Indiana University Athletics
Leading the Way -- Offensive Line Finding Its Groove
10/13/2019 8:08:00 PM | Football
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Is Indiana's offensive line finally ready to lead the Big Ten way?
More and more, it looks like it.
Even without senior left tackle Coy Cronk, the Hoosiers are starting to block their way to big-time success.
It surfaced a little bit against Michigan State. It surfaced a lot during Saturday's 35-0 win over Rutgers.
The result -- the entire offensive line got the game ball after the victory.
The line has survived the loss of Cronk, out with season-ending surgery. It didn't struggle when fifth-year senior center Hunter Littlejohn went out against the Scarlet Knights.
Granted, Rutgers' defense has struggled, but that misses the point, which is IU's season-high 260 rushing yards, including 164 from tailback Stevie Scott III, reflected impressive improvement.
"When you lose a guy like Coy, it's going to do one of two things," head coach Tom Allen said. "A group can be devastated by it and never recover, never be the same, or you can band together and realize that each guy to a man has got to elevate his preparation and elevate his performance, and I think that's what's happened.
"We lost one of if not our best offensive linemen, and the group has come together and solidified its work ethic, its resolve. They're saying we're going to be better because we're relying on each other, we're working, we're spending extra time.
"Coy has spent hours and hours trying to help (true freshman Matthew Bedford) get ready and all the different things it takes to get ready.
"That's why we've committed (Cronk is) going to travel to every one of our games. He's going to be here, whether he's on crutches or on his little scooter, whatever we've got to do to get him where he needs to be. But he's an important part of this team. (The line) has rallied around him, and that's awesome to see."
Offensive line coach Darren Hiller has blended the leadership of Littlejohn, Cronk and fifth-year senior right guard Simon Stepaniak with players such as Caleb Jones, Harry Crider, DaVondre Love, Mackenzie Nworah, Charlie O'Connor and Britt Beery.
"That's a tribute to Coach Hiller and the group," Allen said. "Simon has really stepped up, taken ownership of that. So has Hunter. Those two seniors have challenged the other guys to elevate their games.
"You want to keep getting better as the season progresses, and we're seeing signs of that."
*****
Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. has been solid in the two games since returning from an injury. Against Michigan State, he was 33-for-42 for 282 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. Against Rutgers, he was 20-for-29 for 282 yards, three touchdowns and an interception in basically three quarters of work.
For the season, Penix has completed 69.5 percent of his passes for 1,091 yards, nine touchdowns and three interceptions.
"Accuracy is something I've always done," he said. "It's being in the playbook, knowing my reads, being able to execute everything the coaches put in.
"We complete a lot of passes in practice. We push to make sure we stay at a high level."
Good protection helps. IU quarterbacks have only been sacked eight times this season, the best in the Big Ten. Penix wasn't sacked on Saturday.
"The offensive line does a great job of holding up," Penix said. "I appreciate that."
Penix has emerged as a leader in his first year as a college starter.
"Mike has grown a lot," junior receiver Whop Philyor said. "He's a bigger leader. He's helping the receivers out with checks. He's a complete quarterback now."
Still, Allen wants more, and will need it if IU is to finish strong in its last six games.
"I thought (Saturday) was a good growth day for Michael. It wasn't as clean as the last performance. He was late on some throws, and he underthrew one to Whop that should have been a touchdown. He's young, and that's part of the process.
"You aren't always going to be at the top of your game. He's going to learn from it. Part of the growth process is how you handle being patted on the back after a great performance, and getting ready to do it again, and again.
"We'll look at the film, he'll improve and be even better next week."
****
Demarcus Elliott is a big guy with a big upside, and more and more he's showing it.
Consider the hurt the 6-3, 328-pound sophomore defensive tackle put on Rutgers – one sack for a loss of eight yards and a fumble, three tackles for loss for a total of 20 yards lost, four tackles overall.
His strip sack on the game's opening play led to teammate Reakwon Jones' fumble recovery for a touchdown.
It was one of IU's six sacks, big for a team that had just 10 sacks in the first five games.
"We're focusing on the small things, like getting on the edge at the right time or staying in the rush lane," Elliott said. "Doing the smart things that can get a sack in a hurry."
