This has been a good news week on the De'Ron Davis front outside of the fact it looks like he will go through with the Mississippi State official visit this weekend.
Right now it depends on who you talk to as to whether he will ultimately choose the Hoosiers or the Bulldogs. IU has been on him much longer but Ben Howland gets the last visit and the early signing period begins next Wednesday.
Right now give the slight edge to Indiana and if that's true we'll just have to see if the trip changes things. Close enough call that it might.
Mississippi State did pick up a commitment from Schnider Herard this week. He's much more of a five than Davis and Howland has a lot of scholarships at his disposal, so not expecting this news to impact their interest in Davis.
Mario Kegler was expected to be down to three schools by now but that hasn't yet happened. As reported here before, Indiana (per his AAU coach) was projected to make that cut. From what we have heard Mississippi State would likely as well (he's from Mississippi). Maryland has been thought to be strong enough with him to also make that cut but the Terps have offered another small forward, Micah Thomas, a teammate of Curtis Jones at Huntington Prep. Arizona State might be a sleeper choice here to make the cut to three.
While we continue to hear Indiana is among those out in front with Bruce Brown, more sourced info the last few days that he's contemplating not making a decision this fall.
Brown's visit to Purdue for this weekend has been an on again, off again situation. He's previously visited Indiana, Miami-FL and Xavier and his home state UMass remains very much involved. It will be interesting to see who stays in the hunt if the decision won't get made till after the early signing period that ends November 18th.
Five-star power forward Jarrett Allen is visiting Kentucky this weekend. Allen put Indiana in his top eight but has not scheduled any visits to Bloomington and the UK trip will be his fourth official. Each prospect is allowed five, so there's that. He's taken prior trips to Notre Dame, Houston and Kentucky. He's from Austin and has taken several unofficials to Texas. Would expect him to choose from the five he's seen through this weekend but never know as he's been described as a hard guy to read.
Many Big Ten teams have already played an exhibition game and/or had a team scrimmage. Those early showings can be a sign of which returning players may have improved or which newcomers may be ready to make a big impact.
With that in mind here are a few observations from that preseason action:
Illinois - not much is expected of the Illini due to issues at point guard and just a rash of injuries to overcome. Good news is Boston College grad transfer Mike Thorne looks good early. The 6-foot-10 transfer was terrific in a recent team scrimmage, leading the scoring with 15 and more impressively, he hauled down 15 rebounds and blockd four shots. Besides Tracy Abrams, who is out again with a season ending injury, Kendrick Nunn, Jalen Coleman-Lands and LeRon Black all sat out the game with injuries.
The Illinois also held a secret scrimmage against Xavier last weekend in Indianapolis. Word was Malcolm Hill led them in scoring and Thorne was good. Jaylon Tate looks like the starter at point for the moment. Could be challenged by Coleman-Lands (stress fracture) who is practicing more but did not play in the secret scrimmage.
Iowa - senior point Mike Gesell had 24 points and six assists in 99-73 exhibition win over Sioux Falls. Peter Jok had 18 and Jarrod Uthoff had 13 and 10 boards. Freshman Andrew Fleming (6'5) saw the most time of the newcomers and was solid, scoring eight points in 14 minutes.
Iowa gets a good test tonight when they host Augustana (SD), ranked No. 1 in the NABC Coaches Preseason Division II poll. Bellarmine, Indiana's opponent on Monday night, is ranked No. 4 in that poll. UIndy is No. 8.
Maryland - Terps only play one exhibition and that is this evening but word finally leaking out on their much talked about secret scrimmage with Big East favorite Villanova. We're hearing Nova was the better team that day last week thanks to big play from Kris Jenkins.
Coach Mark Turgeon said he's really happy with practice this week and that GaTech transfer Robert Carter has been a real leader and hinted he may have more of an impact inside, at least early on, than hyped five-star Diamond Stone.
