Graham Notebook: Plenty of Enthusiasm on Thursday
4/5/2018 8:31:00 PM | Football
By: Andy Graham
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - How close is Marcelino Ball, physically, to 100 percent?
His estimate Thursday morning: "99.9."
What is that laggard tenth of a percentage point?
"Bacteria."
Be that as it may, there is something infectious about Indiana football sessions during this penultimate week of spring practice:
Enthusiasm. The pads were a-popping Thursday. And the defense, by all accounts, dominated early before the offense rallied.
"I think that's something, for a good team, you want every practice, that back and forth," senior defensive tackle Jacob Robinson said. "You don't want it to be too lopsided. That is the expectation.
"Like today, the defense started out super hot, then the offense came back, and it just goes back and forth. I think that's a great sign for spring ball."
Ball being back at his "Husky" hybrid safety-linebacker spot after taking a medical redshirt last fall is a great sign for IU's defense.
A consensus Big Ten All-Freshman pick in 2016, Ball opened the 2017 campaign with 10 tackles (seven solo) against Ohio State but would play just three games before injury sidelined him.
Now Ball is back, having added seven pounds of muscle.
"It feels good to be back with the defense, kind of picking up where they left off, figuring out what has changed since I left," Ball said. "Just trying to do my job."
Ball's job is essentially the same, but the Husky backs who used to congregate with the safeties are now meeting in the linebacker room orchestrated by new position coach Kane Wommack.
That is in keeping with Wommack's coaching pedigree.
"It started when I was the defensive coordinator at South Alabama," Wommack said. "I took the Huskies into my room, as a linebacker coach (by background). Even though it's a different position, I think there is a lot of carry-over to the Husky from what we do with our Stinger linebacker position.
"We're going to do some pretty creative thins with 'Lino, getting him closer to the box on third downs … he's probably 6-foot-1, 220 pounds and runs like a deer. When you have a guy like that, you have to find creative ways to get him close to the ball."
Wommack, even as a young coach, has a lot of experience making good use of talented Huskies in the sort of 4-2-5 scheme favored by IU head coach Tom Allen.
Allen had Wommack as a graduate assistant at Mississippi when Allen was serving as linebacker coach under Dave Wommack, Kane's dad. The younger Wommack subsequently utilized many of the same approaches as defensive
coordinator at Eastern Illinois and South Alabama.
"I think it's a pretty unique deal when you have a kid as special as (Ball)," Wommack said. "But I've been fortunate enough to have coached some pretty impressive Huskies in this defense.
"Mike Hilton is one who comes to mind (from Mississippi), who plays for the Steelers now. We had Antonio Conner, who was a five-star guy that played for us at Ole Miss. In fact, one of the guys I had playing at Eastern Illinois is now with the Philadelphia Eagles, Kamu Grugier-Hill."
Wommack has a youthful linebacker room right now with the graduation of starters Tegray Scales and Chris Covington, and with primary backup Dameon Willis opting not to play a fifth year.
Mike McGinnis, a JUCO transfer last year and now a senior, fifth-year senior Kiante Walton and junior Reakwon Jones all got snaps last season. But they are the only veterans. Redshirt-freshmen Mo Burnam and Thomas Allen are in the mix, as is sophomore walk-on Andrew Stamm. T.D. Roof, a sophomore transfer from Georgia Tech, is practicing but will have to sit out games next fall.
"We don't have much experience in our room," Wommack acknowledged. "And so, when you look at unit accountability, there aren't a ton of reps that have been played out there on the field in those 12 games that matter most.
"So we're creating our own culture, right now, a little bit. Which is fun and exciting as a group, and as a coach, because you know these guys are going to be around for the next few years. And that culture that you create will continue to build.
But there is a little newness to some of these guys."
Which is why adding a veteran Huskies such as Ball and Isaac James to the room, lending some voices of experience, helps.
And then there is what Ball can do on the field.
"When you understand how talented he is, it's exciting," Wommack said. "We're knocking off some of the rust, since it's been so long since he played. But he's a very sharp individual. He's a very productive blitzer. Very physical tackler.
