Hoosier Highlights -- On Rudy, Cody and Adam

Can Rudy help the football Hoosiers?

We’re about to find out.

Rudy, is Rudy Ruettiger, the under-sized, Notre Dame walk-on from the mid-1970s who finally, as a senior in his final collegiate game, got to play and recorded a sack. That inspired the movie “Rudy,” written by Angelo Pizzo, who now lives in Bloomington.

Rudy is now a motivational speaker. He was in town on Monday and spoke to the team, as did Pizzo, who also wrote the movie, “Hoosiers.” Rudy later talked briefly on IU coach Kevin Wilson’s weekly radio show.

Rudy pounded the underdog theme to the players, saying on Wilson’s show that, “Don’t go back to where you were. Fight for where you’re at. Stay there.”

Rudy watched the Hoosiers’ 44-29 loss to Northwestern. He pushed a bunch of motivational buttons when he said, “A good thing’s happening here. This is going to happen. This is not a I-hope-it-happens. This is happening, and it will happen because of this attitude they’re bringing here.”

It would be nice if it happened Saturday against Michigan State. The Spartans, a preseason favorite to at least reach the Big Ten title game, have struggled to a 3-2 start, mostly because of a weak offense still trying to find a passing game.

This could be huge for a Hoosier defense that continues to struggle -– 85 points allowed in its last two games. It was particularly shaky against Northwestern, giving up 44 points, 704 total yards and nearly 400 rushing yards. It never figured out how to contain do-it-all Kain Colter, who ran, threw and caught his way to nearly 300 yards of total offense.

Wilson found a few good things to say about the defense on his radio show. There’s no reason, after all, to beat up a group getting beat up enough on the field.

“We can point out some things,” Wilson said. “But again, they’re creating some thing in the second half with turnovers. They’re fighting their tails off. You watch the tape and you don’t see guys not giving you effort. We gotta get off the block. We gotta make a tackle, we gotta scheme it better, we gotta put ‘em in better positions, we gotta make some plays. But you look at the kids and say, ‘I like your effort.’ We’re not giving up the ghost. There’s a lot of fight in these kids. There’s some things to build with as we move forward.”

*****

If the Sporting News is right, IU sophomore forward Cody Zeller will be the best basketball player in the nation this season. The national publication picked him as its preseason player of the year. He’s on its preseason first-team All-America squad along with Ohio State’s DeShaun Thomas (the former Indiana Mr. Basketball out of Fort Wayne), North Carolina’s James Michael McAdoo, Creighton’s Doug McDermott and Lehigh’s C.J. McCollum.

*****

If you follow the football Hoosiers, you know how good senior defensive tackle Adam Replogle (photo above) is on and off the field. Now he’s getting some national acclaim. He’s a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy.

What’s that?

Basically it recognizes the best football scholar athlete in the nation. Candidates have to be seniors or graduate students with at least a 3.2 grade point averge, be a strong player, and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship. It’s run by the National Football Foundation.

Replogle is a team captain for IU. He’s a two-time academic All-Big Ten pick, and has recorded 131 tackles and 11.5 sacks in his career.

He’s positioned to become one of 16 finalists and receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship. The overall winner will receive a $25,000 scholarship, plus a 25-pound trophy.

Why the fascination with 25?

That, for now, is a mystery.

IU Defense, Ekeler Refocused for Northwestern

Indiana co-defensive coordinator Mike Ekeler cares. Never forget that. He’s a passionate coach who directs with emotion. He yells, jokes, jumps and drives.

He also looks in the mirror.

Ekeler sees the Ball State game ending, when the Cardinals drove for the winning field goal in the last 40 seconds, and takes responsibility.

“Football is a crazy game. It teaches you a lot of lessons. You pour everything you have into it. Last week we put everything we had into it and came up short. I’ll take 99 percent of the blame. I did a bad job at the end. It burns in you as a coach. It should. You invest so much. You’ve got to refocus.”