Michigan - only one exhibition that will be played tonight. Zak Irvin had back surgery in September that has sidelined him this fall but he's expected back soon (Irvin will not play tonight). A lot of optimism due to the injury returns of Caris LeVert and Derrick Walton and the late season play from last year's frosh class.
John Beilein will actually be coaching against his son Patrick tonight who took over the Le Moyne program over the summer.
Michigan State - Spartans had easy time in knocking of Northern Michigan this Wednesday, 94-53. Senior shooting guard Bryan Forbes led with 23 points and Denzel Valentine recorded a triple-double.
The game was a bit like Indiana's in that it was close for awhile but MSU dominated the second half and passed out 17 assists in that half on 19 made baskets.
Tom Izzo started sophomores Javon Bess and Lourawls Nairn next to returning starters Forbes, Matt Costello and Valentine. Bess battled injuries last year but is a bit of a Jae'Sean Tate type undersized forward or power wing who uses his strength well inside. Bess had 11 points and nine rebounds in 19 minutes of action.
McDonald's All-American big man Deyonta Davis also looked good, missing just two shots in a 12 point, four block game.
Minnesota - Gophers have some new pieces and may take awhile to get going. On Sunday they got down 16-9 to Minnesota Crookston and only led 30-26 at half before moving on to 74-57 win. The good news is 6-foot-6 frosh Jordan Murphy continues to impress as he led all with 19 points. Ranked No. 133 overall by Rivals, Murphy also had 14 in an earlier team scrimmage.
Carlos Morris was the best player in the early scrimmage (22 points) and along with Murphy and Joey King appear to be Rich Pitino's main three cogs. Frosh PG Kevin Dorsey could be a key. He had 20 points in the scrimmage but was scoreless (0-7 FG) in the exhibition.
Nebraska - the Huskers scrimmaged Wyoming last weekend in two different sessions, one in the morning and then another in the afternoon. Nebraska won the morning "controlled" scrimmage, 89-67. Veteran forward Shavon Shields had 19 on 8-for-12 shooting
In the afternoon Wyoming won a 20 minute segment, 40-37 and then the teams tied at 19 in a second 10-minute segment. A final six minute sesson was won by the Huskers, 9-2. Freshman Glynn Watson looked very much like the starter at point for this team, leading all with 20 points over the three afternoon segments.
Northwestern - Chris Collins' team has aleady played a pair of exhibition games. Last night the Wildcats beat Quincy, 80-64. Frosh Aaron Falzon, a 6-foot-8 forward, led with 15 points off the bench. Falzon didn't start but he was ranked No. 92 overall in the Class of 2015 by Rivals and looks like an impact player already.
Another impact guy could be Virginia Tech grad transfer Joey van Zegeren. The 6-foot-10 big man came off the bench as well but had eight points, 10 rebounds and a pair of blocks in 15 minutes.
Senior Tre Demps is playing more with the ball in his hands this year per several media reports and supported that with six assists versus one turnover in the game.
Ohio State - not a lot to report on since OSU's only exhibition game is this Sunday and no team scrimmage news on the official web site. This will be a young but talented team as forward Marc Loving and shooting guard Kam Williams are the most experienced players.
Buckeye coach Thad Matta did send Loving to media day in Chicago which is a good sign as he was suspended for three games during the Big Ten season last year. Had the chance to talk to Loving in Chicago and had good things to say about the play of freshmen A.J. Harris and JaQuan Lyle at the point position, one of the big questions marks of this team. Lyle has really trimmed down and it has really helped with his movement on the court.
Loving was also high on Indy native Trevor Thompson as the 6-foot-11 VaTech transfer is now eligible.
Penn State - blessed with size this year, Pat Chambers said a few days ago his team is playing more inside-out than he usually has his teams play.
Look for sophomore Shep Garner to take over as the go-to guy for this team and this week Chambers praised his leadership along with veteran forward Brandon Taylor.
