To say that Bryant Fitzgerald has had an interesting start to his career at Indiana would be a major understatement. Interesting probably isn’t the right word. Unfortunate? No, probably the best way to describe it is simply…ridiculous. Fitzgerald, who was by some accounts the top high school defensive back in the state of Indiana in 2016 was deemed ineligible by the NCAA for his freshman season at IU. The Avon, Indiana native received bad advice from the IU Athletic Department regarding how to ensure that he was qualified to play his freshman year. No doubt about it — IU screwed…
Author: Mike Schumann
Training camps have started around the NFL, and multiple former Indiana University football stars are looking to continue or start careers in the league. The former Hoosiers cover the spectrum, from high caliber NFL stars, to new draft picks, to guys just trying to land on an opening day roster. Here are the former Hoosiers that are on team training camp rosters, with jersey numbers so you can look for them as preseason play begins this week. Tevin Coleman (#26) — Atlanta. Coleman begins his fourth season as a running back with the Falcons. Ian Thomas (#80) — Carolina. Thomas is a rookie…
Indiana isn’t finished offering class of 2019 targets. The latest incoming senior to receive an IU offer is North Carolina big man Kadin Shedrick. The offer was reported by multiple outlets on Twitter. https://twitter.com/VerbalCommits/status/1027354057969680387 It’s an interesting offer on multiple fronts. First, most analysts believe that IU is the strongest right now with forwards in the class of 2019. While the Hoosiers have no commitments to date, forwards Trayce Jackson-Davis and Keion Brooks, Jr. seem to be the most likely to commit with Indiana. Other prospects like Zeke Nnaji and Matthew Hurt seem likely to at least visit Bloomington in…
If you want to talk about Indiana University football “husky” defensive back Marcelino Ball, you really have to start with his break-out 2016 freshman season. Most freshmen spend their first season getting bigger and learning the system while waiting for their opportunity. That would have been especially understandable for Ball, who didn’t reach his 18th birthday until the March after his freshman campaign. But Ball was a sensation from day one. It takes a truly gifted talent and a quick study to compete in the Big Ten at such a young age, but the determined defensive back was undaunted. Ball…
ESSENTIALS Hometown – Brooklyn, New York (MacDuffie) Position – Shooting Guard Height – 6-foot-5 Weight – 180 247 Sports Composite Rating – 4-star (Top 100) Primary Competition – UConn, Miami, Virginia Tech, VCU (final five). Timeline — With his final five in place, Bouknight will take official visits in August and September and then decide later in the fall. Indiana Connections — Bouknight comes from the same AAU program (PSA Cardinals) as Indiana freshman Jake Forrester and the two are good friends. It is also the AAU program that produced Thomas Bryant. QUOTABLE “I am excited to get an offer from any…
One of the nation’s premier men’s soccer programs will seek its ninth national title during the 2018 season. The season begins with an exhibition match in Bloomington on August 12 against Xavier. The regular season starts on August 24 against Wake Forest in North Carolina. There will be no shortage of high end competition on the 2018 schedule as the Hoosiers have one of the most difficult slates in the country. The 2018 campaign features matches against 10 NCAA Tournament teams from last season and nine squads who finished in the top-25 or were receiving votes in the final United…
ESSENTIALS Hometown – Hopkins, Minnesota (Hopkins) Position – Forward Height – 6-foot-10 Weight – 215 247 Sports Composite Rating – 4-star (top 50) Primary Competition – Kansas, UCLA, Arizona, Iowa, Baylor, Minnesota and Wisconsin Timeline — IU unofficial visit August 26. Visits in the late summer / early fall, decision in October / November. Indiana Connections — Nnaji plays for the D1 Minnesota AAU program that includes Matthew Hurt. IU assistant coach Tom Ostrom is from Minnesota, has close ties in that state, led the recruitment of Hoosier Race Thompson, and is also leading the Nnaji recruitment. QUOTABLE “They would really like…
The Big Ten Network Bus Tour made its first stop of 2018 in Bloomington as it visits all 14 Big Ten football programs over the coming weeks. The network’s crew of Dave Revsine, Gerry DiNardo and Howard Griffith set up shop in Memorial Stadium with the new south end zone in the background. Below are their on set interviews with IU players Marcelino Ball, Jonathan Crawford, and Nick Westbrook. Also included further below is the BTN crew’s assessment of the best thing they saw during their day at IU. MARCELINO BALL and JONATHAN CRAWFORD The veteran Hoosier defensive backs discuss…
The Big Ten Network Bus Tour made its first stop of 2018 in Bloomington as it visits all 14 Big Ten football programs over the coming weeks. The network’s crew of Dave Revsine, Gerry DiNardo and Howard Griffith set up shop in Memorial Stadium with the new south end zone in the background. Below are their on set interviews with IU coaches Tom Allen, Mike DeBord and Mark Hagen. TOM ALLEN – HEAD COACH What he learned from year one Scrimmage plans New redshirt rule Which units need to have a good camp The quarterback competition Facilities upgrades https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFQFm6kujV4 MIKE…
Tom Allen was not able to accomplish the Indiana football breakthrough in 2017. The defensive mastermind undeniably led the IU defense to a breakthrough in 2016, but by just about any measure, there was no significant breakthrough in his first year as head coach in 2017. While the second year head coach may have set the standard, it may have been unrealistic to expect it to happen in year one of Allen’s tenure. Whether it is year one, year two or year five — there have been significant turnarounds in college football history. Today, we take a look at some…