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POTB 576: Wrapping up IU football fall camp with Ian Plaskoff · Podcast on the Brink

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Welcome back to a new episode of podcast on the
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: brink Friday August 28th Indiana football wrapping up fall camp
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: kickoff for the regular season will be here before.
• 0:17
  Speaker 2: The you know it. Before we get to today's guest
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: on Podcast on the Brink, Ian Plaskoff, who's going to
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: be one of our, actually is already one of our
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: two student writers this season at Inside the Hall and
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: a football expert. I wanted to take just a quick moment,
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: remind you if you're listening over on Apple Podcasts or Spotify,
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: please leave us a rating and review. If you're watching
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: this on YouTube, like the video, subscribe to the channel,
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: share the content with another IU or Big Ten fan
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: that may enjoy it. Ian, You've been contributing now, I think,
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: for a couple months over on the website. This is
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: your first podcast appearance. I told you the other day
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: in a text message that I wanted to try to
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: have you on pretty regularly because you know so much
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: about football and covered it last season, did a great job,
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: and you're also going to be doing some broadcasting this year.
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: But welcome to the show. Welcome to Inside the Hall.
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: Thank you.
• 1:18
  Speaker 3: It's been a pleasure so far. I've had a lot
• 1:21
  Speaker 3: of fun and always love covering any Indiana sports, especially
• 1:27
  Speaker 3: when the programs are running like this. it makes it
• 1:29
  Speaker 3: a lot more fun too.
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: Hey, you probably couldn't imagine when you came to Bloomington, uh,
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: as a freshman that, that you'd be covering a football
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: program coming off an undefeated national championship and one that
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: seems under ranked right now nationally at number six, hard
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: to believe, right?
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 1:46
  Speaker 3: I mean, I'm a third generation IU student, so it's
• 1:49
  Speaker 3: been a part of my life. I mean, my entire
• 1:51
  Speaker 3: life and it's been the same pretty much other than
• 1:54
  Speaker 3: a couple of years and around 2020. And, um, yeah,
• 1:58
  Speaker 3: Did not expect anything when I entered as a freshman,
• 2:02
  Speaker 3: and here we are.
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: So the first couple weeks of fall camp, you were
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: finishing up a summer internship, but you've been back in
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: Bloomington now for a couple weeks. I know it's pretty
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: limited in terms of what you guys are able to
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: see and get in there for in terms of practice.
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: I understand you get in there for a couple of
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: the segments early on, and then you're out, and then
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: you get a chance to talk to some players a
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: couple hours later. Anything stand out to you from a
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: big picture standpoint, what you were able to observe when
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: you did get behind the closed doors there at practice
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: and any key storylines that you're kind of following here
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: as we get close to the season kicking off?
• 2:39
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I think the big elephant in the room is
• 2:41
  Speaker 3: the depth chart and how that's playing out. But I
• 2:44
  Speaker 3: do want to put a key emphasis on what I
• 2:47
  Speaker 3: have seen being in the practice. You always hear the
• 2:52
  Speaker 3: coaching staff and the players talk about be how process
• 2:56
  Speaker 3: oriented this program is. And they're not lying. I went
• 3:00
  Speaker 3: to practices last year, went to practices this year, even
• 3:04
  Speaker 3: saw one or two, uh, my sophomore year. And, um,
• 3:08
  Speaker 3: it's the exact same down to the minute feels like
• 3:12
  Speaker 3: the second feels like when there are transition periods and
• 3:15
  Speaker 3: the coaches are directing players in certain ways, it feels
• 3:17
  Speaker 3: like the words are the same in every practice of
• 3:20
  Speaker 3: what they're telling the player. It's, uh, it really is
• 3:23
  Speaker 3: something else. And, they have it down to a science.
• 3:26
  Speaker 3: Nobody really needs to tell anybody what to do. They
• 3:29
  Speaker 3: all just kind of know. Um, but when there are
• 3:31
  Speaker 3: mistakes and when there are miscues, these guys coach them hard. Um,
• 3:36
  Speaker 3: they coach them hard, but they love them. They do
• 3:39
  Speaker 3: it with the emphasis of, of getting better. It's not,
• 3:41
  Speaker 3: I'm going to yell at you to yell at you. It's,
• 3:43
  Speaker 3: I'm going to make you better. Um, and that's been consistent, uh,
• 3:47
  Speaker 3: throughout what I've seen in practice. Um, yeah, a lot
• 3:51
  Speaker 3: of it is just who's playing where, who's, potentially going
• 3:56
  Speaker 3: to fill in some spots and key roles. And it's
• 3:59
  Speaker 3: been valuable information to see. We'll get into it as well.
