10/26/2020 football Edit

Monday Morning Wrap-up: A look back at how IU's homegrown talent fared

Paul Gable • TheHoosier

Staff Writer

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The first week of the IHSAA football playoffs began this past week and two Indiana targets helped lift their teams to big victories, while others spent the week fine tuning their skills before opening sectional play this Friday.

Here is a look at how Brebeuf's Joe Strickland and Leo's Landen Livingston fared, as they spent some time after their games talking to TheHoosier.com about their seasons and how recruiting has gone recently.

For Strickland, a defensive end at Brebeuf Jesuit, he came up huge for the Braves, who defeated North Montgomery 38-20 in the opening round of the Class 3A Sectional 28 tournament. With the win, Brebeuf will take on Yorktown this Friday.

"It was pretty good. We won, and that's good, of course. We got to keep pushing through the tournament," Strickland told TheHoosier.com.

The season has been a bizarre one for Strickland, as Brebeuf was forced to shut things down due to Covid-19 before rebounding. According to Strickland, the Braves are hitting their stride.

"The season has gone okay. We are gaining momentum and need to keep it up," he said.

Also gaining momentum is his recruitment, as Strickland now holds offers from Michigan, Penn State, Purdue, Arizona State, Boston College, Cincinnati, Duke, Eastern Kentucky, Kansas, Michigan State, Minnesota, Kentucky, Nebraska, Toledo, Stanford, Virginia, Virginia Tech and West Virginia, as well as Indiana.

Strickland said he continues to speak with Indiana head coach Tom Allen and assistant Kevin Peoples weekly.

"We are just building relationships and furthering the process," Strickland added. "Coach Allen's thing is LEO, love each other. I like his morals and how he goes about life."

As for Livingston, the Leo junior offensive lineman played a huge role in helping lift the Lions to a 14-7 win over Northridge in the Class 4A Sectional 19 opening round.

Livingston got it done on both sides of the ball, notching a sack and then setting up crucial blocks on a Tanner Jackson touchdown run, which proved to be the deciding factor.

"It feels amazing. I am very proud of all my teammates and the energy they brought in the second half. The fans were incredible," Livingston told TheHoosier.com after the game.

As for recruiting, Livingston has offers from Arizona State, Ball State, Cincinnati, Bowling Green, Michigan State, Purdue, Toledo and West Virginia, along with the Hoosiers.

Livingston said he has been talking with all the Indiana coaches on FaceTime.

"I've really enjoyed those. We've been talking about their season and the plans for it. Most of it has been about personal life I would say," he said.

He continues to build that relationship and fondness of Coach Allen.

"Coach Allen is one of the nicest guys ever. He really takes time to talk to you. You can tell that he really cares for his team and all the recruits. I have a lot of respect for that," Livingston said.