Indiana Linebackers Set To Rise To Coaching Challenge
10/5/2020 8:30:00 AM | Football
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The challenge is clear, the pressure is on.
Are Indiana's linebackers up to it?
Head coach Tom Allen and defensive coordinator Kane Wommack believe they are, but need to see it through leadership, execution, work ethic, commitment and overall vision and intensity.
Get it and you have a chance against the likes of Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan and the rest of a rugged Big Ten run
Don't and you get steamrolled.
So Allen and Wommack apply the coaching heat. Talent and youth must evolve into difference-making production. The linebackers, veteran Cam Jones says via Zoom press conference, are ready to deliver.
In many ways, they already have.
"Coach Allen and Coach Kane put the pressure on us linebackers and told us we needed to get it done," Jones says. "We knew we had to fix ourselves first before we could fix anything else. We made that our No. 1 priority. Once that got going, we got everyone else to come with us."
Elite leadership is the key. Jones, Micah McFadden, James Miller, Aaron Casey and Thomas Allen were new to key roles last season. They weren't ready to take charge on and off the field.
They are now.
"We've talked about it since I got here, about having leadership in that room, and we've finally gotten it," Wommack says.
"When the going gets tough and adversity hits, those are the guys who can get us through and turn the script on some of those close games we've lost."
IU showed flashes during last season's 8-5 run. It was one defensive stop away from beating Michigan State during the regular season and Tennessee during the bowl game.
The linebackers are ready to make those stops, McFadden says.
"Last year, the majority of us were younger guys learning how to take a bigger role, leading on the field and making plays. Settling into that role took a little bit of time.
"This year we are honed in on exactly what is going on. It's much easier to get everyone lined up, to communicate loudly and be confident in what we are doing."
And one other thing.
"We have five dudes who can really play."
Or, as Jones puts it, "We are the leaders of the pack."
If they need a boost, consider true freshman Ty Wise out of Carmel, who graduated from high school last December and who spent much of the second semester at IU before the pandemic sent everyone home.
"He is a smart football player," Jones says. "He has caught on quickly. He knows where the ball is going to be, when it is going to get there and what his responsibility is. He still has to keep growing, but he is going to have a successful career here."
McFadden, a junior, set the linebacker tone last year with a team-leading 61 tackles, including 10 for loss. Jones had 35 tackles and a 44-yard pick-6 as a sophomore after forcing two fumbles and totaling 20 tackles as a freshman en route to earning IU defensive newcomer of the year honors.
Their ability to emerge, McFadden says, reflects Wommack's coaching.
"He is a really detailed worker. Everything that he teaches us, he wants us to know it like he would know it. He wants us to call the defense with the verbiage that he would want, almost like he is calling it on the field.
"He is strict and vocal when he needs to be. He can get on your tail and explain that we are wrong in a certain situation, but he is also good at building guys up. He wants you to get right back up and flush a previous play to focus on what's coming next. He has done a really good job with that."
Beyond the linebacker play, developing a strong defensive line is crucial. There's a lot to work with in Jerome Johnson, Michael Ziemba, Demarcus Elliott, Sio Nofoagatoto'a, James Head Jr., Jonathan King, Jeramy Passmore and C.J. Person.
"We have guys like Jerome Johnson who has always been a very good football player," Wommack says, "but I have always thought that there is more that Jerome has to give. I think we are starting to see that from him.
"Sio has done some really good things, along with Demarcus Elliott. Those guys have already played and I think they have taken their game to a different level.
"We have some exciting guys in Jonathan King and Jeramy Passmore, who have stepped their game to a different level and have given us something out there on the perimeter that we are really excited with.
"Michael Ziemba has become a more physical player across the board. James Head is doing some really good things on the outside. Those guys along the perimeter to go along with some youthful depth like C.J. Person, who in overtime against Purdue executed on a critical down. He made a nice play in the backfield that got us to make them kick a field goal and we won the game.
"Those guys are taking a more central role in our defense. We are excited about them."
Don't forget Stanford graduate transfer Jovan Swann, a defensive end who totaled 85 tackles, 11.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, one interception and one blocked field goal in three seasons for the Cardinal.
"He is such a powerful guy," Wommack says. "Stanford was running more of an odd front, 3-4 system, and we are more of a four-down system. I think there has been a little bit of an adjustment period for him. He has that strength and physicality that will allow him to be somebody that we utilize."