No exhibition games for PSU this year. The Lions open the year next Saturday with VMI and won't leave their home state until December.
Purdue - Five-star big forward Caleb Swanigan was cleared and is making an immediate impact. In the annual Gold-Black scrimmage he had 22 points and 13 rebounds. He then went for a double-double in scrimmage win over Dayton. The issue for him will be defense as Isaac Haas or AJ Hammons will usually be guarding the slowest frontcourt player.
Soph Vince Edwards looks poised for a big season and had a team high 25 points and added 10 boards and six assists, going 11-for-16 from the floor including 3-for-5 on 3FGs.
Freshman Ryan Cline knocked down five straight 3-pointers in the game. He may still get redshirted along with another guard, Grant Weatherford. Cline may be more likely to play. Junior Basil Smotherman is going to be redshirted.
Keep asking people up that way about Johnny Hill because if he's anything like Octeus, this is a team that could contend for the title. What I hear is he's been pretty solid thus far. There's also an expectation that Edwards will play much more with the ball in his hands this year due to glut of big men.
Speaking of big men, senior center AJ Hammons did not play in a controlled scrimmage against Dayton last Sunday and is apparently dealing with some personal issus that has his status for Sunday's exibition opener is in doubt. If you recall, Hammons was suspended three games in his soph season for violation of team rules. But in this situation he's not suspended.
Rutgers - no exhibitions or scrimmages to pass along. Eddie Jordan said in Chicago he's got a very young team but likes his depth more than recent squads. Added that he's not going to play as much Princeton type offense and will go with a more perimeter oriented approach. He said he felt the change was necessary because his Knights really struggled to score despite having Myles Mack and Kadeem Jack, who have both exhuasted their eligibility.
As far as practice play, Jordan said veteran shooting guard Mike Williams has been playing well this fall.
Wisconsin - Redshirt frosh Ethan Happ is going to be counted on to help replace Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker and he had 16 points (7-9 FG), 10 rebounds and two blocks in 101-46 exhibition win Wednesday night over UW-River Falls. He was a Rivals150 forward he has sprouted some to 6-foot-9 since hie high school days.
Speaking of redshirts, highly regarded recruit Brevin Pritzl (6'3 shooting guard) has been battling an injury and may redshirt. Former IU target Alex Illikainen has come up as a redshirt possibility but he's starting to come on. He's bulked up to 6-foot-9, 220-pounds and had 12 points and seven boards on Wednesday.
Jordan Hill is coming off a redshirt and has been mentioned as one of the guys that could fill the guard spot next to Bronson Koenig but he hasn't stood out much and was 1-for-4 FG with no assists in the exhibition. Former walk-on Zak Showalter got the start at that spot and struggled himself, going 0-for-4.
Belgian newcomer Andy Van Vliet is currently not eligible. He's a 6-foot-11 center who has plenty of Belgian junior national team experience and played as an amateur on club teams in the country. Appeal is complicated due to the unique academic situation in Belgium and not related to poor grades.
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The Hoosiers return to the field this week with a home game against 10th ranked Iowa. The Hawkeyes come into the game with an overall record of 8-0, and a 4-0 Big Ten record. Like they do in most years Iowa plays great defense and they run the ball well on offense. The game will kick-off at 3:30 p.m. EST and it will be televised on ESPN. Below are the stories that we and the Iowa Rivals site have done leading up to the game.
A look at the Hawkeyes
The Breakdown
Iowa week: Nate Sudfeld Q&A
Behind Enemy Lines
Peegs TV: Hunting the Hawkeyes
Ferentz impressed with the IU offense
Ten Takeaways
Coach TV: Wilson on bye week, Iowa
Indiana-Michigan State: A Look Back
-----
Indiana quarterback Nate Sudfeld is in the running for another national award. Earlier this week it was announced that he is one of eight semifinalists for the 2015 Wuerffel Trophy. This is an award that is known as College Football's Premier Award for Community Service. You can read more about Sudfeld and being a candidate for the Wuerffel Trophy here.