In an ideal world, IU would have had another game the next week to get over the defeat. Instead, the bye week provided extra time for the loss to linger.

“It would have been great to have been able to have another game, but that’s not the way the schedule played out,” he said. “We tried to use the time wisely.”

It’s all about accountability, you see. The coaches job is to put guys in position to make plays. It’s about getting guys to play to their ability, and then just a little bit more. It’s also about players doing their jobs, which is as much mental as physical.

IU’s often bend-and-break defense strives for change. It’s been striving for a generation, and giving up 41 points to Ball State indicates a lot more work is needed.

Ekeler sees signs the work is paying off.

“It’s about meshing as a group, bringing it all together,” he says. “I see a different focus and level of commitment and understanding. These guys are a lot of fun to coach.

“I like the resiliency we have, the leadership we have. We didn’t get the result we wanted (against Ball State), but it’s not due to a lack of fighting. That’s the difference I’ve noticed.

“Our guys enjoying going to practice. They enjoy getting better each day. That’s a good mixture.”

On Saturday IU opens Big Ten play against Northwestern. The Wildcats are 4-0 and features a run-heavy offense capable of producing big numbers. They scored 42 points against Syracuse and 38 against South Dakota State.

“They get the momentum and get rolling and you’ve got to put the brakes on them,” Ekeler says. “You’ve got to get them off schedule.

“We’ve got to handle their run game. That’s what it boils down to. Try to make teams one dimensional.”

Last year Indiana never stopped Northwestern, losing 59-38.

“They did a fantastic job schematically,” Ekeler says. “We’ve changed. They’ve changed. You can be in better defenses and make better calls, but it all boils down to you’ve got to get off blocks and you’ve got to make plays.”

This year’s Northwestern squad features a two-quarterback approach in Kain Colter and Trevor Siemian. Colter is a run-pass threat. Siemian is more of a passer.

“They both can throw,” Ekeler says. “One of them (Colter) is more athletic as far as mobility. When the pass isn’t there, he can tuck it and run. He makes a lot of plays with his feet. The other one (Siemian) has a stronger arm. He’s more of a drop-back quarterback. They’ve brought him into games when they’ve been down. He’s very good. They complement each other very well.”

The Wildcats also have an explosive tailback in Mark Venric. He’s only 5-8 and 180 pounds, but very fast. He’s rushed for 399 yards (averaging 5.5 yards a carry) and four touchdowns. He’s also caught 11 passes for 75 yards and a touchdown.

“He’s one of the fastest guys we’ll see all year,” Ekeler says. “He has sprinter’s speed. You have to know where he’s at all the time.

“Overall they’re very physical and very balanced. They make you be extremely balanced.”

IU Takes Aim at Vonleh; Houston Looking Good

So by now you know that Noah Vonleh, ranked as the nation’s No. 3 basketball player in the Class of 2014, is now in the Class of 2013.

That’s important because Indiana is right in the hunt for this 6-9, 222-pound forward from New Hampton Prep in New England. Of course, so are North Carolina, Kansas and Ohio State, among the 15 or so schools on his list, but powerhouse competition is the norm when dealing with a guy of this caliber.

Yes, he’s also likely a one-and-done guy, but that’s also the norm these days for elite players.

How important is Vonleh to IU coach Tom Crean? Well, Crean saw on him on the first of the evaluation period. And new assistant coach Kenny Johnson, who was hired in part because of his strong East Coast recruiting connections, is also very much in the recruiting process.

How good is Vonleh? Well, he earned MVP honors at the Adidas Nations, and thrived during summer travel ball. Vonleh, who originally “redshirted” after leaving Haverhill High School to attend New Hampton, said he in a release that he switched back to his original Class of 2013 because he believed he was now physically, academically and emotionally mature enough to handle going to college a year earlier.

Vonleh, who just recently turned 17, is not eligible to take official visits until early November when he gets the results of his first SAT. If he waits on those, he likely won’t sign until the spring.

