Coffman, Sudfeld excel in Indiana’s spring game
By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Correspondent
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Roughly 8,000 fans came to Memorial Stadium Saturday to see Indiana wrap up spring practice with its annual intrasquad spring game. Cream defeated Crimson 21-7 behind two touchdown catches from Shane Wynn and a scoring run by Tevin Coleman.
To come out of spring and out of today healthy was good, Indiana coach Kevin Wilson said. To get some game situations, we’ll learn from that. To wrap it up with a lot of fun was good. We’ve made strides. Long way to go, but it’s a nice conclusion to what’s been a good spring.
Observations
- Wilson turned to a gimmick to decide who his starting quarterback would be. Three teams of students competed in a relay race before the game, with each team representing one of three competitors for Indiana’s top quarterback spot. Cameron Coffman’s representatives won, and so he went first. But Coffman, Nate Sudfeld and Tre Roberson all played extensively. Each took snaps with the Cream team as well as the Crimson. Wilson said prior to the spring game that the competition was a dead heat, and he made sure to avoid any appearance of favoritism on Saturday.
- Coffman and Sudfeld outplayed Roberson. Between them, flip a coin. Each was excellent. Coffman threw an interception – the only turnover – but also completed the deepest passes. He hit a long one to Duwyce Wilson, who, according to his head coach, has had an excellent spring. Coffman put the right amount of touch on a sideline throw to Wynn. And Coffman capped his afternoon with a beautifully thrown ball right into the hands of Wynn in the back of the end zone. Sudfeld’s best moment came in the third quarter and resulted in Crimson’s only score. From 37 yards out, the rising sophomore pulled off a difficult feat, unleashing a pass with plenty of air under it but also pinpoint accuracy. Wide receiver Cody Latimer caught the ball in stride in the front of the end zone near the pylon. Roberson showed off his trademark speed with a designed run to the left side and made a nice throw to Latimer for a first down in the face of a blitz. But Roberson also suffered from a few poor decisions – throwing into triple coverage might have worked if Randy Moss was the receiver – and failed to lead a scoring drive.
- Coffman completed 17 of 23 passes for 174 yards. Sudfeld was 14-of-16 for 181 yards.
- Wilson on his three quarterbacks: It’s a tough deal because I think they’ve all been pretty good. It’s our problem in how to keep developing them. No one’s been bad. We’ll see how they go through summer. I would love to see someone separate. We’re not going to be good unless one of those quarterbacks plays great.
- Indiana fans should be happy with any of the three quarterbacks. There’s no wrong answer. The lead signal caller isn’t unknown because no one’s good enough. It’s an open competition because so many effective options exist on the roster. Roberson had the job last season and looked great before breaking his leg in the second game. He is the most mobile and athletic. But Indiana’s offense isn’t designed like Urban Meyer’s, which is dependent on a quarterback for carries, draws and option plays. Wilson spreads the field for incessant short, quick passes. Coffman does that well, although he tends to throw interceptions. Sudfeld seemed to spark his teammates in seven appearances last season, is smart and has by far the most size at 6-foot-5 and 234 pounds. Wilson said Sudfeld has a lot of talent. No argument there; Sudfeld has a very compelling case for the job. I think we have three quarterbacks we can win with, Wilson said.
- Wilson said all schemes and plays in the game were basic. Vanilla, in his words. You don’t want to show a lot to your opponent, he explained. They would get a free scouting report.
- Indiana lost just three starters off last season’s team: the center and both defensive tackles. At center, rising junior Collin Rahrig might have an edge, although he’s not the biggest option. A few defensive tackles stood out Saturday. Redshirt freshman Ralphael Green and rising junior Jordan Heiderman each were credited with a sack. Rising junior Leneil Himes twice blew up running plays with penetration into the backfield.
- Wilson is primarily after two things on defense: swagger and more turnovers. Getting better on that side of the ball is understandably a huge priority. Some missed tackles stuck out – Kenny Mullen missed a golden opportunity to drag Wynn to the ground on Wynn’s first touchdown – but for the most part defenders performed respectably.
- Linebacker Jacarri Alexander stood out with 1.5 sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss. Another linebacker, incoming freshman T.J. Simmons, caught Wilson’s attention with a strong performance that included a sack of Roberson. Very physical, assertive, Wilson said. He has a chance to be a quality player.
- Wynn was good last year. He might be a consistent star this season. His routes were sharp and he was catching the ball deeper down the field Saturday. He was more or less the standout performer in the spring game with six catches for 97 yards and those two touchdowns. Duwyce Wilson added four catches for 50 yards. Latimer snagged four passes for 62 yards. Tight end Ted Bolser finished with three grabs for 50 yards. That’s a heck of a receiving corps for whoever is the quarterback in the fall.
- Michael Hunter played well and might offer desirable depth at cornerback. On one play, Hunter maintained tight coverage on an out route by Latimer, who some consider the team’s best receiver. On another, Hunter completed a rush to the quarterback. Indiana’s corners in the past have rarely shown the versatility to tackle, cover and blitz off the edge. Hunter displayed all three skills Saturday. He has size and speed. He’s still young, so there is real upside.
- Whether or not Indiana fulfills early hopes of a rare bowl appearance – there’s no reason why the Hoosiers can’t – depends on finding defensive backs who can cover anybody consistently and solidifying the defensive line. The trump card, as Wilson alluded, is a quarterback reaching All-Big Ten status, as Kellen Lewis did in 2007 when he led Indiana to its only bowl game since 1993. Given the gifts of Roberson, Sudfeld and Coffman, don’t rule that out.
