With all the angst over whether or not IU has signed a sufficient number of 4 or 5 star recruit or whether or not the program has shown any progress.... I'm not going there today.
Human nature is... Human nature. Most of us here want IU football to be good. But how to get it there or the speed of it's progress is a point of contention. I was a kid during the Pont era and remember the aftermath of the boycott and how it affected the program for decades. Heck, some of the aftermath exists today.
Posters have all sorts of ideas on how to make IU a winner.
There is one poster (who will remain nameless) who wants IU to mirror the Miami Hurricanes. All to the point of payoffs, cheating like dogs, escorts, drug dealers, academic issues and BUTT KICKIN DEFENSE.. Others lament the fact that IU doesn't recruit like Bama or OSU. One poster actually wrote in regards to 4 and 5 star players: "Offer them and they will come." As if it was that easy.
There are those of us who see IU football for what it has been and see it in transition into something potentially good. IF IT HAPPENED OVERNIGHT... There would be a passel of NCAA investigators in town larger than anything Kelvin Sampson ever imagined. IU's recruiting was so bad for so long that not only did IU lose games badly for a long time, but off air, Big Ten analysts joked about rosters of non football players.
At IU, they have a terrific school and a gorgeous campus. But Hoosiers do not know football for the most part. They know it better than folks from Equador or New Guinea, but not like Florida or Georgia, or Alabama, or Ohio. I remember at Colts games when they used to have to tell the fans NOT TO CHEER WHEN THE OFFENSE WAS TRYING TO SNAP THE BALL. They tend to WATCH games.. Not actively participate. The student section treats the game more like a party or Buffet show in the lawn. That's when they show up. If you stand up and cheer at the game, people yell for you to sit down. I've literally sat in the stands on game days in the Mallory era and have people around me thinking Lee Corso was still the coach. The local media treats IU football like a joke. They badmouth the coach whenever they can. In state recruits, when faced with offers to IU or powerhouse programs, invariably take the safe route. IU's administration didn't support football for a long time. Lip service as basketball paid the bills. Facilities are only now catching up and are worthy of BCS consideration. IU is only now paying it's assistants enough to have a good staff.
That takes time to overcome.
What comes first? An enthusiastic fan base or a talented team? History has shown programs can be built. But IU has fewer natural assets than most of those teams.
Coach Wilson took over the job having never been a head coach. He came with a brash style and a lot of ideas. Some were great. Some... Not so much. It's OJT at the highest level. I like Coach Wilson. I think he's done an admirable job and with time, can do very well at IU.
So where is IU as a program?
1. Very fine school with the gorgeous campus remains but adds improved facilities.
2. An athletic administration that's wonderful at marketing ant talk but does it develop excellence???
(is excellence something IU wants in athletics? Is it a core value? Comments in the past say no.) At least publicly they support IU football.
3. Solid foundation to a program that has a good offensive line, terrific quarterback and overall improved talent.
3. A solid staff that's building steadily toward something very good.
4. Solid D-1 talent and some depth at most every position. In the past, they might have 2-3 on both sides of the ball.
If IU catches a break and can get a bowl game, many things will improve. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
Human nature is... Human nature. Most of us here want IU football to be good. But how to get it there or the speed of it's progress is a point of contention. I was a kid during the Pont era and remember the aftermath of the boycott and how it affected the program for decades. Heck, some of the aftermath exists today.
Posters have all sorts of ideas on how to make IU a winner.
There is one poster (who will remain nameless) who wants IU to mirror the Miami Hurricanes. All to the point of payoffs, cheating like dogs, escorts, drug dealers, academic issues and BUTT KICKIN DEFENSE.. Others lament the fact that IU doesn't recruit like Bama or OSU. One poster actually wrote in regards to 4 and 5 star players: "Offer them and they will come." As if it was that easy.
There are those of us who see IU football for what it has been and see it in transition into something potentially good. IF IT HAPPENED OVERNIGHT... There would be a passel of NCAA investigators in town larger than anything Kelvin Sampson ever imagined. IU's recruiting was so bad for so long that not only did IU lose games badly for a long time, but off air, Big Ten analysts joked about rosters of non football players.
At IU, they have a terrific school and a gorgeous campus. But Hoosiers do not know football for the most part. They know it better than folks from Equador or New Guinea, but not like Florida or Georgia, or Alabama, or Ohio. I remember at Colts games when they used to have to tell the fans NOT TO CHEER WHEN THE OFFENSE WAS TRYING TO SNAP THE BALL. They tend to WATCH games.. Not actively participate. The student section treats the game more like a party or Buffet show in the lawn. That's when they show up. If you stand up and cheer at the game, people yell for you to sit down. I've literally sat in the stands on game days in the Mallory era and have people around me thinking Lee Corso was still the coach. The local media treats IU football like a joke. They badmouth the coach whenever they can. In state recruits, when faced with offers to IU or powerhouse programs, invariably take the safe route. IU's administration didn't support football for a long time. Lip service as basketball paid the bills. Facilities are only now catching up and are worthy of BCS consideration. IU is only now paying it's assistants enough to have a good staff.
That takes time to overcome.
What comes first? An enthusiastic fan base or a talented team? History has shown programs can be built. But IU has fewer natural assets than most of those teams.
Coach Wilson took over the job having never been a head coach. He came with a brash style and a lot of ideas. Some were great. Some... Not so much. It's OJT at the highest level. I like Coach Wilson. I think he's done an admirable job and with time, can do very well at IU.
So where is IU as a program?
1. Very fine school with the gorgeous campus remains but adds improved facilities.
2. An athletic administration that's wonderful at marketing ant talk but does it develop excellence???
(is excellence something IU wants in athletics? Is it a core value? Comments in the past say no.) At least publicly they support IU football.
3. Solid foundation to a program that has a good offensive line, terrific quarterback and overall improved talent.
3. A solid staff that's building steadily toward something very good.
4. Solid D-1 talent and some depth at most every position. In the past, they might have 2-3 on both sides of the ball.
If IU catches a break and can get a bowl game, many things will improve. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
