer and Kofi Hughes, had more than 1,000 and more than 700 receiving yards respectively last year to go along with 9 and 7 touchdowns. If Sudfeld is to take another step, he’ll have to replace those guys, and tight end Ted Bolser, who caught 6 touchdowns last year, quick fast and in a hurry. Shane Wynn, who was a valuable target last year with 633 receiving yards and a team-leading 11 touchdown, is back for his senior year, but at 5’7 it’s hard to use him outside of the slot. Nick Stoner and Isaiah Roundtree both saw some action last year and could step into leading roles, but the tight end is a major question mark, with Anthony Corsaro and Danny Friend seeing hardly any action last year. The good news, though, is there’s nothing to suggest these young guys can’t fill the void left by Latimer, Hughes, and Bolser, and there are some pretty good newcomers. Receiver Dominic Booth was a Rivals 4-star, and Tight End Jordan Fuchs was a 3-star who stands at 6’6 and 230 pounds. Rivals 3-star freshman Simmie Cobbs stands at 6’4, the tallest of the receivers, and there’s always the chance for Kevin Davis or Isaac Griffith to see some action.

The running game is a big reason to not worry too much about the losses at receiver. Tevin Coleman managed nearly 1,000 yards last year, 958 to be exact, and 12 touchdowns on only 131 attempts, good for a 7.3 yards per carry average. With the receivers gone, Wilson and Offensive Coordinator Kevin Johns might rely more heavily on the running game this year, and that’s good news if Coleman can keep up what he did last year. What will be missed is the two-headed monster of Colemand and Stephen Houston, who is gone after rushing for 753 yards and 5 touchdowns on 112 carries for a 6.7 yards per carry average. But Coleman should be able to shoulder the load, and don’t discount D’Angelo Roberts, who will be entering his senior season and averaged 4.5 yards per carry with 232 yards on 52 attempts. He should be good enough to create another two-headed monster, and the running game should be great, especially because of the final position on offense, where everything starts.

There are 10 players on the offensive line who saw action last year and are back this year, including the top nine contributors. This

Nov 23, 2013; Columbus, OH, Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Nate Sudfeld (7) hands off the ball to running back Stephen Houston (12) during the second half of the game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports

is a line that only gave up 17 sacks last year, which is pretty good, to quarterbacks who don’t necessarily have the quickest releases. It also created a run game where backs as a whole averaged 5.29 yards per attempt. With everybody back, the line should be even better in the run game, and already decent in the pass game, it should improve there too.

With this the offense, the Hoosiers might become a bit more run-oriented than last year, but if a few receivers manage to blossom, this could be a balanced, deadly attack. If they don’t this is still an impressive enough unit to be pretty darn good, and far better than its counterpart.

Home/College Football News