Indiana University Athletics
Three Takeaways from Scrimmage One
8/15/2015 7:33:00 PM | Football
By: Sam Beishuizen | Twitter
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana football held its first scrimmage Saturday at Memorial Stadium with the Hoosiers' season opener against Southern Illinois exactly three weeks away.
The Hoosiers spent their closed scrimmage running plays and working through various game situations under head coach Kevin Wilson's guidance. After talking with a few members of the coaching staff and a couple players, we put together three takeaways from the day.
Wilson Working Everyone on the Perimeter
Wilson has repeatedly said he believes the strength of the Hoosiers this year will be his offensive and defensive lines.
On Saturday, he made the guys at a number of skill positions on the outside—receiver, cornerback, safety, linebacker, tight end and quarterback—get their work in as well. Wilson went deep into his depth chart, giving just about everyone at those positions a chance to get out onto the field in game simulation.
"We're really trying to emphasize the perimeter work," Wilson said. "We're going to need a bunch of skill guys helping."
Feeney Likes His Tight Ends
Junior offensive linemen Dan Feeney had a laundry list of positions he thought played well in the scrimmage, but the one that stood out to him the most was the guys lining up next to him at tight end.
Feeney liked what he saw in the Hoosiers' tight end corps. He said they did a nice job of not only blocking the run, but also extending the field in the passing game.
Helping out the pass has been a point of emphasis among the tight ends in fall camp. Saturday, Feeney said it was on display.
"It's good to see tight ends getting some love because they've been a little repressed the last couple years," Feeney said. "We've got some good tight ends. There's a whole lot of athletes out there and I know they're eager to get move involved in the passing game this year."
Knorr Pleased with Defensive Progress
There were times during Saturday's scrimmage that Brian Knorr wishes his group was a little tighter, but overall, the second-year defensive coordinator walked out of Memorial Stadium happy.
One of Indiana's points of emphasis on defense this season is limiting "big plays," Knorr said. The Hoosiers did a good job of that in the scrimmage while at the same time not being too timid or afraid to make a play at the ball when they could.
"I thought our young guys in the secondary did a pretty good job," Knorr said. "There were a couple situations, especially down in the red zone, that maybe we didn't do a great job, but I thought out on the field they did a pretty good job limiting the big play."
