Indiana University Athletics
IU Kicks Off Spring Practice
3/5/2016 6:37:00 PM | Football
By: Sam Beishuizen | Twitter
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The 2016 Indiana football season is officially underway.
The Hoosiers opened up their sixth season under head coach Kevin Wilson with a limited contact practice at Memorial Stadium Saturday. Fresh off a run to the New Era Pinstripe Bowl, fifth-year senior offensive lineman Dan Feeney said IU came into the first practice session of the spring with a renewed sense of energy with hopes of building off last season's six wins.
"We got a taste of what a little bit of success looks like, but now we're hungry," Feeney said. "We're hungry for something more, a lot more."
Redshirt junior linebacker Marcus Oliver said the return of spring practice feels different this season compared to his first three seasons because of the extra month of practice Indiana was able to have before playing Duke at Yankee Stadium on Dec. 26.
The Hoosiers' offseason was effectively shortened an entire month before two months of weight training under new strength and conditioning coach Keith Caton preceded spring practice.
"The short turnaround, it's different because we were playing not too long ago," Oliver said. "The biggest difference is everybody's still thinking football. That's an extra month of thinking football and not being off, going home or just doing nothing. I think that speeds it up a little bit."
Indiana's initial practice was done in limited pads and didn't allow tackling. The Hoosiers are still at a stage where they're installing a new defense, introducing players to different positions and having others climb up the depth chart to replace graduated seniors no longer with the program.
Learning the new playbook that comes with first-year defensive coordinator Tom Allen's 4-2-5 system is near the top of IU's priority list this spring. Oliver said the terminology and subtle differences in the new scheme will require some time to adjust, but he doesn't anticipate it taking long.
"I think with the defense, it's not as much that it's hard to pick up as it is just everybody putting in the work preparation to build trust that everybody is going to do their job," Oliver said. "I think trust is really the biggest thing we've got to get out of spring ball. Just trusting the coaches, the players and the plays."
Though the offense isn't receiving as much of a makeover from a schematic standpoint, Indiana is faced with replacing the likes of graduated quarterback Nate Sudfeld, All-American left tackle Jason Spriggs and NFL hopeful running back Jordan Howard, among a cast of others.
It's set the table for positional battles up and down the depth chart that may or may not be sorted out over the next few weeks. For now, Feeney said the most important thing for players to do is to establish the fundamental aspects of the offense and set the tone for the rest of March and April.
"We've got a lot of new guys coming up that we're going to need," Feeney said. "We've got to pretty much get them to the standard that we have as an offense. We'll definitely get them there, we've just got a ways to go."
That's to be expected now with 180 days between Saturday's first practice and the opening kickoff against Florida International on Sept. 1. IU will get its chances to sure things up over the coming weeks.
But as players walked off the field sore and tired for the first time, Feeney smiled.
"It is good to be back," he said.
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The 2016 Indiana football season is officially underway.
The Hoosiers opened up their sixth season under head coach Kevin Wilson with a limited contact practice at Memorial Stadium Saturday. Fresh off a run to the New Era Pinstripe Bowl, fifth-year senior offensive lineman Dan Feeney said IU came into the first practice session of the spring with a renewed sense of energy with hopes of building off last season's six wins.
"We got a taste of what a little bit of success looks like, but now we're hungry," Feeney said. "We're hungry for something more, a lot more."
Redshirt junior linebacker Marcus Oliver said the return of spring practice feels different this season compared to his first three seasons because of the extra month of practice Indiana was able to have before playing Duke at Yankee Stadium on Dec. 26.
The Hoosiers' offseason was effectively shortened an entire month before two months of weight training under new strength and conditioning coach Keith Caton preceded spring practice.
"The short turnaround, it's different because we were playing not too long ago," Oliver said. "The biggest difference is everybody's still thinking football. That's an extra month of thinking football and not being off, going home or just doing nothing. I think that speeds it up a little bit."
Indiana's initial practice was done in limited pads and didn't allow tackling. The Hoosiers are still at a stage where they're installing a new defense, introducing players to different positions and having others climb up the depth chart to replace graduated seniors no longer with the program.
Learning the new playbook that comes with first-year defensive coordinator Tom Allen's 4-2-5 system is near the top of IU's priority list this spring. Oliver said the terminology and subtle differences in the new scheme will require some time to adjust, but he doesn't anticipate it taking long.
"I think with the defense, it's not as much that it's hard to pick up as it is just everybody putting in the work preparation to build trust that everybody is going to do their job," Oliver said. "I think trust is really the biggest thing we've got to get out of spring ball. Just trusting the coaches, the players and the plays."
Though the offense isn't receiving as much of a makeover from a schematic standpoint, Indiana is faced with replacing the likes of graduated quarterback Nate Sudfeld, All-American left tackle Jason Spriggs and NFL hopeful running back Jordan Howard, among a cast of others.
It's set the table for positional battles up and down the depth chart that may or may not be sorted out over the next few weeks. For now, Feeney said the most important thing for players to do is to establish the fundamental aspects of the offense and set the tone for the rest of March and April.
"We've got a lot of new guys coming up that we're going to need," Feeney said. "We've got to pretty much get them to the standard that we have as an offense. We'll definitely get them there, we've just got a ways to go."
That's to be expected now with 180 days between Saturday's first practice and the opening kickoff against Florida International on Sept. 1. IU will get its chances to sure things up over the coming weeks.
But as players walked off the field sore and tired for the first time, Feeney smiled.
"It is good to be back," he said.
Players Mentioned
FB: Spring Game - Postgame Press Conference
Thursday, April 23
FB: Bray Lynch - Spring Practice No. 11
Tuesday, April 21
FB: Drew Evans - Spring Practice No. 11
Tuesday, April 21
FB: Nico Radicic - Spring Practice No. 11
Tuesday, April 21