"Just finding those unique and creative ways (to utilize him) as we get closer to that opener at FIU, we have to start preparing him for those things."
FREE. NO AGENT.
Reakwon Jones was among the four "free-agent" selections permitted by Coach Allen in advance of Monday night's draft to fill out the rosters for the April 14 Cream and Crimson intrasquad game that concludes spring practice.
Each side is permitted one "free agent signing" on each side of the ball (quarterbacks excluded).
Crimson selections were senior defensive end Nile Sykes and senior guard Wes Martin. The Cream, after its initial selection of junior linebacker Jones, secured a deal Thursday afternoon for sophomore wideout Whop Philyor.
"That's been a pretty cool deal," Wommack said of Allen's approach to the Cream and Crimson games, which mirrors the NFL's free-agent period before the actual draft. "We had a guy out of our room, Reakwon, who got signed as a free agent yesterday for Coach Shelby's team.
"Just seeing these guys and how they interact … the one thing that's neat about this draft is it kind of opens people's eyes as to where they're at. Reality sets in. 'This is the production you've put in so far.' I'm excited to see it."
Sophomore defensive tackle Jerome Johnson indicated the players dig it, too.
"The draft is really fun," Johnson said. "Get to compete against our teammates. Who's in that top 10?"
Johnson's position coach, Mark Hagen, is also a fan.
"I think it's a great way to finish up," Hagen said. "A lot of it is determined by the health of your team, and we've gone through the spring fairly healthy, knock on wood. I think our players have fun with it, but our coaches do, too.
"I think Coach Allen does a great job with it, of splitting up the staffs, of allowing us to draft a free agent on both sides of the ball. We have fun with that and then I think the highlight is the draft Monday night. And I know those guys on both sides will get out there and compete, because they want to eat steak."
That's for the winners. The other side gets beans and hot dogs.
DEFENDING THE LINE
Johnson – one of the players counted upon to help replace graduating defensive line starters Nate Hoff, Greg Gooch and Robert McCray – sees some help coming in redshirt-freshmen Lance Bryant and Tramar Reece.
"Bryant and Tramar -- their speed and how they pass rush."
Robinson also sees promise in the younger troops, including true freshman defensive end James Head, a January enrollee from Miami (Fla.) Southridge.
"I think James Head has done a great job," Robinson said. "Young guy coming in, it's hard coming right out of high school, but he's done a great job learning the defense and playing hard, as well.
"(Junior end) Allen Stallings has done really well this spring. And I think Bryant and Tramar (Reece) have come a long way, too."
Robinson has returned to practice after missing some earlier spring sessions to injury, which meant some of the younger players got practice reps in his stead.
Hagen also relishes having Nile Sykes back. Senior end Sykes, IU's returning sack leader for 2016, was lost for the season to injury just before 2017 fall camp began.
"It's nice having Nile Sykes back … he, arguably was our best pass rusher two seasons ago," Hagen said. "He and Allen Stallings give us a nice 1-2 punch into the boundary (at end) on the weak side.
"And then you've got Jacob, Jerome Johnson, Ja'merez Bowen, Mike Barwick, LeShaun Minor, those guys really battling it out inside. And then we've got a lot of young guys … James Head, Lance Bryant, Tramar Reece, those type of guys, who are doing a good job. Overall, it's been a good spring. We just need to finish strong."
McCray and Gooch combined for 10.5 sacks last season, helping make up for Sykes' absence, and helping them earn looks from NFL scouts Tuesday during IU's Pro Day.
Hagen is optimistic about their chances of getting a good look in a NFL camp.
"I think if you ask any young person, their goal is to progress and play at a high level here in college, then have an opportunity to go to the next level," Hagen said. "So it's all about the process. It's putting the time in. It's working. It's getting better every day. And I think the guys who have been in our room the past two years have seen that.
"Robert McCray has come a long way. He's a guy who was hurt quite a bit during his career. Now, at the end, he stayed healthy and had a good senior season for us. Greg Gooch, you're talking a linebacker who transformed himself into a defensive end and who has really been a great worker, but who took his game to another level last year from a production standpoint. He obviously became a better pass rusher. I think those guys have earned an opportunity. I'm confident they'll both be in a camp with an opportunity."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - How close is Marcelino Ball, physically, to 100 percent?