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: The first thing I'm kind of curious about is you
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: mentioned some of the depth charts, some of the positional battles.
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: I know you did a really good job over the
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: course of the summer going in-depth on each position and
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: kind of what you saw the depth chart as back
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: in July. Obviously, now they've had four weeks of official practice,
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: and I'm not sure that we have clarity at every position,
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: but are there certain areas that maybe have changed in
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: terms of what you thought going into when you started
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: to write those previews and anything you can tell us
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: in terms of developments on depth chart that are notable?
• 4:39
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I guess I'll start in the trenches because both
• 4:42
  Speaker 3: of those have shifted. On the offensive line, kind of
• 4:45
  Speaker 3: expected to see Aditamola Ajani at right tackle. He played
• 4:50
  Speaker 3: tackle and guard last year when he filled in. It
• 4:53
  Speaker 3: looks right now that they're going to slide him into
• 4:55
  Speaker 3: right guard and put Joe Bruner, slide him outside to
• 4:59
  Speaker 3: right tackle. So that gives more size outside. Bruner's 6'7,
• 5:04
  Speaker 3: 315 pounds or something like that. Ajani's no small man himself.
• 5:10
  Speaker 3: And then the center battle, which was pretty clear, but
• 5:13
  Speaker 3: it's all but decided now in that Bray Lynch will
• 5:16
  Speaker 3: be the center along the offensive line. Carter Smith will
• 5:21
  Speaker 3: be at left tackle. Drew Evans will be the left guard.
• 5:24
  Speaker 3: Bray Lynch, the center. Adita Molajani at right guard. And
• 5:29
  Speaker 3: Joe Bruner, right tackle, at least right now. And then
• 5:32
  Speaker 3: defensive line, it's a whole circus with what's going on
• 5:37
  Speaker 3: in the courts with Stephen Daly and Kellen Wyatt.
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: But.
• 5:44
  Speaker 3: If they're able to play, they just add depth. Don't
• 5:46
  Speaker 3: know where they're going to be. Kellen Wyatt may even
• 5:48
  Speaker 3: move out to off-ball linebacker. But one guy that has
• 5:52
  Speaker 3: been pinpointed as someone to watch is a freshman, Blake Smith.
• 5:56
  Speaker 3: That was especially evident in our last media session with
• 5:59
  Speaker 3: the players. Mario Landino spoke very highly of him. A
• 6:02
  Speaker 3: couple other players have as well, saying he's ahead of
• 6:06
  Speaker 3: his game. So him alongside... Joe Yelly, Mario Landino, Tyree
• 6:11
  Speaker 3: Tucker on the inside of the defensive line, he could
• 6:13
  Speaker 3: be a depth piece to watch as well. Yeah, that's
• 6:17
  Speaker 3: the line. There's plenty more.
• 6:20
  Speaker 2: Anything else outside of the line in terms of, I
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: know there's still some uncertainty in the defensive backfield, a
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: spot or two maybe up for grabs there. What else?
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: Receiver maybe as well? What are the developments there?
• 6:34
  Speaker 3: Yeah, at receiver, there are a couple of injuries going
• 6:38
  Speaker 3: on right now, but in all likelihood, it looks like
• 6:40
  Speaker 3: it's going to be Charlie Becker, Nick Marsh, and Tyler
• 6:44
  Speaker 3: Morris in the slot. Shaz Preston has, in the words
• 6:49
  Speaker 3: of the coaches, got a little bit of work to
• 6:50
  Speaker 3: do to become more consistent and get into that rotation,
• 6:54
  Speaker 3: however good his stats were last season at Tulane. So
• 6:58
  Speaker 3: those are going to be the big three. Tight end
• 7:00
  Speaker 3: battle is also really interesting. We've seen a lot of Parker.
• 7:04
  Speaker 3: We've seen Brock shot. Um, those are the top two.
• 7:07
  Speaker 3: It feels like that are jockeying for the top spot. Um, yeah,
• 7:11
  Speaker 3: the defensive backfield probably has the most unanswered questions to it. Um,
• 7:16
  Speaker 3: with one, the health and two, the abilities of AJ Harris,
• 7:20
  Speaker 3: a corner, uh, him versus Ryland Gandy thinks that it'll
• 7:24
  Speaker 3: take about seven more practices to figure that out about
• 7:27
  Speaker 3: two or three practices ago. So we'll see where that goes.
