Indiana University Athletics
A Growing Committee
8/22/2018 10:12:00 PM | Football
By: Andy Graham
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Reakwon Jones saw it coming.
A running back seemingly had a step on true freshman linebacker Micah McFadden, but Jones sensed that situation was about to change.
"Micah's an effort guy," redshirt junior linebacker Jones said after practice Wednesday. "He's going to hustle and he's going to get there.
"I saw from the sideline the running back was carrying the ball a little loose and I was calling out, from the sideline, 'Oh, it's gonna happen! He's gonna strip him! It's gonna be a fumble!'
"Next thing you know, bang, ball out, and he jumps on the ball."
McFadden's penchant for hustle and takeaways are factors in his emergence during fall camp as a potential early contributor to Indiana's linebacker rotations.
And McFadden's not alone.
James Miller and Cam Jones are other true freshmen – at linebacker and at the hybrid linebacker/safety "Husky" position respectively – who have already caught the coaching staff's collective eye.
And even given the personnel loss at linebacker represented by the departures of 2017 starters Tegray Scales and Chris Covington to active NFL rosters (Rams and Cowboys), the current IU linebacking corps looks deeper than it did coming out of spring practice.
Before fall camp, the Hoosiers learned their most experienced linebacker with remaining eligibility – Dameon Willis Jr., who went through Senior Day last year – was returning. And they learned that Georgia Tech sophomore transfer T.J. Roof had gained immediate eligibility on appeal.
So immediate, experienced depth was added to both Mike (middle linebacker, where Willis plays) and Stinger (outside linebacker, where Roof plays).
Already previously slated to return as scholarship linebackers this fall were senior Mike McGinnis, Reakwon Jones, and redshirt freshmen Mo Burnam and Thomas Allen. Redshirt sophomore Marcelino Ball has returned from injury to resume his standout play at Husky.
That contingent is now augmented by true freshmen McFadden, James Miller and Aaron Casey and, at Husky, Cam Jones.
IU linebackers coach Kane Wommack is balancing the new NCAA rule that permits freshmen to play in four games while retaining redshirt status with the conclusion that some of them could contribute all season long.
"I think Micah McFadden is going to play," Wommack said Wednesday. "If you guys have watched any of the scrimmages and stuff like that, he shows out as a playmaker. He runs his tail off to get to the ball and so I think he's a guy that probably will go much further than the four-game rule.
"James Miller would be a person that we would (perhaps) have in that role. Is he a four-game guy? Do we play him a little bit more than that? I think time will tell. The thing that's hard about the four-game rule is do you play them early, or do you use those four games as a precursor to spring ball? Or maybe you need them somewhere in the middle or all that stuff. Then of course, on the outside, Cam Jones will play this season."
Willis – a rotation regular (with two starts) last season, during which he posted 27 tackles (15 solos) – already has a take on those three freshmen.
"Oh, man. James Miller, he's a hitter," Willis said with a smile. "He's a come downfield hitter. He's going to be something special.
"Cam Jones is bigger than people might think (6-3, 219). And that's exciting because he can really run – to run with the guys he runs with, at that size, is pretty awesome.
"Micah McFadden is a baller. He's going to play. He's going to play ball and give you his all. He's a gamer.
"I won't have to worry about those three. They'll absolutely be ready when the time comes."
Wommack exited the spring figuring his unit would have to produce "by committee" this fall, but now has a bigger committee to share the load.
"I said in the spring time that all production is going to have to come as a committee," Wommack said. "I think we do have a nice blend of playmakers and 'steadymakers.' What I mean by that is the playmakers are the guys that ... you've got guys like T.D. Roof and Micah McFadden is a young kid that's making a lot of plays. Dameon Willis is getting better every day and he's a natural playmaker.
"You've got some other guys that are really good steadymakers in terms of Thomas Allen is doing a phenomenal job for us. Reakwon makes a ton of plays, but he's also really steady out there for us. It's starting to shape up a little bit in terms of those five or six guys that we're going to see out there on the field. I think we can't say when we get to the first game, that's the best that we're going to do. It has to be a process through the season."
Willis said all the freshmen are acclimating well to a culture that requires effort and accountability.
