I get the CRIMSON COLORED GLASSES concept. We're all guilty of it from time to time. We all want IU to be good. We are all conditioned by years of getting the absolute *&*^% beat out of them. We all hope for better. But for some reason that will be unexamined here today, once a kid puts on an IU jersey, there are expectations that automatically go with it. That this young man who's OFFICIAL offer list was IU and some lowly school is the double for Dick Butkus, J.J. Watt and "Revis Island" instead of the Dick "the Bruiser", JJ from "Good Times" and "Fantasy Island" that they play like.
When Coach Wilson came, talent was almost non-existent. TV announcers laughed off camera at the lack of D-1 players. A lot of them had no business being in uniform in the Big Ten. Apart from a miracle season in 1966, a fluke punt return in 79 and a couple very nice seasons under Bill Mallory, IU football has been God Awful since 1950. It took WWII and the G.I. Bill to get them decent before that.
Coach Wilson has taken IU from being buried by OSU to leading OSU at Columbus, half way through the third quarter with a 5th string QB. He has systematically developed recruiting to improve every year since he's arrived. If your recruiting improves, you're going to be playing young guys all the time. They have more talent than the older guys. But offensive and defensive lines are more about maturity, strength and experience. It's easier for skill guys to play early than it is for linemen on either side of the ball. It can be done. But 18 and 19 yr olds are usually at a disadvantage vs 22 and 23 yr olds.
People here were disheartened by the closeness of IU's victory over SIU saturday. OK, I get it.
But the players who did most of the playing in the front 7 that IU played with is NOT the MSU Spartans.
The starting linebackers in that game were athletically better than most of the LB's that have played for IU in the past say... 50 yrs. IU generally and historically has bad LB play. Jim Sniadecki was great on the 67 Rose Bowl team. All American. Yes IU had Van Waiters. He was more of a stand up DE in a 5/2 Oklahoma. But he was a stud. Willie Bates was a decent MLB in the Mallory years. But hardly a star. As Dan Dakich would say: "Even a bad team has a leading scorer." I'm scanning my memory banks and at the moment I'm coming up empty. Joe Fitzgerald was good. Joe Huff was a former walk-on who played well opposite Waiters. Since then it's been more about looking good in a t-shirt that says "IU Football" and wowing coeds on campus. That doesn't make you a FOOTBALL player. Just a player. So being one of the better LB's in IU history isn't quite being one of them at Penn State.
But IU's starters at LB were: Marcus Oliver (offered by IU and Miami of Ohio. Cincinnati sniffed late) T.J. Simmons (offered by IU and annual powerhouse Iowa State), Clyde Newton (offered by IU and those Cyclones again). Zack Shaw (who was one of two guys to get good grades from the coaches) offered by (West Virginia and all of the MAC) Zack may have been a **** prospect, but his offers were the MAC, West Virginia, and IU.
In the DL, they started Shawn Heffern was offered by Purdue, Toledo, Central and Eastern Michigan, Nick Mangieri (BC, Illinois, Northwestern). (Not MSU, Miami (Fla) Bama, ND but at least D-1 schools) and Adarius Rayner (Colorado State and those pesky Cyclones again).
So we can scream that Doug Mallory was awful. We can yell that Brian Knorr didn't adjust saturday.
But the pieces on their chess boards aren't quite as valuable as the one's on the boards at most of the teams they are playing the last oh say... 40+ yrs. You can't adjust by putting 5 more guys on the field. Your TALENT LEVEL in relation to the opponent dictates the adjustments you can make.
I'm not pointing this out to be disparaging about IU's players or coaches. It's easy for us to sit behind our computers and rave about player development. But for every Cody Latimer or Tevin Coleman, there's a lot of guys who can't find the field with a compass, GPS, and Apache Scout. But physical tools are important. Yes IU NOW has guys recruited by Notre Dame and Florida and Florida State. But they are in the younger classes. They guys still doing much of the playing WEREN'T.
Studs are not knocking each other out of the way to play defense for IU YET. Maybe they never will. If Coach Wilson was suddenly drawing waves of superstars to IU, a passel of NCAA investigators would be riding down SR 37 faster than you can say: "Mike White and the Fighting Illegals".
