Stronger Nile Sykes Ready To Help Elevate Indiana's Defensive Line
Over the course of his first two seasons, Nile Sykes played in 25 of a possible 26 games, an impressive accomplishment in staying healthy.
However, the IU redshirt senior defensive end ran into bad luck during fall camp last year when he suffered a torn pectoral muscle on the final offseason workout. Just like that, his redshirt sophomore season gone.
But Sykes is at full strength now, and he's ready to help elevate Indiana's pass rush like he was supposed to last fall.
"I think I had one of the best offseasons, spring, summer, all the way up until camp, since I've been here," Sykes said. "When I got hurt on the last workout of camp, it was a really big blow and hard to deal with. But I dealt with it, and I'm back."
A player dubbed as the Hoosiers' best pass rusher by defensive line coach Mark Hagen, Sykes immediately went to work after completing the rehabilitation that followed his surgery.
As his participation level began to increase the further he made progress, Sykes said he gradually starting getting in the weight room and running every single day. He put three pounds of muscle on his 6-foot-2 frame, going from 250 pounds at the beginning of last fall to 253 pounds heading into spring practices.
"I knew I was out for the season, so I was basically getting ready for winter workouts and just getting ready to get back with the team so I didn't really miss a beat," Sykes said.
Sykes especially gained from working with the new IU strength and conditioning coaches - Director of Athletic Performance David Ballou and Athletic Performance Coach Dr. Matt Rhea - over the wintertime, according to Indiana head coach Tom Allen.
"His physical strength wasn't one of his assets a year ago," Allen said. "And now having all this time to do it and benefitting from a new strength staff, he's changed his body in a really good way."
When healthy, Sykes causes havoc at the line of scrimmage for Indiana.
After playing in 11 of 12 games and appearing primarily on specials as a redshirt freshman in 2015, Sykes played in all 13 games and made his first career start in the Purdue win at defensive end as a redshirt sophomore in 2016.
The Monitini (Ill.) Catholic product also collected 18 solo tackles, five sacks for 37 total yards lost, seven tackles for loss (47 yards), one fumble recovery and two pass breakups during the 2016 season, finishing second on the team in sacks and fourth in tackles for loss.
In Sykes' absence, junior defensive end Allen Stallings emerged with 25 tackles, 15 solo, three sacks (16 yards), 5.5 tackles for loss (26 yards), one forced fumble, one safety and two quarterback hurries in 2017, finishing third among IU defensive linemen in tackles, fourth in sacks and tied for fourth in tackles for loss.
Hagen sees both having the potential to become a formidable duo on the edge for Indiana, and will need both to step up with Greg Gooch and Robert McCray graduating.
"Having Nile on one edge and Stallings on another edge gives you two really good pass rushers," Hagen said. "You really can't just focus on one guy."
Sykes doesn't recall the exact point in the offseason when he reached 100 percent, nor is it something he's focused on now that he's back out on the field.
"I'm just going to keep trying to knock the rust off and keep going," he said.
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