IU already has commitments in the Class of 2013 from forwards Devin Davis, Collin Hartman and Luke Fischer, plus shooting guard Stanford Robinson. And it has been vigorously recruiting top-50 forward BeeJay Anya. He’s set to take an official visit to Indiana as part of the Oct. 20 Hoosier Hysteria.

Could this create another scholarship crunch down the road if all six guys sign? Perhaps, but as we know from the Ron Patterson experience, it all works out in the end.

*****

Is IU tailback Stephen Houston ready for a Big Ten breakthrough? The signs point to it. After being criticized for not going hard enough during preseason camp and the first couple of weeks of the season, Houston kicked it in gear in time for Ball State. He rushed for 102 yards on just 12 carries, and the reason, coach Kevin Wilson said, starts with practice.

“(The week leading to the Ball State game) was the best week of practice he had,” Wilson said. He really showed up, expressing runs, playing behind his pads. Running with purpose. Not that he was poor before, but he wasn’t as intense. On Wednesday (before the Ball State game) I said to him all I had to do was watch. You’ve had a good week. He came out and popped a couple of runs.”

Houston will need to pop a couple of more Saturday, when IU (2-1) plays at Northwestern (4-0) in its Big Ten opener.

Last year, his first after coming to IU as a junior college transfer, Houston emerged during Big Ten play to rush for more than 800 yards.

Blame Recruiting on Big Ten Football Struggles

It’s the recruiting, stupid.

Want to know why the Big Ten stinks, by elite football standards, anyway? Blame lack of talent.

Yes, it seems strange to say that about a conference with such a gridiron tradition, but when you consider it has become fodder for Alabama, Oregon State, UCLA and, yes Hoosier fans, Ball State, well, the truth hurts.

The SEC, the Pac-12 and the Big 12 are recruiting better and the results have shown up during non-conference play and during the postseason.

In case you missed it, the SEC has won six straight national championships.

This season, Notre Dame dominated Michigan State at home, 20-3, and the Spartans figured to be the Big Ten’s best team. Alabama crushed Michigan. Oregon State beat Wisconsin. UCLA beat Nebraska. Iowa State beat Iowa.

Ohio State, which was lucky to beat California, is the highest ranked Big Ten team at No. 16, and that’s partially negated by it being ineligible for postseason play because of NCAA sanctions.

And then there’s Penn State, which figures to drop to MAC level talent due to its NCAA sanctions over the Jerry Sandusky scandal.

Ohio State (3-0), Northwestern (3-0) and Minnesota (3-0) are the only remaining undefeated Big Ten teams, and this is no murderers’ row in the manner of the SEC -- Alabama (3-0), LSU (3-0), Georgia (3-0) and South Carolina (3-0) -- or the Pac-12 -- Oregon (3-0), Stanford (3-0) and UCLA (3-0).

The Big Ten is 4-8 against major conference teams and Notre Dame. Northwestern has beaten three teams from major conferences -- Syracuse, Vanderbilt and Boston College. It almost certainly will be 4-0 when it hosts IU on Sept.29 (no way it loses to South Dakota on Saturday).

But we digress.

You could argue this is the worst the Big Ten has ever been, even though, with 12 teams, including traditional powers Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State and Nebraska, this is the biggest it’s ever been thanks to expansion.

"I know (the perception) is out there," Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said. "I heard it when I turned on ESPN or any other channel.

"There's one answer and that's to go win those non-conference games. It's not because of a lack of players or a lack of coaching. They just have to find a way to close the deal."

Michigan (2-1) will get a chance to close the deal against No. 11 Notre Dame (3-0) on Saturday. The Irish already have beaten Michigan State and Purdue of the Big Ten.

"People are going to make comments based on their own opinions," Michigan coach Brady Hoke said. "Obviously, if we want to change that, we have to do something about it."

Better talent will make that easier. How is the Big Ten doing in recruiting? If you look at the team rankings for the Class of 2013 from Rivals.com, a national Internet recruiting service, Michigan has the nation’s No. 2 class. Ohio State is at No. 9. Illinois is at No. 25.