"We're getting on each other," Willis said. "We're hard on each other. And it's really important that the young guys are taking that with a grain of salt, are taking to that with a positive mindset.
"And that's really critical for young players to learn. We'll continue to encourage them, too. And like Coach Wommack says, 'Keep working.' This finished product isn't today. We keep working to Sept. 1 (the season-opener at Florida International) and then beyond."
Wommack is a relative newcomer himself. He arrived in Bloomington last spring after serving as South Alabama's defensive coordinator last fall – and previously was an OIe Miss graduate assistant while IU head coach Tom Allen was linebackers coach under defensive coordinator Dave Wommack, Kane's dad.
Allen has long espoused the philosophy getting to know the players as people, and Wommack made sure he sat down with Willis upon learning the senior planned to return for a final season of eligibility.
"(We) have had a lot of one-on-one conversations, getting to know each other a little bit," Wommack said. "Obviously, everybody in the building knew him and knew him for a number of years. I never met the guy until this summer. So a lot of one-on-one conversations, a lot of getting to feel each other and know each other.
"My coaching style, I'm going to coach them hard and all that stuff, but I also want to hear them. I want to get to know them and I want to know, as a senior, what do you know, what do you not know and what can we fix? That's been a good transition, something that I think is a really strong building foundation for the future."
Wommack had to get to know Roof, too. And he likes what he's learned.
"He has a knack for the ball," Wommack said of Roof. "His athleticism. Sometimes you can get away with those more compact type bodies. There's a lot of explosiveness that comes from his lower half, and then he just has a natural feel for the ball. How to leverage things, how to understand where the ball is going. He's one of those playmakers.
"From what I understand, he played 205 this spring. He's up to about 223, 224 right now and he gained two miles-per-hour in terms of his speed work in the summer time. I can't tell you all the things, but that sounds a lot better to me."
And Wommack has had Ball in his linebacker room, after the Husky players were originally quartered with the safeties for team activities. Ball, a 247 True Freshman All-American in 2016, had to take a medical redshirt last fall and had to shake off some rust in the spring.
"In the spring time, I was hard on 'Lino," Wommack said. "'Lino was finding himself again as a football player and really there was a little bit of give-and-take between the two of us in the spring time. We had some good conversations and we got to know each other a little bit better.
"I think time heals a lot of things and going through this summer he was so detailed in what he did in the summer, just matter-of-fact about his business. I could not be more excited about Marcelino Ball right now. He's just a guy that does his job. He's consistent every day. He's taking Cam Jones under his wing — a true freshman that's going to have to play behind him. And he's a developer. He's become a leader.
Walking out of spring, I couldn't have told you that. I'm more than pleased with where 'Lino is right now."
Wommack is also happy with Reakwon Jones, who missed some fall camp time with injury but is back full-go.
"He had that bang-up a couple of weeks ago and that held him out for about a week there," Wommack said. "He was really steady before and then coming back took two days to get the rust knocked off. Now he's executing at a really high level.
"When you talk about a guy that's a playmaker, but also a really steady competitor for our defense, Reakwon is kind of the guy that comes to mind."
Reakwon Jones echoed Willis's take on Miller, McFadden and Cam Jones. Of the latter he noted:
"Cam Jones is learning. We've got 'Lino teaching him a lot of things at the Husky position. He's doing a great job. He's a big guy. You don't really see it till you get up on him.
"He's a pretty big guy and his man-to-man (coverage) is surprisingly good for how big he is. He probably didn't play a lot of man-to-man in high school, so he's developing, but he is going to be a great player."
Willis sees the potential, too. And while Scales and Covington and their 174 tackles last season are no longer factors, Willis feels linebacker-by-committee is going to work fine this fall. And the more the merrier.
"We're 'Swarm D,' " Willis said. "That's how we break it down and what we try to live up to every day. We're all going to swarm. We're going to play with fanatical effort. We're going to be hungry. And we're going to have a burst to that ball that most people aren't familiar with.
"We've definitely built some depth. We've simplified some things. It's more 'See ball, hit ball.' It's more reaction and having fun. We'll play a lot of young guys, but they're going to be confident in their calls and they're going to be able to make plays."
