Indiana Football Spring Game Guide

The annual Indiana University spring Cream and Crimson football game is Friday night at 7:00 p.m. eastern at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington.  The game will also be shown live on BTN.

The event marks the 15th and final practice of the spring for the Hoosier football program.  In preparation for the game, The Daily Hoosier has everything you need to get ready including:

• Five things we are watching for.
• Tom Allen’s remarks on the game.
• The scoring system.
• Gameday festivities and details.

FIVE THINGS WE’RE WATCHING FOR

1. Who is going to emerge on the defensive line? There is probably no bigger positional question mark than the defensive line.  The unit is essential to creating the pressure up front that a Tom Allen defense relies on, while also standing up to massive Big Ten offensive lines.  Names you know are returning like Allen Stallings and Gavin Everett although neither will play on Friday.  We’ll be watching to see which young guys can make an impact like James Head, Jonathan King, and Madison Norris.

2. Depth at the skill positions with spring limitations. There is a lot of buzz around the quarterback competition, but the fight for snaps at running back should be a good one too.  Sophomore Stevie Scott is the presumptive starter, but he won’t play on Friday.  Neither will last year’s opening night starter Cole Gest, who is still recovering from knee surgery.  Ronnie Walker is a 4-star caliber recruit but he won’t play either.  That leaves true freshman Sampson James, who will be limited, and a group of up-and-comers to lead the way on Friday.  Can anyone make an impression and create momentum going into fall camp?  Kristian Pechac and Ahrod Lloyd should see plenty of action.

Receivers Nick Westbrook, Ty Fryfogle, Donavan Hale and Whop Philyor are all back in 2019.  Philyor won’t play on Friday and the others are likely to be limited.  The up and coming names we will be watching includes Miles Marshall and Jacolby Hewitt.

3. Can the defensive backs lead the way?  They are a young, fast, physical and ball hawking unit that should be the strength of the defense.  Guys like Marcelino Ball, Cam Jones, A’Shon Riggins, Andre Brown, Khalil Bryant, Bryant Fitzgerald, and Devon Matthews are all experienced and yet all have the ability to take their games to the next level.  If the defense is going to spring back from a down year, it will likely be the playmaking ability of the guys on the back end that make the difference.

We’ll also be watching for Swiss Army Knife Reese Taylor, who should get work in all phases of the game this year including with the defensive backs.

4. Which freshmen will show promise?  Not every freshman is on campus yet, but some like James, Larry Tracy, Mike Katic and Matthew Bedford arrived on campus early and should have a jump on their fellow classmates.  Allen has mentioned all of them as making an impression in the spring.

5. New coordinators looking to make their mark. Coordinators Kane Wommack and Kalen DeBoer are now running the defense and offense, respectively.  Wommack is a student of Tom Allen’s 4-2-5 scheme, and in fact they both learned it from Wommack’s father at Ole Miss.  Accordingly, major changes are not expected on that side of the ball.

DeBoer comes to IU from Fresno State and replaces Mike DeBord.  Don’t expect any major reveals on Friday night, but IU is stacked at the skill positions and DeBoer has an opportunity to make an early impact in 2019.

You can see both coordinators discuss spring practice this week here.

One thing we probably won’t learn much about is the quarterback competition.  Of top contenders Peyton Ramsey, Michael Penix and Jack Tuttle, only Ramsey will participate in live 11-on-11 action.  Penix will take snaps in 7-on-7 drills as he continues to recover from knee surgery, and Tuttle is suffering from an illness and will not participate.  We’ll have to wait for fall camp for what is likely to be the top story going into the 2019 season.

You can see a complete summary of who is gone and who is returning from last year’s team by position here.

COACH ALLEN DISCUSSES THE GAME

Indiana head coach Tom Allen met with the media on Thursday to discuss Friday’s game.

You can also see Allen on BTN this week here.

THE SCORING SYSTEM

You might recall a unique scoring system last year that was created to emphasize the battle for the starting kicker.  With the limitations at the quarterback position (Ramsey should be leading both teams), the staff has developed a new scoring system for the 2019 game.

Spring Game Scoring 📉

Offense ➡️ Standard Scoring

Defense
Stop ➡️ 2 pts
3 & Out ➡️ 3 pts
4th Down Stop ➡️ 3 pts
Missed FG ➡️ 3 pts
Takeaway ➡️ 5 pts
Safety ➡️ 5 pts
Defensive TD ➡️ 7 pts pic.twitter.com/CBydkIshvu

— Indiana Football (@IndianaFootball) April 11, 2019

What’s at stake you ask?  Well, steak.  The losing team will serve a steak dinner to the winners.

GAMEDAY DETAILS

The schedule of events for Friday evening is as follows according to iuhoosiers.com:

Youth Football Clinic – 5 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Memorial Stadium Field
•  Children ages 5-12 are invited to participate in a special one-hour youth football clinic on the Memorial Stadium Field.
•  The non-contact clinic (no helmets or pads) will feature eight different stations and the clinic coaches will be former IU football players.
•  Coach Tom Allen will meet with clinic participants at midfield and a high-five tunnel will be built by current Indiana football players.
•  Children participating in the clinic must have a signed waiver.
•  Parents and guardians should bring clinic participants to the East side of Memorial Stadium at Entry 25 for check-in beginning at 4:30 p.m.

Spring Game Tailgate Party & Fan Zone – 5 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Free Hot Dogs, Brats, Chips & Drinks
• Free hot dogs, brats, chips and drinks will be available on the Memorial Stadium Sample Terrace and Knothole Park.
• Additionally, inflatable games and Selfie Stations will be available to fans. IU Football schedule posters, team rosters and schedule cards will be distributed as well.
• Memorial Stadium concessions stands will also be open that evening for the game.
• Special behind-the-scenes tours of Memorial Stadium will be available to fans from 5:30-6:30 p.m.

2019 Cream & Crimson Game, Presented by Smithville – 7 p.m.
Memorial Stadium
• Preview the 2019 Indiana Hoosiers. Admission to the Cream & Crimson Game is free.
• Players will warm-up starting at approximately 6 p.m.
• At halftime, Coach Allen will speak and recognize players for spring practice awards.
• After the game, the team will sign autographs on the field.
• Parking is free.

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