The loss of husky Marcelino Ball to a season-ending knee injury was huge (he had 201 career tackles, 16 pass deflections and 3 interceptions), but successful programs overcome it through quality depth.
Case in point -- IU overcame the loss of standout offensive lineman Coy Cronk last year.
This time the Hoosiers have redshirt junior Bryant Fitzgerald, who intercepted three passes as a freshman and totaled 27 tackles and three pass deflections last season.
"I think we have to ask the question of do we have someone that can fill the position in a similar way to how Marcelino did?" Wommack says. "There are certain packages that we will tweak and certain packages that will stay.
"Bryant is doing a really good job, so far. He has experience back there; he played free safety and is now doing things at that position."
Husky is a hybrid linebacker/safety position that requires versatility. You have to be sturdy enough to stop the run, athletic enough to cover receivers or blitz the quarterback.
"That is a position that we have featured more in some years and less in others," Wommack says. "We've done a lot of different things.
"Certainly, when we get into third downs I think that we can get into some sub-packages and do some things that if we want a better cover guy on the field, a better blitzer on the field because Marcelino gave us something as a pass rusher on third down, but we have some other options that we are excited about.
"We hate to lose Marcelino. I hate it for him and I hate it for us."
Adds Jones: "Marcelino was a great leader for our defense. We hate that he had the injury, but we have guys like Bryant Fitzgerald and D.K. Bonhomme who are stepping up.
"Bryant has been in our defense, played all over our defense, so it is good to have him in that spot. He knows what everyone else is going to do, so he knows his job.
"D.K. is playing behind him and he is a ball player. He is a ball hawk, he gets to the ball. He was playing linebacker and there is a lot of carryover from playing linebacker to husky. He has been picking it up well. Fitz has been playing well. We have to hope they continue to grow in that position."
Veteran defensive back Raheem Layne also is sidelined.
"He is another guy that was doing a really good job there in the back end," Wommack says. "We will move forward without those guys."
It might not be the last time IU's defensive depth will be tested. Injuries and COVID-19 infections will be a concern the entire season.
"The team that can practice the smartest, operate in and out of the (football complex) with wisdom, those will be the teams that will be most successful at the end of the season," Wommack says. "I think that will be the key for us."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The challenge is clear, the pressure is on.
Are Indiana's linebackers up to it?
Head coach Tom Allen and defensive coordinator Kane Wommack believe they are, but need to see it through leadership, execution, work ethic, commitment and overall vision and intensity.
Get it and you have a chance against the likes of Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan and the rest of a rugged Big Ten run
Don't and you get steamrolled.
So Allen and Wommack apply the coaching heat. Talent and youth must evolve into difference-making production. The linebackers, veteran Cam Jones says via Zoom press conference, are ready to deliver.
In many ways, they already have.
"Coach Allen and Coach Kane put the pressure on us linebackers and told us we needed to get it done," Jones says. "We knew we had to fix ourselves first before we could fix anything else. We made that our No. 1 priority. Once that got going, we got everyone else to come with us."
Elite leadership is the key. Jones, Micah McFadden, James Miller, Aaron Casey and Thomas Allen were new to key roles last season. They weren't ready to take charge on and off the field.
They are now.
"We've talked about it since I got here, about having leadership in that room, and we've finally gotten it," Wommack says.
"When the going gets tough and adversity hits, those are the guys who can get us through and turn the script on some of those close games we've lost."
IU showed flashes during last season's 8-5 run. It was one defensive stop away from beating Michigan State during the regular season and Tennessee during the bowl game.
The linebackers are ready to make those stops, McFadden says.
"Last year, the majority of us were younger guys learning how to take a bigger role, leading on the field and making plays. Settling into that role took a little bit of time.
"This year we are honed in on exactly what is going on. It's much easier to get everyone lined up, to communicate loudly and be confident in what we are doing."
And one other thing.
"We have five dudes who can really play."
Or, as Jones puts it, "We are the leaders of the pack."
If they need a boost, consider true freshman Ty Wise out of Carmel, who graduated from high school last December and who spent much of the second semester at IU before the pandemic sent everyone home.
"He is a smart football player," Jones says. "He has caught on quickly. He knows where the ball is going to be, when it is going to get there and what his responsibility is. He still has to keep growing, but he is going to have a successful career here."
