It has been a big morning for Indiana athletics and especially Indiana football. With the announcement that the football program will be the first group of student athletes back on campus for Indiana, starting June 15, football in the fall is officially on the clock.
Kevin Brockway from CNHI Sports Indiana joined Indiana Sports Beat to talk all things Indiana football.
Though Indiana is having its players return a week later than some other programs, Brockway doesn't see that as any sort of disadvantage at this point, with so much summer left.
“I don’t see that as a major issue at this point since they will have a lot of time to catch up," Brockway said. "The big step forward is that they will actually be there and supervised for workouts."
A major step forward is at least having face-to-face interaction and being able to have in person workouts and meetings. Where it'll have the biggest impact? The weight room.
"It's one thing to hand out a workout plan and it’s another to have that guidance [in person]," Brockway added. "How they are going to go about it with social distancing and how do you do it [is the next step]. Starting out with smaller groups and going up.”
While the offense took a huge step up in production and effectiveness last season, it took the defense a lot longer to make those same strides. Now another offseason for defensive coordinator Kane Wommack to prepare as the sole leader of the defense, expectations are high for the talented unit.
"Tom Allen kinda ceded the defense to Kane Wommack last year and they saw a little drop in takeaways. There is a little of how the ball bounces but some of it can be coaching too," Brockway explained. "Some of the moves they are making, moving Jamar Johnson from the husky spot to that free safety spot and we saw in the Gator Bowl that 63 yard touchdown. He has great coverage instincts and breaks on the ball well and will benefit the secondary.
"Also, moving Bryant Fitzgerald who is more of a physical guy to the husky spot will help in the run," Brockway added. "Raheem Lane back to safety from corner gives them another ball hawking guy back there too."
A lot of expectations are on the defense to make big plays too. Last year it failed to force turnovers or get necessary stops in order to flip the script in a few games. That can't happen in 2020 if Indiana wants to take the next step.
"Sometimes you have to look at scouting reports and after Indiana had so many takeaways in 2018, maybe teams became more conservative and ran the ball more," Brockway said. "But Indiana needs to find ways to get back to that.
"We saw that [big play] potential in Mike Penix on offense," Brockway added. "You can make them on the defensive ball more though. Tom Allen is bringing in athletes and a lot more athletic players and have a lot of guys with a lot of speed. Getting that is part of the process.”
To hear the complete interview and the entire episode, view the tweet below.
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