Indiana University Athletics
Offense, Defense Tied Up Through Six Spring Practices
3/26/2016 5:51:00 PM | Football
By: Tori Ziege, IUHoosiers.com | Twitter
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – In spring ball, the adversary Indiana faces across the line of scrimmage happens to wear the same jersey.
Nonetheless, there is a sweetness to winning the battle of defense versus offense, Cream versus Crimson. By maintaining a competitive mindset, the units are constantly pushed to outdo one another.
And through six practices, they've challenged each other toe-to-toe, splitting the battles 3-3. Saturday, it was a defensive victory, as players got the better of the offense in several competition drills.
"Offensively they were a little bit out of whack, out of sync, and that's good to see," head coach Kevin Wilson said. "Because quite honestly it was probably the opposite on Thursday."
It may seem counterintuitive at first. How can his team's offensive struggles be a positive sign for Wilson?
But on a given play, only half of the team can succeed. The give-and-take is exactly what Wilson wants to see in March, because it means units are adjusting from one practice to the next, forcing the players opposite them to make steady improvements in order to keep up.
Last season, Indiana ranked 14th in the nation in total offense. Though the Hoosiers are searching to replace a key cog in that offense in quarterback Nate Sudfeld, Wilson said the running backs, wide receivers and offensive line are well-equipped to raise the bar for their defensive counterparts.
"Our defensive coaches are trying to get a good defense in place, and they think they're going against a pretty good offense," Wilson said. "For the defense to have the challenge early and compete is encouraging."
Almost halfway through spring ball, the Hoosiers have shown genuine enthusiasm in their approach to practice following a bowl appearance and, as a result, the shortest offseason in seven years.
The less time off for Indiana, the better. Wilson doesn't want his team to forget the strong chemistry it exercised to reach the Pinstripe Bowl, and used another Indiana team as a paragon for the levels of energy and leadership he wants IU football to reach.
"I think we had a great example of what our basketball team did," Wilson said. "The way they battled and the things they fought through, and to be that close-knit a team and to win the Big Ten by two games was pretty unique.
"We'll see if our guys can create that chemistry we got close to last year, and I thought we saw a great team over there do that this year."
