Room to Grow – Stevie Scott to Set IU’s Running Back Tone
3/12/2019 12:11:00 PM | Football
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Stevie Scott can't bask.
Past glory doesn't guarantee future success and Scott, who set Indiana true freshman running back records last season, needs a dialed-in football spring that reflects that mindset.
If he does, coach Tom Allen says, look out.
If he doesn't, maybe somebody else will in what looms as a fiercely competitive running back situation.
"Stevie Scott is obviously coming off a big year," Allen says, "but that is in the past. He's had a chance to learn from that, and grow."
Growth could come from a foundation of 1,137 rushing yards, six 100-yard games and 10 touchdowns.
No IU true freshman has ever produced those kind of numbers, not even the greatest running back in school history, Anthony Thompson.
Injuries limited Thompson to just 191 carries, 806 yards and five touchdowns in his first season. He finished with 5,299 yards and a then-NCAA record 67 touchdowns.
The 6-2, 233-pound Scott, who totaled 228 carries last season, has a lot of work ahead to challenge those kind of numbers.
He also has significant competition for carries, which is what Allen wants to build depth. In the spring that means Ronnie Walker Jr., who totaled 141 rushing yards in limited action last year. He averaged 4.4 yards a carry.
Veteran Cole Gest also is back from an ACL injury. Plus, four-star prospect Sampson James from Avon, Ind., is already enrolled and participating in spring practice. The 6-1, 212-pounder rushed for 3,451 yards and 38 touchdowns in high school, and was rated as the nation's No. 10 running back prospect by Rivals.
"It's highly competitive in that room," Allen says. "The mindset (Scott) has and the rest of those guys have in that room is going to be critical. I think the guys run extremely hard. They are just learning to be a Big Ten guy every single day."
Speedster Ivory Winters will add even more competition when he joins the team this summer.
Then there are the linebackers, perhaps the key to what could be a strong defense. Veterans Reakwon Jones (36 tackles), Thomas Allen (28 tackles) and Micah McFadden (20 tackles) will set the tone. So will husky Marcelino Ball, a hybrid safety/linebacker who earned honorable mention All-Big Ten honors last season after recording 59 tackles, a team-leading 7.5 tackles for loss, one interception and one forced fumble.
IU also has added another four-star prospect in linebacker Cameron Williams out of Merrillville, Ind. The 6-3, 215-pounder will join the team in the summer.
"There's a lot of young experience," Allen says about the linebackers. "It's guys who played a lot of snaps last year.
"Micah McFadden showed up (in Thursday's practice). James Miller, a young guy, showed up, flashed and did some really good things. Both are real physical guys that finished tackles.
"I think as a whole group with Marcelino Ball at the husky spot on the outside, moving Cam Jones around a little bit. Those guys make that group up and it's going to be a special one."
IU is taking a week off for spring break before resuming workouts. It has 11 more highlighted by next month's annual Cream & Crimson Game.
The goal is to take the foundation developed in Allen's first two seasons as a head coach and turn it into a consistent winner.
"It's been a good start," Allen says. "We had our first full-padded day (on Thursday). There was a lot of live go's, had some real scrimmage situations to work through and got a lot of guys getting lots of good reps.
"I thought it was good improvement each day, learning a new offensive system, trying to tweak some things defensively to make us better. Just love the effort. The effort and the energy has been really good."
It needs to stay that way after the break, Allen adds.
"The bottom line is we have to get a little better every single day, technique, fundamentals. That's our focus.
"We want to make sure we are sticking to the goals of spring ball. It's a great mindset builder. We went earlier this morning (on Thursday) trying to build that mental toughness in our guys and be able to handle any situation thrown at them and be able to get better and improve and be a very, very physical football team."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Stevie Scott can't bask.
Past glory doesn't guarantee future success and Scott, who set Indiana true freshman running back records last season, needs a dialed-in football spring that reflects that mindset.
If he does, coach Tom Allen says, look out.
If he doesn't, maybe somebody else will in what looms as a fiercely competitive running back situation.
"Stevie Scott is obviously coming off a big year," Allen says, "but that is in the past. He's had a chance to learn from that, and grow."
Growth could come from a foundation of 1,137 rushing yards, six 100-yard games and 10 touchdowns.
No IU true freshman has ever produced those kind of numbers, not even the greatest running back in school history, Anthony Thompson.
Injuries limited Thompson to just 191 carries, 806 yards and five touchdowns in his first season. He finished with 5,299 yards and a then-NCAA record 67 touchdowns.
The 6-2, 233-pound Scott, who totaled 228 carries last season, has a lot of work ahead to challenge those kind of numbers.
He also has significant competition for carries, which is what Allen wants to build depth. In the spring that means Ronnie Walker Jr., who totaled 141 rushing yards in limited action last year. He averaged 4.4 yards a carry.
Veteran Cole Gest also is back from an ACL injury. Plus, four-star prospect Sampson James from Avon, Ind., is already enrolled and participating in spring practice. The 6-1, 212-pounder rushed for 3,451 yards and 38 touchdowns in high school, and was rated as the nation's No. 10 running back prospect by Rivals.
"It's highly competitive in that room," Allen says. "The mindset (Scott) has and the rest of those guys have in that room is going to be critical. I think the guys run extremely hard. They are just learning to be a Big Ten guy every single day."
Speedster Ivory Winters will add even more competition when he joins the team this summer.
Then there are the linebackers, perhaps the key to what could be a strong defense. Veterans Reakwon Jones (36 tackles), Thomas Allen (28 tackles) and Micah McFadden (20 tackles) will set the tone. So will husky Marcelino Ball, a hybrid safety/linebacker who earned honorable mention All-Big Ten honors last season after recording 59 tackles, a team-leading 7.5 tackles for loss, one interception and one forced fumble.
IU also has added another four-star prospect in linebacker Cameron Williams out of Merrillville, Ind. The 6-3, 215-pounder will join the team in the summer.
"There's a lot of young experience," Allen says about the linebackers. "It's guys who played a lot of snaps last year.
"Micah McFadden showed up (in Thursday's practice). James Miller, a young guy, showed up, flashed and did some really good things. Both are real physical guys that finished tackles.
"I think as a whole group with Marcelino Ball at the husky spot on the outside, moving Cam Jones around a little bit. Those guys make that group up and it's going to be a special one."
IU is taking a week off for spring break before resuming workouts. It has 11 more highlighted by next month's annual Cream & Crimson Game.
The goal is to take the foundation developed in Allen's first two seasons as a head coach and turn it into a consistent winner.
"It's been a good start," Allen says. "We had our first full-padded day (on Thursday). There was a lot of live go's, had some real scrimmage situations to work through and got a lot of guys getting lots of good reps.
"I thought it was good improvement each day, learning a new offensive system, trying to tweak some things defensively to make us better. Just love the effort. The effort and the energy has been really good."
It needs to stay that way after the break, Allen adds.
"The bottom line is we have to get a little better every single day, technique, fundamentals. That's our focus.
"We want to make sure we are sticking to the goals of spring ball. It's a great mindset builder. We went earlier this morning (on Thursday) trying to build that mental toughness in our guys and be able to handle any situation thrown at them and be able to get better and improve and be a very, very physical football team."
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