The rest of the top 25 is loaded with SEC and Pac-12 teams. USC is No. 1. LSU is No. 3. Florida is No. 5. Alabama is No. 6. Georgia is No. 7. Auburn is No. 8. Texas A&M (now in the SEC) is No. 10.

Notre Dame, which is still independent in football and is in the ACC otherwise, is at No. 4.

A lot can still change before February’s signing day. Perhaps more Big Ten teams will crack the top-25.

Perhaps.

Here’s the bottom line -- if the Big Ten wants to be considered an elite conference, it has to play like it. Tradition is irrelevant. It has to beat the good teams. It has to dominate bowl games. It has to win a national championship again.

And it starts with better recruiting.

D.J. White Seeking NBA Satisfaction

So what do you do if you’re D.J. White, you’re coming off the best season of your career and you remain an unsigned free agent with NBA camps set to open in a few weeks?

You visit teams, work out and hope that somebody gives you a chance.

If not, well, there’s always the overseas option for the former Indiana standout.

“Hopefully I’ll know my future in a couple of weeks,” he says. “I have a couple of options. Basically, I want to be in a position to succeed. Hopefully, I’ll figure it out soon.”

White, a 6-9, 235-pound forward/center, has played four NBA seasons with a career average of 6.3 points and 3.4 rebounds. Last season, for Charlotte, he played a career-high 58 games and set career highs for scoring (6.8 points) and rebounding (3.6).

That’s the good news. The bad news was he played for a team that only won eight games and set a NBA record for futility. His contract expired after the season and he wasn’t resigned.

“It was tough,” he says. “All I could do was control my attitude and my effort. I got to play a lot, more than I had in my previous years.”

He paused.

“We didn’t have the best of years,” he says with a laugh. He can laugh about it now, although it wasn’t funny going through it.

“I don’t wish that on anybody. It was a learning experience. What can you do? You just continue to do the best you can every day.”

White was a first-round pick in 2008, taken No. 29 by the Detroit Pistons, but quickly traded to the Seattle Supersonics (which is now the Oklahoma City Thunder).

His rookie season was delayed because of jaw surgery that sidelined him for five months. He started with the NBA’s D-League and the Tulsa 66ers before returning to Oklahoma City. He played in seven games and averaged 8.9 points and 4.6 rebounds.

He was a reserve for two more years with Oklahoma City before playing the next two seasons with Charlotte.

“I’ve had an OK career,” he says. “There are still some things I want to accomplish. I’m far from being satisfied. I’ve had some ups and downs, but that’s part of life. I’ll get through it.”

White played at IU from 2004 to 2008 and was coached by Mike Davis and Kelvin Sampson. He led the team in blocks three times (six times he blocked as many as five shots in a game) and ranks third all-time with 198. Jeff Newton is first with 227. Alan Henderson is next with 213.

White is 10^th in school history with 748 rebounds. He is 16^th with 1,447 career points. As a senior he averaged 17.4 points and 10.3 rebounds, but that was Sampson’s last season, when NCAA violations ruined what had been a strong start and led to sanctions that rocked the program. Current coach Tom Crean finally got the program back to elite status last season.

What did he learn from his IU experience?

“Just no matter what circumstances you’re in, keep going and you can overcome them. I went through two coaching changes. It wasn’t in my control. All I could control was my attitude and effort. That’s what I’ve taken into what I do now.”

IU’s preseason No. 1 ranking and national championship contention status leaves White impressed.

“I’m happy for them,” he says. “When I left a lot of different things happened, but Coach Crean and his staff did a good job of recruiting. Christan (Watford) and those guys were put in a tough situation, but they stuck it out. Look at them now. They made it to the Sweet 16 last year and are preseason No. 1. Hopefully they can build on that success for next year.”

White, who lives in Indianapolis during the off-season, tries to make it back to IU whenever his schedule allows. He was part of last month’s Pro Camp at IU. His former Indiana teammate and current NBA player, Eric Gordon, also returns as often as possible.