His estimate Thursday morning: "99.9."
What is that laggard tenth of a percentage point?
"Bacteria."
Be that as it may, there is something infectious about Indiana football sessions during this penultimate week of spring practice:
Enthusiasm. The pads were a-popping Thursday. And the defense, by all accounts, dominated early before the offense rallied.
"I think that's something, for a good team, you want every practice, that back and forth," senior defensive tackle Jacob Robinson said. "You don't want it to be too lopsided. That is the expectation.
"Like today, the defense started out super hot, then the offense came back, and it just goes back and forth. I think that's a great sign for spring ball."
Ball being back at his "Husky" hybrid safety-linebacker spot after taking a medical redshirt last fall is a great sign for IU's defense.
A consensus Big Ten All-Freshman pick in 2016, Ball opened the 2017 campaign with 10 tackles (seven solo) against Ohio State but would play just three games before injury sidelined him.
Now Ball is back, having added seven pounds of muscle.
"It feels good to be back with the defense, kind of picking up where they left off, figuring out what has changed since I left," Ball said. "Just trying to do my job."
Ball's job is essentially the same, but the Husky backs who used to congregate with the safeties are now meeting in the linebacker room orchestrated by new position coach Kane Wommack.
That is in keeping with Wommack's coaching pedigree.
"It started when I was the defensive coordinator at South Alabama," Wommack said. "I took the Huskies into my room, as a linebacker coach (by background). Even though it's a different position, I think there is a lot of carry-over to the Husky from what we do with our Stinger linebacker position.
"We're going to do some pretty creative thins with 'Lino, getting him closer to the box on third downs … he's probably 6-foot-1, 220 pounds and runs like a deer. When you have a guy like that, you have to find creative ways to get him close to the ball."
Wommack, even as a young coach, has a lot of experience making good use of talented Huskies in the sort of 4-2-5 scheme favored by IU head coach Tom Allen.
Allen had Wommack as a graduate assistant at Mississippi when Allen was serving as linebacker coach under Dave Wommack, Kane's dad. The younger Wommack subsequently utilized many of the same approaches as defensive
coordinator at Eastern Illinois and South Alabama.
"I think it's a pretty unique deal when you have a kid as special as (Ball)," Wommack said. "But I've been fortunate enough to have coached some pretty impressive Huskies in this defense.
"Mike Hilton is one who comes to mind (from Mississippi), who plays for the Steelers now. We had Antonio Conner, who was a five-star guy that played for us at Ole Miss. In fact, one of the guys I had playing at Eastern Illinois is now with the Philadelphia Eagles, Kamu Grugier-Hill."
Wommack has a youthful linebacker room right now with the graduation of starters Tegray Scales and Chris Covington, and with primary backup Dameon Willis opting not to play a fifth year.
Mike McGinnis, a JUCO transfer last year and now a senior, fifth-year senior Kiante Walton and junior Reakwon Jones all got snaps last season. But they are the only veterans. Redshirt-freshmen Mo Burnam and Thomas Allen are in the mix, as is sophomore walk-on Andrew Stamm. T.D. Roof, a sophomore transfer from Georgia Tech, is practicing but will have to sit out games next fall.
"We don't have much experience in our room," Wommack acknowledged. "And so, when you look at unit accountability, there aren't a ton of reps that have been played out there on the field in those 12 games that matter most.
"So we're creating our own culture, right now, a little bit. Which is fun and exciting as a group, and as a coach, because you know these guys are going to be around for the next few years. And that culture that you create will continue to build.
But there is a little newness to some of these guys."
Which is why adding a veteran Huskies such as Ball and Isaac James to the room, lending some voices of experience, helps.
And then there is what Ball can do on the field.
"When you understand how talented he is, it's exciting," Wommack said. "We're knocking off some of the rust, since it's been so long since he played. But he's a very sharp individual. He's a very productive blitzer. Very physical tackler.
"Just finding those unique and creative ways (to utilize him) as we get closer to that opener at FIU, we have to start preparing him for those things."