Sudfeld was also named as the NFF Scholar-Athlete of the Day earlier this week. You can read more about that here.
-----
With the team back at home the coaches are able to bring some recruits on campus for visits and Peegs.com has compiled a list of prospects we have confirmed will be in attendance for tomorrow’s game against the Hawkeyes. The list is on our Premium FB Board and here is the link.
-----
Next week should be an even bigger visit weekend for the Hoosiers with Michigan coming to town. As of now there are two official visitors expected to arrive next Friday for weekend trips in IU commit Khalil Bryant, and junior college QB Richard Lagow.
There is the possibility that there could be more official visitors, and there will almost certainly be several unofficial visitors for that game. As we get closer to next weekend's game Peegs.com will put together a list of recruits expected to be on campus for the game against the Wolverines.
-----
Another prospect that plans on making an official visit to IU is junior college tight end Ian Thomas. The standout from Nassau C.C. in New York told Peegs.com that it looks like he will be taking his official to Indiana the weekend of December 11th. We recently spoke to Thomas about his interest in the Hoosiers. You can check out that story here.
News also came out this week that Indiana has offered junior college linebacker Detric Bing-Dukes. Coming out of Tucker H.S. in Atlanta as a member of the 2014 class Bing-Dukes was a four-star recruit that signed with Georgia and spent the 2014 season as a redshirt. He decided to leave the Bulldogs program because he was looking for more playing time and he ended up at Iowa Western C.C. He plays on the same defense as 2016 Indiana commit Jayme Thompson. He will have three years to play three starting with the 2016 season.
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Coach Kevin Wilson has mentioned that the staff is looking for big bodies in the 2016 class that can play on the offensive or defensive line and one prospect that could be an option for IU is Dee Nalls. The three-star offensive lineman from Alabama is currently committed to Mississippi State but in this story he mentions Indiana as a school that he could take an official visit to.
-----
A top target for the Hoosiers in the 2017 class is QB Chris Katrenick. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound standout from Jacobs H.S. in Algonquin, Illinois was down at IU last month for a visit. He recently spoke to Rivals.com Midwest Recruiting Analyst Josh Helmholdt about his recruiting and he told Helmholdt that Indiana is the school he communicates with the most. You can read that story here.
-----
The Indiana staff has extended some new offers this week to the following prospects:
2017 Ohio DL Derrius Mullins
2017 Florida DL Robert Porcher
2017 Texas WR Charleston Rambo
-----
The 2016 Indiana recruiting class is getting close to the end of their regular seasons and Peegs.com has been keeping track of how each commit is doing. You can check out our weekly feature that checks in on each commit and gives an update on how their respective seasons are going. Here is our Following the Future story.
Indiana QB commit Peyton Ramsey was named the Penn Station Athlete of the Month earlier this week. Here is a link from 700WLW.com talking about Ramsey picking up that award.
Fellow IU commit Cole Gest just finished his regular season at St. Edward in Lakewood, Ohio and you can check out his highlight film. In 10 games Gest has accounted for more than 1,600 yards of total offense and 18 total touchdowns. Here are his regular season highlights.
-----
The NFL just finished up week eight of the 2015 season and there are a handful of Hoosiers who are getting playing time for their respective teams. Each week Peegs.com puts out a weekly feature on how former Hoosiers playing in the NFL are doing. Here is the update on how four former IU players did in week eight of the NFL season.
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Former Indiana standout Tracy Porter is playing for the Chicago Bears this season and after missing the first few games with an injury he is having a solid season. Here is a story that talks about his versatility as a defensive back and how he is able to help the Bears at different spots in the secondary.
A couple other former IU standouts have recently found new homes in the NFL. The Oakland Raiders have signed Marcus Thigpen to their active roster, while the New York Jets have signed Shane Wynn to their practice squad.