“The program was good to us, so why not give back?” he says. “We both live in Indy in the off-season. We both work out together. We try to come down as much as we can.”

IU Football Bye Week Boosts Recruiting

Kevin Wilson isn’t about to miss a chance to boost Indiana’s football recruiting. It is, in the end, the only way he’s going to get the program winning.

So this bye week, coming in mid-September, is a good thing. Why? Because it helps Wilson and his staff get an early jump on recruiting. They will be on the road seeing players and games all over the Midwest, and beyond.

“(With an early bye week) you get better recruiting,” Wilson said. “I don’t know if I want (a bye week) on Week 1 or Week 2, but Week 4 or 5 or 6 is ideal.

“We still got next week to finish Northwestern. You’re not all-hours. You’re getting more recruiting time during the day. You’re getting more time to catch up with kids and coaches. Even your young players like your 2014 recruits. You’re reaching out to their coach, Facebooking those kids or seeing how they’re doing.

"We’ll get a chance to go out two days recruiting. We’ll practice (Wednesday) morning and a lot of (assistant coaches) will leave. They will be situated so Thursday morning everyone except myself and Coach (Seth) Littrell and Coach (Doug) Mallory will be gone Wednesday afternoon, so they’ll get two full days of recruiting. Coach Littrell and Coach Mallory and myself will go out for one day Friday.

“We get 42 recruiting days, so we’ll get 17 opportunities to see kids, and that’s a big deal.”

IU has 10 commitments and might double that total by the time everything is settled in February. One game likely to get the coaches’ attention is the Friday night matchup between Indianapolis Ben Davis, which has four-star defensive back and Hoosier commit Antonio Allen, against Terre Haute South and its four-star quarterback and Purdue commit Danny Etling.

Wilson also said the bye comes at a good time to give the players rest. They’ve been pushing hard since the summer.

“We’ve worked hard so we can take a little bit off. We’re not running those kids to death.”

******

So if you were the head coach at Indiana, who would you start at quarterback when the Hoosiers return to the field Sept. 29 with their Big Ten opener at Northwestern?

Would you go with junior college Cam Coffman, who was solid in the first half, not so much in the second before suffering a hip pointer and leaving the game?

Or would you try true freshman Nate Sudfeld, who earned co-Big Ten freshman of the week honors with his fourth-quarter heroics that included 172 passing yards and two touchdowns?

For Wilson, it’s a non issue right now. Coffman is the starter and will stay that way unless his hip pointer forces a change.

“Right now he is,” Wilson said. “Unless, again, this thing just nags. Our thought initially was ‘Just give it a few days.’ I even told him, just because Nate got his little award and had two nice touchdowns, don’t come back before your ready and make this a three- or four-week hip deal.

“Let’s get it quiet, get it right, move forward. He’s out there (in practice) getting every play behind. He’s just not full tilt pushing off yet. We’ll see. We’ll get him checked out here later. We’ll see as we move forward. We’ll decide (today) and Thursday how much he needs to do. It will be our trainer’s call. Will it be best to take the whole week on the low key or does he need the reps?”

Practice reps are big for Sudfeld, who was looking at a redshirt season until starter Tre Roberson’s season-ending broken leg propelled him into the picture. He got a lot of work last week before the Ball State game and, with Coffman out, is getting “80 to 85 percent” of the reps now.

“Every rep that Nate gets is a positive for Nate,” Wilson said. “We’re comfortable with him right now. Cam’s done nothing to not warrant it. Nate’s getting better every day and that’s a great situation.

“They’re both very calm kids, they’re both reasonably good, and that’s why there was a competition. It wasn’t nothing against Tre because Tre is going to be OK and really good, but those other guys are good and we’re fortunate to have those guys. I thought they did well. They need to do better, but I thought they did well.”

Oh, in case you’re wondering, freshman walk-ons Corey Babb and David Nelson are in the picture for the No. 3 quarterback.