Such as bang, ball out, ball recovered. McFadden-style.
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Reakwon Jones saw it coming.
A running back seemingly had a step on true freshman linebacker Micah McFadden, but Jones sensed that situation was about to change.
"Micah's an effort guy," redshirt junior linebacker Jones said after practice Wednesday. "He's going to hustle and he's going to get there.
"I saw from the sideline the running back was carrying the ball a little loose and I was calling out, from the sideline, 'Oh, it's gonna happen! He's gonna strip him! It's gonna be a fumble!'
"Next thing you know, bang, ball out, and he jumps on the ball."
McFadden's penchant for hustle and takeaways are factors in his emergence during fall camp as a potential early contributor to Indiana's linebacker rotations.
And McFadden's not alone.
James Miller and Cam Jones are other true freshmen – at linebacker and at the hybrid linebacker/safety "Husky" position respectively – who have already caught the coaching staff's collective eye.
And even given the personnel loss at linebacker represented by the departures of 2017 starters Tegray Scales and Chris Covington to active NFL rosters (Rams and Cowboys), the current IU linebacking corps looks deeper than it did coming out of spring practice.
Before fall camp, the Hoosiers learned their most experienced linebacker with remaining eligibility – Dameon Willis Jr., who went through Senior Day last year – was returning. And they learned that Georgia Tech sophomore transfer T.J. Roof had gained immediate eligibility on appeal.
So immediate, experienced depth was added to both Mike (middle linebacker, where Willis plays) and Stinger (outside linebacker, where Roof plays).
Already previously slated to return as scholarship linebackers this fall were senior Mike McGinnis, Reakwon Jones, and redshirt freshmen Mo Burnam and Thomas Allen. Redshirt sophomore Marcelino Ball has returned from injury to resume his standout play at Husky.
That contingent is now augmented by true freshmen McFadden, James Miller and Aaron Casey and, at Husky, Cam Jones.
IU linebackers coach Kane Wommack is balancing the new NCAA rule that permits freshmen to play in four games while retaining redshirt status with the conclusion that some of them could contribute all season long.
"I think Micah McFadden is going to play," Wommack said Wednesday. "If you guys have watched any of the scrimmages and stuff like that, he shows out as a playmaker. He runs his tail off to get to the ball and so I think he's a guy that probably will go much further than the four-game rule.
"James Miller would be a person that we would (perhaps) have in that role. Is he a four-game guy? Do we play him a little bit more than that? I think time will tell. The thing that's hard about the four-game rule is do you play them early, or do you use those four games as a precursor to spring ball? Or maybe you need them somewhere in the middle or all that stuff. Then of course, on the outside, Cam Jones will play this season."
Willis – a rotation regular (with two starts) last season, during which he posted 27 tackles (15 solos) – already has a take on those three freshmen.
"Oh, man. James Miller, he's a hitter," Willis said with a smile. "He's a come downfield hitter. He's going to be something special.
"Cam Jones is bigger than people might think (6-3, 219). And that's exciting because he can really run – to run with the guys he runs with, at that size, is pretty awesome.
"Micah McFadden is a baller. He's going to play. He's going to play ball and give you his all. He's a gamer.
"I won't have to worry about those three. They'll absolutely be ready when the time comes."
Wommack exited the spring figuring his unit would have to produce "by committee" this fall, but now has a bigger committee to share the load.
"I said in the spring time that all production is going to have to come as a committee," Wommack said. "I think we do have a nice blend of playmakers and 'steadymakers.' What I mean by that is the playmakers are the guys that ... you've got guys like T.D. Roof and Micah McFadden is a young kid that's making a lot of plays. Dameon Willis is getting better every day and he's a natural playmaker.
"You've got some other guys that are really good steadymakers in terms of Thomas Allen is doing a phenomenal job for us. Reakwon makes a ton of plays, but he's also really steady out there for us. It's starting to shape up a little bit in terms of those five or six guys that we're going to see out there on the field. I think we can't say when we get to the first game, that's the best that we're going to do. It has to be a process through the season."
Willis said all the freshmen are acclimating well to a culture that requires effort and accountability.