Right now it depends on who you talk to as to whether he will ultimately choose the Hoosiers or the Bulldogs. IU has been on him much longer but Ben Howland gets the last visit and the early signing period begins next Wednesday.
Right now give the slight edge to Indiana and if that's true we'll just have to see if the trip changes things. Close enough call that it might.
Mississippi State did pick up a commitment from Schnider Herard this week. He's much more of a five than Davis and Howland has a lot of scholarships at his disposal, so not expecting this news to impact their interest in Davis.
Mario Kegler was expected to be down to three schools by now but that hasn't yet happened. As reported here before, Indiana (per his AAU coach) was projected to make that cut. From what we have heard Mississippi State would likely as well (he's from Mississippi). Maryland has been thought to be strong enough with him to also make that cut but the Terps have offered another small forward, Micah Thomas, a teammate of Curtis Jones at Huntington Prep. Arizona State might be a sleeper choice here to make the cut to three.
While we continue to hear Indiana is among those out in front with Bruce Brown, more sourced info the last few days that he's contemplating not making a decision this fall.
Brown's visit to Purdue for this weekend has been an on again, off again situation. He's previously visited Indiana, Miami-FL and Xavier and his home state UMass remains very much involved. It will be interesting to see who stays in the hunt if the decision won't get made till after the early signing period that ends November 18th.
Five-star power forward Jarrett Allen is visiting Kentucky this weekend. Allen put Indiana in his top eight but has not scheduled any visits to Bloomington and the UK trip will be his fourth official. Each prospect is allowed five, so there's that. He's taken prior trips to Notre Dame, Houston and Kentucky. He's from Austin and has taken several unofficials to Texas. Would expect him to choose from the five he's seen through this weekend but never know as he's been described as a hard guy to read.
Many Big Ten teams have already played an exhibition game and/or had a team scrimmage. Those early showings can be a sign of which returning players may have improved or which newcomers may be ready to make a big impact.
With that in mind here are a few observations from that preseason action:
Illinois - not much is expected of the Illini due to issues at point guard and just a rash of injuries to overcome. Good news is Boston College grad transfer Mike Thorne looks good early. The 6-foot-10 transfer was terrific in a recent team scrimmage, leading the scoring with 15 and more impressively, he hauled down 15 rebounds and blockd four shots. Besides Tracy Abrams, who is out again with a season ending injury, Kendrick Nunn, Jalen Coleman-Lands and LeRon Black all sat out the game with injuries.
The Illinois also held a secret scrimmage against Xavier last weekend in Indianapolis. Word was Malcolm Hill led them in scoring and Thorne was good. Jaylon Tate looks like the starter at point for the moment. Could be challenged by Coleman-Lands (stress fracture) who is practicing more but did not play in the secret scrimmage.
Iowa - senior point Mike Gesell had 24 points and six assists in 99-73 exhibition win over Sioux Falls. Peter Jok had 18 and Jarrod Uthoff had 13 and 10 boards. Freshman Andrew Fleming (6'5) saw the most time of the newcomers and was solid, scoring eight points in 14 minutes.
Iowa gets a good test tonight when they host Augustana (SD), ranked No. 1 in the NABC Coaches Preseason Division II poll. Bellarmine, Indiana's opponent on Monday night, is ranked No. 4 in that poll. UIndy is No. 8.
Maryland - Terps only play one exhibition and that is this evening but word finally leaking out on their much talked about secret scrimmage with Big East favorite Villanova. We're hearing Nova was the better team that day last week thanks to big play from Kris Jenkins.
Coach Mark Turgeon said he's really happy with practice this week and that GaTech transfer Robert Carter has been a real leader and hinted he may have more of an impact inside, at least early on, than hyped five-star Diamond Stone.
