Indiana University Athletics
Have Line, Will Travel
9/14/2018 2:36:00 PM | Football
By: Andy Graham
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana senior right tackle Brandon Knight came off the ball and just pushed Virginia standout outside linebacker Chris Peace right out of the way.
Literally.
One two-handed Knight shove was all it took to send Peace reeling.
Virginia defensive end Richard Burney took an outside angle at the snap, which was just fine with IU redshirt sophomore right guard Simon Stepaniak.
Stepaniak used that momentum to usher Burney out of the play.
So, yes. It was indeed impressive to see true freshman back Stevie Scott split and then outrun Virginia safeties Juan Thornhill and Brenton Nelson on the 40-yard TD gallop that opened Indiana's scoring in the host Hoosiers' 20-16 win
Saturday night.
But the gaping hole at the line of scrimmage created by Knight and Stepaniak was what allowed Scott to hit the second level of Virginia's defense at full stride. The Cavaliers weren't going to catch him.
And the blocking up front helped pave the way to Scott finishing with 204 rushing yards, just three behind Anthony Thompson's single-game record for an IU true freshman – and to Scott earning Big Ten co-Freshman of the Week honors.
It was a dominant performance by a veteran offensive line that was challenged by Hoosier coaches to up its collective game during the week following the 38-28 season-opening win at Florida International.
"We're the mature group on the team," fifth-year senior left guard Wes Martin said of his unit's age status amid the nation's 19th-youngest roster. "And we didn't play the way we needed to in week one. We played good enough to get the
win but didn't play up to the standard we've set in our room.
"And we knew that. We took that personal. Coach (Hoosier head coach Tom Allen) reinforced that. So going into week two … we knew we had to get back up to the standard we had set for ourselves."
Allen felt the standard was met convincingly enough to bestow IU's Offensive Player of the Week honors to every guy who played on the offensive line Saturday night.
"I really challenged our offensive line a week ago after our first week performance about finishing blocks and finishing the plays off and really being the strength of our team," Allen said. "They were good week one, but they weren't great, and I felt like they responded.
"They were the reason why Stevie Scott got all those yards rushing. And, yeah, it was great that he did what he did, but he knows that as well as all of us do – that the O-line was the reason why he was able to get those yards. So he was honored with being Big Ten co-Freshman of The Week for his production and the game that he had, but that whole group there obviously worked well together and made that happen.
"Rushing for 243 yards – 237 was the net (as a team) – just being able to run the football in those conditions against a Virginia team that was really stout against the run (was key). That was their strength and they knew we had to run the
ball, with the weather the way it was, and to be able to do that in those circumstances is really awesome."
Ah, yes. The conditions.
Remnants of Tropical Storm Gordon dumped six inches of rain on Bloomington over the weekend and the precipitation seemed to peak during the game Saturday evening.
With wind gusts of 30 mile per hour, too.
IU's offensive linemen were well aware of the forecast Saturday. And they knew they'd have to shoulder a big burden.
"We knew coming into the game, with the weather," left tackle Coy Cronk said. "As soon as we woke up, we knew. It stormed from 8 a.m. till midnight. We had to run the ball.
"We knew we were going to get a loaded box (of defenders aligned to stop the run.) When it's raining that hard and blowing like that, it's tough for the quarterback to feed the ball out there, tough to get a grip on the ball. So we knew we had a big challenge in front of us.
"It really came down to knowing who to block and then staying after those blocks. I think the front five, our offensive line, and our tight ends blocked really, really well Saturday."
IU's starting offensive line features a fifth-year senior (Martin), a senior (Knight), two redshirt juniors (Stepaniak and center Hunter Littlejohn) and a junior (Cronk). That amounts to 20 years, combined, on campus.
There is even more experience in fifth-year senior Delroy Baker, who can fill in at any tackle or guard spot, and graduate student center/guard Nick Linder (a transfer from Miami, Fla.) The youngest regular is sophomore center/guard
Harry Crider, but he played in eight games last season as a true freshman and now has 10 under his belt.
Several players – Stepaniak and Knight in particular – missed entire games and considerable time, overall, to injury last season. Cronk played hurt much of the way. There was a lot of patchwork up front. So there wasn't necessarily the cohesiveness a good line needs.
Like there was Saturday night. And will need to be again Saturday at noon when the Hoosiers host in-state rival Ball State, which just played No. 8 Notre Dame to a single-score game in South Bend.
The Cardinals feature a very aggressive, stunting front seven defensively. Communication will be key for IU's offensive line.
"Especially at the tempo we play at sometimes," Cronk noted. "(Tempo) is great because it tires the defense out, and we're well-conditioned for it, but it's tough to make the right calls when they start rolling safeties down into the box and we're snapping the ball so quickly.