Stats would suggest that 1 recruit in 4 or 5 becomes a player who makes a significant impact on a team. Not a GOOD team. But a team. I want to win 11 games this year. I also want Christy Brinkley to fix me breakfast today and sip "boat drinks" together in an exotic locale. But aside from Christy having married everyone else in the world other than me. It takes time to build something good at a place that's "not been". That won't change no matter how we cajole, stomp or wish. If you're in it for the long haul. Cheers. If you're not.. Well, that's ok too. It's only sports.
When Coach Wilson came, talent was almost non-existent. TV announcers laughed off camera at the lack of D-1 players. A lot of them had no business being in uniform in the Big Ten. Apart from a miracle season in 1966, a fluke punt return in 79 and a couple very nice seasons under Bill Mallory, IU football has been God Awful since 1950. It took WWII and the G.I. Bill to get them decent before that.
Coach Wilson has taken IU from being buried by OSU to leading OSU at Columbus, half way through the third quarter with a 5th string QB. He has systematically developed recruiting to improve every year since he's arrived. If your recruiting improves, you're going to be playing young guys all the time. They have more talent than the older guys. But offensive and defensive lines are more about maturity, strength and experience. It's easier for skill guys to play early than it is for linemen on either side of the ball. It can be done. But 18 and 19 yr olds are usually at a disadvantage vs 22 and 23 yr olds.
People here were disheartened by the closeness of IU's victory over SIU saturday. OK, I get it.
But the players who did most of the playing in the front 7 that IU played with is NOT the MSU Spartans.
The starting linebackers in that game were athletically better than most of the LB's that have played for IU in the past say... 50 yrs. IU generally and historically has bad LB play. Jim Sniadecki was great on the 67 Rose Bowl team. All American. Yes IU had Van Waiters. He was more of a stand up DE in a 5/2 Oklahoma. But he was a stud. Willie Bates was a decent MLB in the Mallory years. But hardly a star. As Dan Dakich would say: "Even a bad team has a leading scorer." I'm scanning my memory banks and at the moment I'm coming up empty. Joe Fitzgerald was good. Joe Huff was a former walk-on who played well opposite Waiters. Since then it's been more about looking good in a t-shirt that says "IU Football" and wowing coeds on campus. That doesn't make you a FOOTBALL player. Just a player. So being one of the better LB's in IU history isn't quite being one of them at Penn State.
But IU's starters at LB were: Marcus Oliver (offered by IU and Miami of Ohio. Cincinnati sniffed late) T.J. Simmons (offered by IU and annual powerhouse Iowa State), Clyde Newton (offered by IU and those Cyclones again). Zack Shaw (who was one of two guys to get good grades from the coaches) offered by (West Virginia and all of the MAC) Zack may have been a **** prospect, but his offers were the MAC, West Virginia, and IU.
In the DL, they started Shawn Heffern was offered by Purdue, Toledo, Central and Eastern Michigan, Nick Mangieri (BC, Illinois, Northwestern). (Not MSU, Miami (Fla) Bama, ND but at least D-1 schools) and Adarius Rayner (Colorado State and those pesky Cyclones again).
So we can scream that Doug Mallory was awful. We can yell that Brian Knorr didn't adjust saturday.
But the pieces on their chess boards aren't quite as valuable as the one's on the boards at most of the teams they are playing the last oh say... 40+ yrs. You can't adjust by putting 5 more guys on the field. Your TALENT LEVEL in relation to the opponent dictates the adjustments you can make.
I'm not pointing this out to be disparaging about IU's players or coaches. It's easy for us to sit behind our computers and rave about player development. But for every Cody Latimer or Tevin Coleman, there's a lot of guys who can't find the field with a compass, GPS, and Apache Scout. But physical tools are important. Yes IU NOW has guys recruited by Notre Dame and Florida and Florida State. But they are in the younger classes. They guys still doing much of the playing WEREN'T.
Studs are not knocking each other out of the way to play defense for IU YET. Maybe they never will. If Coach Wilson was suddenly drawing waves of superstars to IU, a passel of NCAA investigators would be riding down SR 37 faster than you can say: "Mike White and the Fighting Illegals".
Stats would suggest that 1 recruit in 4 or 5 becomes a player who makes a significant impact on a team. Not a GOOD team. But a team. I want to win 11 games this year. I also want Christy Brinkley to fix me breakfast today and sip "boat drinks" together in an exotic locale. But aside from Christy having married everyone else in the world other than me. It takes time to build something good at a place that's "not been". That won't change no matter how we cajole, stomp or wish. If you're in it for the long haul. Cheers. If you're not.. Well, that's ok too. It's only sports.
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