• 7:30
  Speaker 3: And then the safety room, Preston Zachman, Jaquan Sanks, Amari Farrell,
• 7:35
  Speaker 3: and Byron Baldwin, a couple others. There are maybe one
• 7:39
  Speaker 3: or two open spots, at least in terms of shifting roles,
• 7:42
  Speaker 3: that could be decided. But there's depth. It's just a
• 7:46
  Speaker 3: matter of where the pieces fall.
• 7:50
  Speaker 2: From just attrition standpoint and what was lost in the offseason...
• 7:55
  Speaker 2: If you're somebody covering this team, following this team from
• 7:59
  Speaker 2: a fan perspective, what would be your biggest concern position
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: group-wise where there could be the most slippage in an area? Obviously,
• 8:08
  Speaker 2: I know we're splitting hairs here because this is a
• 8:10
  Speaker 2: team that kind of seems deep and talented everywhere, but
• 8:13
  Speaker 2: is there a spot you look at and say, if
• 8:15
  Speaker 2: something were to fall through the cracks or they're maybe
• 8:18
  Speaker 2: not good enough at this spot, where would you look
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: and what would you pinpoint in terms of that?
• 8:24
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I have two. And I'll start by saying I
• 8:27
  Speaker 3: think Indiana's gotten better at a lot of positions. But
• 8:31
  Speaker 3: tight end and corner, backup corner behind Jamari Sharp. Or
• 8:35
  Speaker 3: I should say second string corner. I don't think that
• 8:39
  Speaker 3: Riley Nowakowski was appreciated enough as a tight end for
• 8:43
  Speaker 3: Indiana with his blocking ability. He was vital. I'm essentially
• 8:49
  Speaker 3: a sixth offensive lineman out there every play. because of
• 8:53
  Speaker 3: how good of a blocker he was. Brock Schott and
• 8:57
  Speaker 3: Andrew Barker are not that archetype of a tight end.
• 9:01
  Speaker 3: They're bigger, they're more physical, they may be better pass catchers,
• 9:04
  Speaker 3: but that blocking ability of Nowakowski I think is going
• 9:08
  Speaker 3: to be noticeable that Indiana lacks this year. And then
• 9:13
  Speaker 3: Jamari Sharp, there's no doubt about it, is the number
• 9:15
  Speaker 3: one corner for this team, but who's going to be
• 9:18
  Speaker 3: that number two? Last year you could have Jamari Sharp
• 9:22
  Speaker 3: as the two and have D'Angelo Pond shut down half
• 9:25
  Speaker 3: the field every play. It's not going to work like
• 9:27
  Speaker 3: that this year. And A.J. Harris was a highly recruited player,
• 9:33
  Speaker 3: had one really good year at Penn State, but last
• 9:35
  Speaker 3: season was not very good, to be frank. And then
• 9:40
  Speaker 3: Cignetti's pretty high on Rylan Gandy. So we'll see how
• 9:42
  Speaker 3: that position battle shapes up. But there may be less
• 9:47
  Speaker 3: pressure on the corners with how good of a front
• 9:49
  Speaker 3: seven there is this year. which could help Brian Haynes case,
• 9:53
  Speaker 3: but it's one to keep an eye on.
• 9:55
  Speaker 2: And the running back situation obviously is not a area
• 9:59
  Speaker 2: for concern because you just look at the depth it
• 10:01
  Speaker 2: almost feels unfair going from last season to this season
• 10:06
  Speaker 2: how do you see just that playing out just in
• 10:08
  Speaker 2: terms of Indiana's going to be so much was made
• 10:11
  Speaker 2: last season you know, about how great Fernando Mendoza was.
• 10:14
  Speaker 2: He was great. He was a Heisman Trophy winner, the
• 10:16
  Speaker 2: number one pick in the NFL draft. But I think
• 10:18
  Speaker 2: a lot of people forget just how good of a
• 10:20
  Speaker 2: running game Indiana has had under Kurt Cignetti. And I
• 10:23
  Speaker 2: think that's going to continue into this season. It seems
• 10:26
  Speaker 2: like they have another three-headed monster here ready to roll.
• 10:31
  Speaker 3: Yeah, we've talked about it. I've always been like, Indiana's
• 10:34
  Speaker 3: a run-first team. They run 60% of the time. And...