"But being a veteran group, just knowing what to expect, helps. We'll go, 'It's third-and-short, and we just had a good chunk play for yardage, so we can probably expect this, this and that.' We figure it out. Then we execute."
The execution was certainly enhanced by Scott's patient but powerful running. Cronk was impressed by many aspects of Scott's performance, not the least of which was Scott avoiding any fumbles of slick and water-logged footballs on 31 carries during an exceptionally soggy game.
"That's really impressive," Cronk said. "But that's part of our standard on offense. We have got to protect the ball. You can't score if you fumble it away. Stevie is a young guy but did a great job and he ran hard.
"I think it helps, the way Stevie was running violently and right through people. He wasn't dancing around, which is the sort of thing where maybe the ball will get loose. He was running through people, delivering blows rather than just receiving them, I think that helps keep the ball more secure. And he has that mentality where he wants to score on every play."
Cronk has heard the comparisons of Scott, even in his nascent career, to IU grad Jordan Howard, now starting for the Chicago Bears.
"Both big bodies," Cronk said. "A little more speed than you maybe give them credit for. And they both really run hard. Hopefully, Stevie develops into the sort of back Jordan did. He's still a young kid and has a ways to go.
"He has a lot to learn. But he's a big kid with a lot of effort and drive. And he's instinctive. Stuff that can't be taught. So I think he's got a bright future."
Martin concurs.
"When you watch the film, you see a lot of good patience from him," Martin said of Scott. "Sometimes it takes a little time for those holes to develop – for the holes to open and the play to develop – and he showed great patience waiting for that hole to open, then hit it. And he had the explosiveness to hit it successfully.
"I heard on the radio the Jordan Howard comparison the other day. Obviously, (Stevie) is young and has got a lot of work to do. But talking about the patience, you did see some of that – showing great patience and then, when the hole opens, the explosiveness to run through that hole. So I would say that's the biggest (comparison). He doesn't have that Tevin Coleman speed … but I'd say (Howard) is the best comparison."
While having a long way to go to match the likes of Howard or Coleman at IU, rushing for over 200 yards in a second start isn't a bad sign for Scott.
And it was marked with pride by Scott's blockers.
"That's something we take a lot of pride in," Martin said. "We have a lot of things to correct, a lot of areas where we can get better, but it was good to see some numbers like that."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana senior right tackle Brandon Knight came off the ball and just pushed Virginia standout outside linebacker Chris Peace right out of the way.
Literally.
One two-handed Knight shove was all it took to send Peace reeling.
Virginia defensive end Richard Burney took an outside angle at the snap, which was just fine with IU redshirt sophomore right guard Simon Stepaniak.
Stepaniak used that momentum to usher Burney out of the play.
So, yes. It was indeed impressive to see true freshman back Stevie Scott split and then outrun Virginia safeties Juan Thornhill and Brenton Nelson on the 40-yard TD gallop that opened Indiana's scoring in the host Hoosiers' 20-16 win
Saturday night.
But the gaping hole at the line of scrimmage created by Knight and Stepaniak was what allowed Scott to hit the second level of Virginia's defense at full stride. The Cavaliers weren't going to catch him.
And the blocking up front helped pave the way to Scott finishing with 204 rushing yards, just three behind Anthony Thompson's single-game record for an IU true freshman – and to Scott earning Big Ten co-Freshman of the Week honors.
It was a dominant performance by a veteran offensive line that was challenged by Hoosier coaches to up its collective game during the week following the 38-28 season-opening win at Florida International.
"We're the mature group on the team," fifth-year senior left guard Wes Martin said of his unit's age status amid the nation's 19th-youngest roster. "And we didn't play the way we needed to in week one. We played good enough to get the
win but didn't play up to the standard we've set in our room.
"And we knew that. We took that personal. Coach (Hoosier head coach Tom Allen) reinforced that. So going into week two … we knew we had to get back up to the standard we had set for ourselves."
Allen felt the standard was met convincingly enough to bestow IU's Offensive Player of the Week honors to every guy who played on the offensive line Saturday night.
"I really challenged our offensive line a week ago after our first week performance about finishing blocks and finishing the plays off and really being the strength of our team," Allen said. "They were good week one, but they weren't great, and I felt like they responded.
"They were the reason why Stevie Scott got all those yards rushing. And, yeah, it was great that he did what he did, but he knows that as well as all of us do – that the O-line was the reason why he was able to get those yards. So he was honored with being Big Ten co-Freshman of The Week for his production and the game that he had, but that whole group there obviously worked well together and made that happen.
"Rushing for 243 yards – 237 was the net (as a team) – just being able to run the football in those conditions against a Virginia team that was really stout against the run (was key). That was their strength and they knew we had to run the
ball, with the weather the way it was, and to be able to do that in those circumstances is really awesome."
Ah, yes. The conditions.
Remnants of Tropical Storm Gordon dumped six inches of rain on Bloomington over the weekend and the precipitation seemed to peak during the game Saturday evening.