"We're getting on each other," Willis said. "We're hard on each other. And it's really important that the young guys are taking that with a grain of salt, are taking to that with a positive mindset.
"And that's really critical for young players to learn. We'll continue to encourage them, too. And like Coach Wommack says, 'Keep working.' This finished product isn't today. We keep working to Sept. 1 (the season-opener at Florida International) and then beyond."
Wommack is a relative newcomer himself. He arrived in Bloomington last spring after serving as South Alabama's defensive coordinator last fall – and previously was an OIe Miss graduate assistant while IU head coach Tom Allen was linebackers coach under defensive coordinator Dave Wommack, Kane's dad.
Allen has long espoused the philosophy getting to know the players as people, and Wommack made sure he sat down with Willis upon learning the senior planned to return for a final season of eligibility.
"(We) have had a lot of one-on-one conversations, getting to know each other a little bit," Wommack said. "Obviously, everybody in the building knew him and knew him for a number of years. I never met the guy until this summer. So a lot of one-on-one conversations, a lot of getting to feel each other and know each other.
"My coaching style, I'm going to coach them hard and all that stuff, but I also want to hear them. I want to get to know them and I want to know, as a senior, what do you know, what do you not know and what can we fix? That's been a good transition, something that I think is a really strong building foundation for the future."
Wommack had to get to know Roof, too. And he likes what he's learned.
"He has a knack for the ball," Wommack said of Roof. "His athleticism. Sometimes you can get away with those more compact type bodies. There's a lot of explosiveness that comes from his lower half, and then he just has a natural feel for the ball. How to leverage things, how to understand where the ball is going. He's one of those playmakers.
"From what I understand, he played 205 this spring. He's up to about 223, 224 right now and he gained two miles-per-hour in terms of his speed work in the summer time. I can't tell you all the things, but that sounds a lot better to me."
And Wommack has had Ball in his linebacker room, after the Husky players were originally quartered with the safeties for team activities. Ball, a 247 True Freshman All-American in 2016, had to take a medical redshirt last fall and had to shake off some rust in the spring.
"In the spring time, I was hard on 'Lino," Wommack said. "'Lino was finding himself again as a football player and really there was a little bit of give-and-take between the two of us in the spring time. We had some good conversations and we got to know each other a little bit better.
"I think time heals a lot of things and going through this summer he was so detailed in what he did in the summer, just matter-of-fact about his business. I could not be more excited about Marcelino Ball right now. He's just a guy that does his job. He's consistent every day. He's taking Cam Jones under his wing — a true freshman that's going to have to play behind him. And he's a developer. He's become a leader.
Walking out of spring, I couldn't have told you that. I'm more than pleased with where 'Lino is right now."
Wommack is also happy with Reakwon Jones, who missed some fall camp time with injury but is back full-go.
"He had that bang-up a couple of weeks ago and that held him out for about a week there," Wommack said. "He was really steady before and then coming back took two days to get the rust knocked off. Now he's executing at a really high level.
"When you talk about a guy that's a playmaker, but also a really steady competitor for our defense, Reakwon is kind of the guy that comes to mind."
Reakwon Jones echoed Willis's take on Miller, McFadden and Cam Jones. Of the latter he noted:
"Cam Jones is learning. We've got 'Lino teaching him a lot of things at the Husky position. He's doing a great job. He's a big guy. You don't really see it till you get up on him.
"He's a pretty big guy and his man-to-man (coverage) is surprisingly good for how big he is. He probably didn't play a lot of man-to-man in high school, so he's developing, but he is going to be a great player."
Willis sees the potential, too. And while Scales and Covington and their 174 tackles last season are no longer factors, Willis feels linebacker-by-committee is going to work fine this fall. And the more the merrier.
"We're 'Swarm D,' " Willis said. "That's how we break it down and what we try to live up to every day. We're all going to swarm. We're going to play with fanatical effort. We're going to be hungry. And we're going to have a burst to that ball that most people aren't familiar with.
"We've definitely built some depth. We've simplified some things. It's more 'See ball, hit ball.' It's more reaction and having fun. We'll play a lot of young guys, but they're going to be confident in their calls and they're going to be able to make plays."
Such as bang, ball out, ball recovered. McFadden-style.
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