FREE. NO AGENT.
Reakwon Jones was among the four "free-agent" selections permitted by Coach Allen in advance of Monday night's draft to fill out the rosters for the April 14 Cream and Crimson intrasquad game that concludes spring practice.
Each side is permitted one "free agent signing" on each side of the ball (quarterbacks excluded).
Crimson selections were senior defensive end Nile Sykes and senior guard Wes Martin. The Cream, after its initial selection of junior linebacker Jones, secured a deal Thursday afternoon for sophomore wideout Whop Philyor.
"That's been a pretty cool deal," Wommack said of Allen's approach to the Cream and Crimson games, which mirrors the NFL's free-agent period before the actual draft. "We had a guy out of our room, Reakwon, who got signed as a free agent yesterday for Coach Shelby's team.
"Just seeing these guys and how they interact … the one thing that's neat about this draft is it kind of opens people's eyes as to where they're at. Reality sets in. 'This is the production you've put in so far.' I'm excited to see it."
Sophomore defensive tackle Jerome Johnson indicated the players dig it, too.
"The draft is really fun," Johnson said. "Get to compete against our teammates. Who's in that top 10?"
Johnson's position coach, Mark Hagen, is also a fan.
"I think it's a great way to finish up," Hagen said. "A lot of it is determined by the health of your team, and we've gone through the spring fairly healthy, knock on wood. I think our players have fun with it, but our coaches do, too.
"I think Coach Allen does a great job with it, of splitting up the staffs, of allowing us to draft a free agent on both sides of the ball. We have fun with that and then I think the highlight is the draft Monday night. And I know those guys on both sides will get out there and compete, because they want to eat steak."
That's for the winners. The other side gets beans and hot dogs.
DEFENDING THE LINE
Johnson – one of the players counted upon to help replace graduating defensive line starters Nate Hoff, Greg Gooch and Robert McCray – sees some help coming in redshirt-freshmen Lance Bryant and Tramar Reece.
"Bryant and Tramar -- their speed and how they pass rush."
Robinson also sees promise in the younger troops, including true freshman defensive end James Head, a January enrollee from Miami (Fla.) Southridge.
"I think James Head has done a great job," Robinson said. "Young guy coming in, it's hard coming right out of high school, but he's done a great job learning the defense and playing hard, as well.
"(Junior end) Allen Stallings has done really well this spring. And I think Bryant and Tramar (Reece) have come a long way, too."
Robinson has returned to practice after missing some earlier spring sessions to injury, which meant some of the younger players got practice reps in his stead.
Hagen also relishes having Nile Sykes back. Senior end Sykes, IU's returning sack leader for 2016, was lost for the season to injury just before 2017 fall camp began.
"It's nice having Nile Sykes back … he, arguably was our best pass rusher two seasons ago," Hagen said. "He and Allen Stallings give us a nice 1-2 punch into the boundary (at end) on the weak side.
"And then you've got Jacob, Jerome Johnson, Ja'merez Bowen, Mike Barwick, LeShaun Minor, those guys really battling it out inside. And then we've got a lot of young guys … James Head, Lance Bryant, Tramar Reece, those type of guys, who are doing a good job. Overall, it's been a good spring. We just need to finish strong."
McCray and Gooch combined for 10.5 sacks last season, helping make up for Sykes' absence, and helping them earn looks from NFL scouts Tuesday during IU's Pro Day.
Hagen is optimistic about their chances of getting a good look in a NFL camp.
"I think if you ask any young person, their goal is to progress and play at a high level here in college, then have an opportunity to go to the next level," Hagen said. "So it's all about the process. It's putting the time in. It's working. It's getting better every day. And I think the guys who have been in our room the past two years have seen that.
"Robert McCray has come a long way. He's a guy who was hurt quite a bit during his career. Now, at the end, he stayed healthy and had a good senior season for us. Greg Gooch, you're talking a linebacker who transformed himself into a defensive end and who has really been a great worker, but who took his game to another level last year from a production standpoint. He obviously became a better pass rusher. I think those guys have earned an opportunity. I'm confident they'll both be in a camp with an opportunity."
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