Michigan - only one exhibition that will be played tonight. Zak Irvin had back surgery in September that has sidelined him this fall but he's expected back soon (Irvin will not play tonight). A lot of optimism due to the injury returns of Caris LeVert and Derrick Walton and the late season play from last year's frosh class.
John Beilein will actually be coaching against his son Patrick tonight who took over the Le Moyne program over the summer.
Michigan State - Spartans had easy time in knocking of Northern Michigan this Wednesday, 94-53. Senior shooting guard Bryan Forbes led with 23 points and Denzel Valentine recorded a triple-double.
The game was a bit like Indiana's in that it was close for awhile but MSU dominated the second half and passed out 17 assists in that half on 19 made baskets.
Tom Izzo started sophomores Javon Bess and Lourawls Nairn next to returning starters Forbes, Matt Costello and Valentine. Bess battled injuries last year but is a bit of a Jae'Sean Tate type undersized forward or power wing who uses his strength well inside. Bess had 11 points and nine rebounds in 19 minutes of action.
McDonald's All-American big man Deyonta Davis also looked good, missing just two shots in a 12 point, four block game.
Minnesota - Gophers have some new pieces and may take awhile to get going. On Sunday they got down 16-9 to Minnesota Crookston and only led 30-26 at half before moving on to 74-57 win. The good news is 6-foot-6 frosh Jordan Murphy continues to impress as he led all with 19 points. Ranked No. 133 overall by Rivals, Murphy also had 14 in an earlier team scrimmage.
Carlos Morris was the best player in the early scrimmage (22 points) and along with Murphy and Joey King appear to be Rich Pitino's main three cogs. Frosh PG Kevin Dorsey could be a key. He had 20 points in the scrimmage but was scoreless (0-7 FG) in the exhibition.
Nebraska - the Huskers scrimmaged Wyoming last weekend in two different sessions, one in the morning and then another in the afternoon. Nebraska won the morning "controlled" scrimmage, 89-67. Veteran forward Shavon Shields had 19 on 8-for-12 shooting
In the afternoon Wyoming won a 20 minute segment, 40-37 and then the teams tied at 19 in a second 10-minute segment. A final six minute sesson was won by the Huskers, 9-2. Freshman Glynn Watson looked very much like the starter at point for this team, leading all with 20 points over the three afternoon segments.
Northwestern - Chris Collins' team has aleady played a pair of exhibition games. Last night the Wildcats beat Quincy, 80-64. Frosh Aaron Falzon, a 6-foot-8 forward, led with 15 points off the bench. Falzon didn't start but he was ranked No. 92 overall in the Class of 2015 by Rivals and looks like an impact player already.
Another impact guy could be Virginia Tech grad transfer Joey van Zegeren. The 6-foot-10 big man came off the bench as well but had eight points, 10 rebounds and a pair of blocks in 15 minutes.
Senior Tre Demps is playing more with the ball in his hands this year per several media reports and supported that with six assists versus one turnover in the game.
Ohio State - not a lot to report on since OSU's only exhibition game is this Sunday and no team scrimmage news on the official web site. This will be a young but talented team as forward Marc Loving and shooting guard Kam Williams are the most experienced players.
Buckeye coach Thad Matta did send Loving to media day in Chicago which is a good sign as he was suspended for three games during the Big Ten season last year. Had the chance to talk to Loving in Chicago and had good things to say about the play of freshmen A.J. Harris and JaQuan Lyle at the point position, one of the big questions marks of this team. Lyle has really trimmed down and it has really helped with his movement on the court.
Loving was also high on Indy native Trevor Thompson as the 6-foot-11 VaTech transfer is now eligible.
Penn State - blessed with size this year, Pat Chambers said a few days ago his team is playing more inside-out than he usually has his teams play.
Look for sophomore Shep Garner to take over as the go-to guy for this team and this week Chambers praised his leadership along with veteran forward Brandon Taylor.
No exhibition games for PSU this year. The Lions open the year next Saturday with VMI and won't leave their home state until December.