McFadden, a junior, set the linebacker tone last year with a team-leading 61 tackles, including 10 for loss. Jones had 35 tackles and a 44-yard pick-6 as a sophomore after forcing two fumbles and totaling 20 tackles as a freshman en route to earning IU defensive newcomer of the year honors.
Their ability to emerge, McFadden says, reflects Wommack's coaching.
"He is a really detailed worker. Everything that he teaches us, he wants us to know it like he would know it. He wants us to call the defense with the verbiage that he would want, almost like he is calling it on the field.
"He is strict and vocal when he needs to be. He can get on your tail and explain that we are wrong in a certain situation, but he is also good at building guys up. He wants you to get right back up and flush a previous play to focus on what's coming next. He has done a really good job with that."
Beyond the linebacker play, developing a strong defensive line is crucial. There's a lot to work with in Jerome Johnson, Michael Ziemba, Demarcus Elliott, Sio Nofoagatoto'a, James Head Jr., Jonathan King, Jeramy Passmore and C.J. Person.
"We have guys like Jerome Johnson who has always been a very good football player," Wommack says, "but I have always thought that there is more that Jerome has to give. I think we are starting to see that from him.
"Sio has done some really good things, along with Demarcus Elliott. Those guys have already played and I think they have taken their game to a different level.
"We have some exciting guys in Jonathan King and Jeramy Passmore, who have stepped their game to a different level and have given us something out there on the perimeter that we are really excited with.
"Michael Ziemba has become a more physical player across the board. James Head is doing some really good things on the outside. Those guys along the perimeter to go along with some youthful depth like C.J. Person, who in overtime against Purdue executed on a critical down. He made a nice play in the backfield that got us to make them kick a field goal and we won the game.
"Those guys are taking a more central role in our defense. We are excited about them."
Don't forget Stanford graduate transfer Jovan Swann, a defensive end who totaled 85 tackles, 11.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, one interception and one blocked field goal in three seasons for the Cardinal.
"He is such a powerful guy," Wommack says. "Stanford was running more of an odd front, 3-4 system, and we are more of a four-down system. I think there has been a little bit of an adjustment period for him. He has that strength and physicality that will allow him to be somebody that we utilize."
The loss of husky Marcelino Ball to a season-ending knee injury was huge (he had 201 career tackles, 16 pass deflections and 3 interceptions), but successful programs overcome it through quality depth.
Case in point -- IU overcame the loss of standout offensive lineman Coy Cronk last year.
This time the Hoosiers have redshirt junior Bryant Fitzgerald, who intercepted three passes as a freshman and totaled 27 tackles and three pass deflections last season.
"I think we have to ask the question of do we have someone that can fill the position in a similar way to how Marcelino did?" Wommack says. "There are certain packages that we will tweak and certain packages that will stay.
"Bryant is doing a really good job, so far. He has experience back there; he played free safety and is now doing things at that position."
Husky is a hybrid linebacker/safety position that requires versatility. You have to be sturdy enough to stop the run, athletic enough to cover receivers or blitz the quarterback.
"That is a position that we have featured more in some years and less in others," Wommack says. "We've done a lot of different things.
"Certainly, when we get into third downs I think that we can get into some sub-packages and do some things that if we want a better cover guy on the field, a better blitzer on the field because Marcelino gave us something as a pass rusher on third down, but we have some other options that we are excited about.
"We hate to lose Marcelino. I hate it for him and I hate it for us."
Adds Jones: "Marcelino was a great leader for our defense. We hate that he had the injury, but we have guys like Bryant Fitzgerald and D.K. Bonhomme who are stepping up.
"Bryant has been in our defense, played all over our defense, so it is good to have him in that spot. He knows what everyone else is going to do, so he knows his job.
"D.K. is playing behind him and he is a ball player. He is a ball hawk, he gets to the ball. He was playing linebacker and there is a lot of carryover from playing linebacker to husky. He has been picking it up well. Fitz has been playing well. We have to hope they continue to grow in that position."
Veteran defensive back Raheem Layne also is sidelined.
"He is another guy that was doing a really good job there in the back end," Wommack says. "We will move forward without those guys."
It might not be the last time IU's defensive depth will be tested. Injuries and COVID-19 infections will be a concern the entire season.
"The team that can practice the smartest, operate in and out of the (football complex) with wisdom, those will be the teams that will be most successful at the end of the season," Wommack says. "I think that will be the key for us."
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