This is what IU coaches were hoping for when they signed Elliott out of Garden City Community College out of Kansas. It reflects his growth, and that of the entire defensive line, which helped produce a season-high 14 tackles for loss, two off the school record, against Rutgers.
"It's the penetration we're getting," Allen said. "We do move quite a bit and try to create those negative plays, the tackles for loss, the sacks, which creates takeaways, eventually. That's how you play great defense."
IU has every intention of becoming a great defense, Elliott added.
"In practice we're always 100 percent working, working, working. Our leadership is phenomenal. I've never been on a defense like this in my career. Everyone is accountable. We're all one team."
*****
Opportunity found Reakwon Jones more than ready.
His first-quarter touchdown on Saturday was his first as a college player. The only other time he had found the end zone was at Florida's A. Crawford Mosley High School as a senior, when he caught a tipped pass in postseason play.
"I was emotional after (Saturday's touchdown)," Jones said.
The defensive score highlighted IU's takeaway emphasis.
"This is what we want to be about the rest of the season," Jones said.
The touchdown came on the anniversary of last year's hurricane that devastated the Lynn Haven, Fla., area and destroyed the Jones family's home. A new house remains under construction.
"I'm thankful to be here and thankful for them to be in a stable environment," Jones said. "Last year at this time, we didn't have a home. All our stuff was destroyed.
"They're in an apartment now, but we can't complain."
Jones is having the kind of senior season you'd expect from a leader. He has a team-high 35 tackles, including two sacks. He also won the team L-E-O (Love Each Other) award before Saturday's game, which goes to the player that best exemplifies what that stands for.
"I don't think anybody is more proud of him than I am," Allen said. "Our team loves him because he's persevered. He persevered as a player. He exemplifies grit. He's playing his best football.
"He had the hurricane that devastated his family. They're still recovering from it, and the perseverance through that has been impressive.
"There's just a lot of respect for him and the kind of man he's become. He cares so much. He works so hard. When you've got a guy like that leading, it makes a big difference."
Jones continues to make a difference with his younger defensive teammates.
"They're starting to get it," he says. "We continue to hammer things in practice, and grow from it. We talk about what we want to do, and where we want to be."
*****
Is Whop Philyor the Big Ten's best receiver?
The numbers make a strong case.
The junior leads the conference in catches per game, at 6.8. He has 41 catches for 553 yards and three touchdowns. In the last two games, he's had 24 catches for 324 yards.
Michigan State's Darrell Steward is right with Philyor with 46 catches (in one more game) for 683 yards and four touchdowns.
Credit a lot of Philyor's success to his strong connection with Penix. The secret, it seems, is hard work, trust, lots of film study and … playing video games Fortnite and NBA2K.
"We play that a lot together," Philyor said. "We watch film while we play the game, and talk about little things we can do to get us going."
Philyor got the Hoosiers going multiple times on Saturday, including his spectacular catch on an under-thrown ball. Officials initially ruled it incomplete, but a review overturned it.
"I had to make a play for my guy," Philyor said. He added that he tells Penix to, "Get me the ball and I'll make plays for you."
Added Penix: "I lost him behind the offensive line, so I had to wait for the next window. It surprised me he was so wide open."
As for the success he's had with Philyor, Penix said, "It's trusting each other. (Offensive coordinator Kalen DeBoer) puts us in great situations, and the offensive line is holding up and allowing me time to get him the ball."
*****
IU (4-2) travels to Maryland (3-3) on Saturday. The Terrapins are coming off a 40-14 loss at Purdue in which they gave up 420 passing yards.
After that comes a trip to Nebraska (4-3), which is coming off a 34-7 loss at Minnesota, and a home game against Northwestern (1-4) before a second bye.
The Hoosiers are two games away from bowl eligibility, but that's not the focus, Philyor said.
Maryland is.
"We'll talk to the young guys about it. (Maryland will) have a good atmosphere. We feel we can beat Maryland. It comes down to the small things, the things we need to do to get over the hump."
That starts with avoiding Saturday's lethargic second-quarter play after a quick 21-0 start.
"We weren't executing the small things," Philyor said. "We have to clean those things up if we want to be elite."
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