Purdue - Five-star big forward Caleb Swanigan was cleared and is making an immediate impact. In the annual Gold-Black scrimmage he had 22 points and 13 rebounds. He then went for a double-double in scrimmage win over Dayton. The issue for him will be defense as Isaac Haas or AJ Hammons will usually be guarding the slowest frontcourt player.
Soph Vince Edwards looks poised for a big season and had a team high 25 points and added 10 boards and six assists, going 11-for-16 from the floor including 3-for-5 on 3FGs.
Freshman Ryan Cline knocked down five straight 3-pointers in the game. He may still get redshirted along with another guard, Grant Weatherford. Cline may be more likely to play. Junior Basil Smotherman is going to be redshirted.
Keep asking people up that way about Johnny Hill because if he's anything like Octeus, this is a team that could contend for the title. What I hear is he's been pretty solid thus far. There's also an expectation that Edwards will play much more with the ball in his hands this year due to glut of big men.
Speaking of big men, senior center AJ Hammons did not play in a controlled scrimmage against Dayton last Sunday and is apparently dealing with some personal issus that has his status for Sunday's exibition opener is in doubt. If you recall, Hammons was suspended three games in his soph season for violation of team rules. But in this situation he's not suspended.
Rutgers - no exhibitions or scrimmages to pass along. Eddie Jordan said in Chicago he's got a very young team but likes his depth more than recent squads. Added that he's not going to play as much Princeton type offense and will go with a more perimeter oriented approach. He said he felt the change was necessary because his Knights really struggled to score despite having Myles Mack and Kadeem Jack, who have both exhuasted their eligibility.
As far as practice play, Jordan said veteran shooting guard Mike Williams has been playing well this fall.
Wisconsin - Redshirt frosh Ethan Happ is going to be counted on to help replace Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker and he had 16 points (7-9 FG), 10 rebounds and two blocks in 101-46 exhibition win Wednesday night over UW-River Falls. He was a Rivals150 forward he has sprouted some to 6-foot-9 since hie high school days.
Speaking of redshirts, highly regarded recruit Brevin Pritzl (6'3 shooting guard) has been battling an injury and may redshirt. Former IU target Alex Illikainen has come up as a redshirt possibility but he's starting to come on. He's bulked up to 6-foot-9, 220-pounds and had 12 points and seven boards on Wednesday.
Jordan Hill is coming off a redshirt and has been mentioned as one of the guys that could fill the guard spot next to Bronson Koenig but he hasn't stood out much and was 1-for-4 FG with no assists in the exhibition. Former walk-on Zak Showalter got the start at that spot and struggled himself, going 0-for-4.
Belgian newcomer Andy Van Vliet is currently not eligible. He's a 6-foot-11 center who has plenty of Belgian junior national team experience and played as an amateur on club teams in the country. Appeal is complicated due to the unique academic situation in Belgium and not related to poor grades.
----------
The Hoosiers return to the field this week with a home game against 10th ranked Iowa. The Hawkeyes come into the game with an overall record of 8-0, and a 4-0 Big Ten record. Like they do in most years Iowa plays great defense and they run the ball well on offense. The game will kick-off at 3:30 p.m. EST and it will be televised on ESPN. Below are the stories that we and the Iowa Rivals site have done leading up to the game.
A look at the Hawkeyes
The Breakdown
Iowa week: Nate Sudfeld Q&A
Behind Enemy Lines
Peegs TV: Hunting the Hawkeyes
Ferentz impressed with the IU offense
Ten Takeaways
Coach TV: Wilson on bye week, Iowa
Indiana-Michigan State: A Look Back
-----
Indiana quarterback Nate Sudfeld is in the running for another national award. Earlier this week it was announced that he is one of eight semifinalists for the 2015 Wuerffel Trophy. This is an award that is known as College Football's Premier Award for Community Service. You can read more about Sudfeld and being a candidate for the Wuerffel Trophy here.