With wind gusts of 30 mile per hour, too.
IU's offensive linemen were well aware of the forecast Saturday. And they knew they'd have to shoulder a big burden.
"We knew coming into the game, with the weather," left tackle Coy Cronk said. "As soon as we woke up, we knew. It stormed from 8 a.m. till midnight. We had to run the ball.
"We knew we were going to get a loaded box (of defenders aligned to stop the run.) When it's raining that hard and blowing like that, it's tough for the quarterback to feed the ball out there, tough to get a grip on the ball. So we knew we had a big challenge in front of us.
"It really came down to knowing who to block and then staying after those blocks. I think the front five, our offensive line, and our tight ends blocked really, really well Saturday."
IU's starting offensive line features a fifth-year senior (Martin), a senior (Knight), two redshirt juniors (Stepaniak and center Hunter Littlejohn) and a junior (Cronk). That amounts to 20 years, combined, on campus.
There is even more experience in fifth-year senior Delroy Baker, who can fill in at any tackle or guard spot, and graduate student center/guard Nick Linder (a transfer from Miami, Fla.) The youngest regular is sophomore center/guard
Harry Crider, but he played in eight games last season as a true freshman and now has 10 under his belt.
Several players – Stepaniak and Knight in particular – missed entire games and considerable time, overall, to injury last season. Cronk played hurt much of the way. There was a lot of patchwork up front. So there wasn't necessarily the cohesiveness a good line needs.
Like there was Saturday night. And will need to be again Saturday at noon when the Hoosiers host in-state rival Ball State, which just played No. 8 Notre Dame to a single-score game in South Bend.
The Cardinals feature a very aggressive, stunting front seven defensively. Communication will be key for IU's offensive line.
"Especially at the tempo we play at sometimes," Cronk noted. "(Tempo) is great because it tires the defense out, and we're well-conditioned for it, but it's tough to make the right calls when they start rolling safeties down into the box and we're snapping the ball so quickly.
"But being a veteran group, just knowing what to expect, helps. We'll go, 'It's third-and-short, and we just had a good chunk play for yardage, so we can probably expect this, this and that.' We figure it out. Then we execute."
The execution was certainly enhanced by Scott's patient but powerful running. Cronk was impressed by many aspects of Scott's performance, not the least of which was Scott avoiding any fumbles of slick and water-logged footballs on 31 carries during an exceptionally soggy game.
"That's really impressive," Cronk said. "But that's part of our standard on offense. We have got to protect the ball. You can't score if you fumble it away. Stevie is a young guy but did a great job and he ran hard.
"I think it helps, the way Stevie was running violently and right through people. He wasn't dancing around, which is the sort of thing where maybe the ball will get loose. He was running through people, delivering blows rather than just receiving them, I think that helps keep the ball more secure. And he has that mentality where he wants to score on every play."
Cronk has heard the comparisons of Scott, even in his nascent career, to IU grad Jordan Howard, now starting for the Chicago Bears.
"Both big bodies," Cronk said. "A little more speed than you maybe give them credit for. And they both really run hard. Hopefully, Stevie develops into the sort of back Jordan did. He's still a young kid and has a ways to go.
"He has a lot to learn. But he's a big kid with a lot of effort and drive. And he's instinctive. Stuff that can't be taught. So I think he's got a bright future."
Martin concurs.
"When you watch the film, you see a lot of good patience from him," Martin said of Scott. "Sometimes it takes a little time for those holes to develop – for the holes to open and the play to develop – and he showed great patience waiting for that hole to open, then hit it. And he had the explosiveness to hit it successfully.
"I heard on the radio the Jordan Howard comparison the other day. Obviously, (Stevie) is young and has got a lot of work to do. But talking about the patience, you did see some of that – showing great patience and then, when the hole opens, the explosiveness to run through that hole. So I would say that's the biggest (comparison). He doesn't have that Tevin Coleman speed … but I'd say (Howard) is the best comparison."
While having a long way to go to match the likes of Howard or Coleman at IU, rushing for over 200 yards in a second start isn't a bad sign for Scott.
And it was marked with pride by Scott's blockers.
"That's something we take a lot of pride in," Martin said. "We have a lot of things to correct, a lot of areas where we can get better, but it was good to see some numbers like that."
Players Mentioned
OL
/ Football
OL
/ Football
OL
/ Football
OL
/ Football
OL
/ Football
OL
/ Football
RB
/ Football
OL
/ FootballFB: Under the Hood with Indiana Football - Week 14 (at Purdue)
Wednesday, November 26
FB: Riley Nowakowski Media Availability (11/25/25)
Tuesday, November 25
FB: D'Angelo Ponds Media Availability (11/25/25)
Tuesday, November 25
FB: Week 14 (Purdue) - Curt Cignetti Press Conference
Monday, November 24