On IU Football, the Quarterbacks and Waka Flocka

Today’s take-a-good-look-in-the mirror moment comes courtesy of Indiana football coach Kevin Wilson. He’s a straight shooter not afraid to tick a few people off if they can’t handle it.

Take, for instance, the deeper meaning of the 41-39, last-second Ball State loss. The Hoosiers (2-1) have lost three straight to their smaller rivals, something that should never, ever happen.

Wilson took responsibility for the defeat, especially for the lousy second-half performance that, except for the final four minutes, showcased Ball State dominance. He got on himself and his coaches about poor halftime adjustments and  took a few shots at the media, as well.

Wilson said, in so many words, that we in the media smirk and make fun of the Indiana program; that we don’t see the improvement and the change of attitude that is occurring; that this program and these players will learn how to win.

That we are, in essence, too cynical.

Imagine that.

Cynical sports writers.

The problem is, we’ve been here before. A never-ending series of IU football coaches have talked about change and improvement and pots of gold at the end of the football rainbow. It rarely happens, and never lasts.

Bill Lynch did it once -- going to the Insight Bowl in 2007 -- while building on Terry Hoeppner’s foundation. Bill Mallory did it six times in an eight-year span from the late 1980s to mid 1990s. Given the program’s consistent mediocrity, that has to rank as one of the more impressive coaching achievements of the 20^th Century. Bo McMillen had a run of success when the Wizard of Oz was cutting edge movie technology, an era that is as similar to today’s challenges as Lawrence Welk’s music is from Waka Flocka’s.

Who’s Lawrence Welk?

Can we name ONE Waka Flocka song?

Don’t distract us.

Anyway, Wilson has more and better resources than any IU coach before him. He has more money, better facilities, more strength coaches, a nutrition expert and the ability to send injured players anywhere in the world for the latest and best medical procedures. The state produces better high school players than ever before. The academic support program ensures that all athletes can maximize their educational opportunities as well as their athletic potential. Memorial Stadium is a great place to watch a game, especially at night, when it is a showcase for all things Cream ‘n Crimson. Patience is critical because these Hoosiers are better and Wilson's background (success at every stop) suggests he can get it done.

If ever there was an opportunity for the Hoosiers to become a consistently successful program, this is it.
It all comes down to one thing – winning (and doing it the right way).

Everything else, is just hot air.

*****

For the record, there is no IU quarterback controversy. Wilson didn’t pull Cam Coffman in the fourth quarter against Ball State because he didn’t like the junior college transfer’s performance of suddenly became possessed by the spirit of Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly.

Coffman, Wilson said, suffered a second-half hip pointer. He couldn’t push off and get the necessary velocity on his throws. So in came true freshman Nate Sudfeld, and if he isn’t in league with Peyton Manning quite yet, he was solid in nearly directing a stunning rally over Ball State.

Sudfeld was 13-for-20 for 172 yards and two touchdowns, all in the fourth quarter. Granted, the TD pass to Cody Latimer was as easy a throw as you’ll see at the major college level. Latimer was wide, wide open because of a busted coverage.

But that misses the point, which is Sudfeld was calm, aware and in control.

"I felt comfortable, very comfortable, with the play calls during the week," Sudfeld said. "Coach Wilson gave us a list and said what do you like on third-and-long, what do you like in different situations. He just kept calling plays and I felt good about them. I knew the receivers would make plays, the line was giving me some time, so I just felt comfortable. I felt like I had been out there before."

Sudfeld, who was originally set to redshirt, played a little bit in the fourth quarter of last week’s blowout win over Massachusetts. He said that helped prepare him for his Ball State opportunity.

"I think it did help just the first time going in thinking I'm actually in a college game and (Saturday) I was ready," Sudfeld said. "It helped me get my feet wet just a little bit. But actually playing more (against Ball State), I think that helped out a lot, too."

After the game Wilson said Coffman's injury was not serious and he expects him to fine for the game against Northwestern in two weeks.
“
We’ll need both of those guys,” Wilson said.

Waka Flocka couldn’t have rapped it any better.