Sudfeld was also named as the NFF Scholar-Athlete of the Day earlier this week. You can read more about that here.
-----
With the team back at home the coaches are able to bring some recruits on campus for visits and Peegs.com has compiled a list of prospects we have confirmed will be in attendance for tomorrow’s game against the Hawkeyes. The list is on our Premium FB Board and here is the link.
-----
Next week should be an even bigger visit weekend for the Hoosiers with Michigan coming to town. As of now there are two official visitors expected to arrive next Friday for weekend trips in IU commit Khalil Bryant, and junior college QB Richard Lagow.
There is the possibility that there could be more official visitors, and there will almost certainly be several unofficial visitors for that game. As we get closer to next weekend's game Peegs.com will put together a list of recruits expected to be on campus for the game against the Wolverines.
-----
Another prospect that plans on making an official visit to IU is junior college tight end Ian Thomas. The standout from Nassau C.C. in New York told Peegs.com that it looks like he will be taking his official to Indiana the weekend of December 11th. We recently spoke to Thomas about his interest in the Hoosiers. You can check out that story here.
News also came out this week that Indiana has offered junior college linebacker Detric Bing-Dukes. Coming out of Tucker H.S. in Atlanta as a member of the 2014 class Bing-Dukes was a four-star recruit that signed with Georgia and spent the 2014 season as a redshirt. He decided to leave the Bulldogs program because he was looking for more playing time and he ended up at Iowa Western C.C. He plays on the same defense as 2016 Indiana commit Jayme Thompson. He will have three years to play three starting with the 2016 season.
-----
Coach Kevin Wilson has mentioned that the staff is looking for big bodies in the 2016 class that can play on the offensive or defensive line and one prospect that could be an option for IU is Dee Nalls. The three-star offensive lineman from Alabama is currently committed to Mississippi State but in this story he mentions Indiana as a school that he could take an official visit to.
-----
A top target for the Hoosiers in the 2017 class is QB Chris Katrenick. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound standout from Jacobs H.S. in Algonquin, Illinois was down at IU last month for a visit. He recently spoke to Rivals.com Midwest Recruiting Analyst Josh Helmholdt about his recruiting and he told Helmholdt that Indiana is the school he communicates with the most. You can read that story here.
-----
The Indiana staff has extended some new offers this week to the following prospects:
2017 Ohio DL Derrius Mullins
2017 Florida DL Robert Porcher
2017 Texas WR Charleston Rambo
-----
The 2016 Indiana recruiting class is getting close to the end of their regular seasons and Peegs.com has been keeping track of how each commit is doing. You can check out our weekly feature that checks in on each commit and gives an update on how their respective seasons are going. Here is our Following the Future story.
Indiana QB commit Peyton Ramsey was named the Penn Station Athlete of the Month earlier this week. Here is a link from 700WLW.com talking about Ramsey picking up that award.
Fellow IU commit Cole Gest just finished his regular season at St. Edward in Lakewood, Ohio and you can check out his highlight film. In 10 games Gest has accounted for more than 1,600 yards of total offense and 18 total touchdowns. Here are his regular season highlights.
-----
The NFL just finished up week eight of the 2015 season and there are a handful of Hoosiers who are getting playing time for their respective teams. Each week Peegs.com puts out a weekly feature on how former Hoosiers playing in the NFL are doing. Here is the update on how four former IU players did in week eight of the NFL season.
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Former Indiana standout Tracy Porter is playing for the Chicago Bears this season and after missing the first few games with an injury he is having a solid season. Here is a story that talks about his versatility as a defensive back and how he is able to help the Bears at different spots in the secondary.
A couple other former IU standouts have recently found new homes in the NFL. The Oakland Raiders have signed Marcus Thigpen to their active roster, while the New York Jets have signed Shane Wynn to their practice squad.
