Hoosiers Have Their Eyes on the Prize

By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Reese Taylor sees with a quarterback's eyes. This is important. It gives Indiana's sophomore cornerback an edge, and you'd better believe that could come in handy when Ohio State rolls into Memorial Stadium on Saturday.

Taylor is a former Indiana Mr. Football who earned the honor mostly with his quarterback exploits for Indianapolis Ben Davis, and the result was a state championship and a deep understanding of offenses.

Now that he's a full-time defensive player after playing offense and defense last season (and even serving as the back-up quarterback to Peyton Ramsey), Taylor aims to put that quarterback instinct to good use.

"I know what quarterbacks are thinking, that they're probably looking me off, that it's probably going to be a quick game. I look at a quarterback's eyes, his head, the way he throws the ball. It all helps."

So does the fact Taylor no longer has a quarterback's know-everything responsibility.

"As a quarterback, you've got to know all positions. You're reading the defense. You have to know the coverages."

At 5-11 and 183 pounds, Taylor won't overpower receivers with size and strength, but his speed and athleticism will more than make up for that once his cornerback technique improves.

"I'm working on my technique every day. What makes a great cornerback is great technique. I feel it's getting better."

That includes tackling.

"I'd rather hit somebody than have them hit me," he says. "I want to hit somebody first before they try to run me over. If I have to make a tackle, I'm going to do everything in my power to do it."

The quarterback in Taylor still surfaces, which is what you'd expect from a guy who dominated at the position for so long. Giving up offense for defense is the smart move, both for college and potentially beyond, but being smart sometimes leaves regrets.

"It affected me," he says, "but I gotta do what I gotta do. If it's going to help me get to the next level. I'll do it. It's tough, but I'm going to do it."

So he has, with the realization that plenty of work remains.

"By sticking on defense I can lock in on one position. Zoom in on one playbook rather than trying to do everything at one time. I can focus in and find the small details, the little things I didn't know about."

Ensuring that Taylor does know about them is cornerbacks coach Brandon Shelby, who is fully aware of Taylor's potential.

"He's a tough, mental guy. He can run. Being a quarterback has allowed him to understand the game. He understands what teams want to do offensively, what they are trying to do. He brings that kind of thinking to the defense.

"He's going to play a lot of football. We just have to refine a few things. Get his eyes right. Lot of times when you come over from offense you see a lot and don't see anything. We need to get him honed in on his eyes. I expect a lot of things from him this year."

Expectations remain high even though Taylor missed the season-opening win against Ball State because of a hand injury that limited him through much of fall camp. He returned against Eastern Illinois and recorded one tackle.

He didn't excel, but he also didn't disappoint, head coach Tom Allen says.

"The thing that really hurt Reese was he missed a lot of practice in fall camp, and for playing a newer position, that kind of set him back. So (the Eastern Illinois) game was important to get him quite a few reps because we need him this week to be full bore.

"He did some good things but definitely was a little rusty, which you expect him to be. But, he's back now and didn't do anything to set him back any further. He'll have a thing on his thumb and his hand, but will be good to go."

Linebacker Cam Jones and defensive back A'Shon Riggins also missed the Eastern Illinois game with injuries. The hope is both will play against Ohio State.
Taylor and Riggins are part of an upgraded secondary being counted on to contain Ohio State's impressive lineup of skill players.

In recent years, the Buckeyes have pulled away in the second half in part because they've been able to get their fast guys the ball in open space, and their fast guys were faster than IU's.

The Hoosiers have recruited to close the gap, and seem to have a good mix of young and old players.

"We have more depth," Shelby says. "We've always had talent back there, but we didn't have number of guys I felt comfortable with where there wasn't a big fall off. That's one thing we've taken care of through recruiting."

This might be the fastest secondary IU has ever fielded. It's the result of recruiting and player development.

"We pressure often," Shelby says, "and when you do that, you have to have guys who can run. You need guys who can run with the fast receivers we see. You need guys with recovery speed, who even if they bite on something, they have the speed to get back in the play."

Beyond that is the wisdom that comes from experience and lots of film study, Shelby adds.

"We keep going over situational football. Watching film so you know what your opponent is going to do, and then do it at crunch time.

"It's not good for me to know it on the sideline. The guys on the field have to know it. How do you do that? Through film study and having older guys show the younger guys."

Sixth-ranked Ohio State (2-0) averages 43.5 points a game behind dual-threat quarterback Justin Fields, a transfer from Georgia. He completes 76 percent of his passes for 458 yards and six touchdowns. He hasn't thrown an interception. He's also rushed for 103 yards.

He has a pair of big-player receivers in Binjimen Victor (19.1 yards per catch) and Chris Olave (18.3 yards). When Fields needs a running boost, there's J.K. Dobbins, who has rushed for 236 yards (2nd in the Big Ten behind Wisconsin's Jonathan Taylor) and three touchdowns.

"We make no bones about the skill level and firepower and even the scheme Ohio State has, which is elite at every level," defensive coordinator Kane Wommack says. "(But) we have a young group that's hungry to take that next step."

They are fully capable of taking that step, he adds.

"As talented as Ohio State is, the days of saying Indiana is not there from a talent standpoint or an execution standpoint … we've got the guys to compete with them. We have to do it for 60 minutes."

If they do, the Hoosiers (2-0) could do something they haven't done since 1988 – beat the Buckeyes.

Allen knows what that could mean for a program that has had just one winning season since 1994.

"Those are program-changing opportunities and program-changing wins when they occur, and they don't happen as often as you want them to, but that's what makes them special," he says. "There's no question that (Ohio State) is who this whole conference has been chasing.

"This creates a tremendous opportunity. It can affect recruiting and the trajectory of your program."

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