• 10:40
  Speaker 3: Year one here under Kurt Cignetti, Tyson Lawton, Justice Ellison,
• 10:44
  Speaker 3: nobody expected them to be great, and they both were.
• 10:46
  Speaker 3: Both of them, that's the key. Last year, Roman Hemby,
• 10:50
  Speaker 3: Kalon Black, and for a couple of games when Lee
• 10:52
  Speaker 3: Beebe was in there, he was great. And then Kobe
• 10:54
  Speaker 3: Martin came in, and he was fantastic. I think this
• 10:57
  Speaker 3: is the best running back room that Indiana has had
• 11:00
  Speaker 3: under Kurt Cignetti, and maybe will have, just with how
• 11:03
  Speaker 3: everything lines up. You always hear the 1-2 punch or
• 11:06
  Speaker 3: the 1-2-3 punch. This is a 1-1-1 punch. with Turbo, Richard,
• 11:10
  Speaker 3: Kofi Martin, and Lee Beebe Jr. You could throw them
• 11:13
  Speaker 3: all in the one spot and they would be perfectly fine.
• 11:16
  Speaker 3: You could throw them all in the three spot and
• 11:18
  Speaker 3: they would be perfectly fine with how Indiana rotates its
• 11:21
  Speaker 3: running backs. Josh Hoover, RPO heavy. Indiana, RPO heavy. And
• 11:27
  Speaker 3: the ability to run, especially with this offensive line and
• 11:31
  Speaker 3: these three backs, I don't think it's getting talked about
• 11:34
  Speaker 3: enough nationally. or even within the conference. I think that's
• 11:39
  Speaker 3: going to be the key to India and his offensive
• 11:40
  Speaker 3: success this season.
• 11:42
  Speaker 2: Of those three backs, who do you look at as
• 11:44
  Speaker 2: the guy who can maybe break off that long run,
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: and who do you look at the guy maybe when
• 11:49
  Speaker 2: they need a short yardage pickup, who do they go to?
• 11:53
  Speaker 3: I'm going to be completely honest. I don't really know
• 11:56
  Speaker 3: the answer because all three of them can do both.
• 12:00
  Speaker 3: I think Kobe Martin is the most likely to break
• 12:04
  Speaker 3: one free with how elusive and powerful he was last
• 12:09
  Speaker 3: year and then he trimmed the body fat and is
• 12:11
  Speaker 3: eating better and feels quicker um but turbo richard also
• 12:16
  Speaker 3: broke free lee bb jr broke free i think bb
• 12:19
  Speaker 3: might be the best choice for that power back on
• 12:22
  Speaker 3: short yardage situations but they can all break free and
• 12:25
  Speaker 3: they all have ridiculous speed um and quickness and lateral
• 12:30
  Speaker 3: movement it's you can't lose with this group Yeah.
• 12:33
  Speaker 2: And you look at what Richard was able to do
• 12:35
  Speaker 2: last season at Boston College on a bad team, and
• 12:39
  Speaker 2: you're thinking from, you know, if you're an IU fan,
• 12:41
  Speaker 2: you're looking at this and saying, what is he going
• 12:43
  Speaker 2: to be able to do now with this offensive line
• 12:46
  Speaker 2: and the weapons around him? You know, when teams were
• 12:48
  Speaker 2: playing Boston College last year, they knew they had to
• 12:51
  Speaker 2: stop him, and they still couldn't do it. Now he's
• 12:53
  Speaker 2: going to be on just a much better, well-rounded team,
• 12:57
  Speaker 2: and I think his potential is tremendous.
• 13:01
  Speaker 3: Yeah, there have been some Every time I go online,
• 13:05
  Speaker 3: I see all these Dark Horse Heisman predictions, and sometimes
• 13:08
  Speaker 3: I'm seeing Turbo Richard pop.
• 13:09
  Speaker 2: Up on here.
• 13:11
  Speaker 3: Well, it's not a bad choice. This offensive line is
• 13:15
  Speaker 3: going to be one of the best in the conference,
• 13:17
  Speaker 3: if not one of the best in the country. The
• 13:20
  Speaker 3: scheme favors running backs, and Richard is a talented guy
• 13:25
  Speaker 3: that can seek out the holes and be a successful
• 13:29
  Speaker 3: running back at the highest level of college football.
• 13:32
  Speaker 2: One name you don't see on a ton of Heisman lists,
• 13:35
  Speaker 2: at least at this point, is Josh Hoover. And I
• 13:38
  Speaker 2: think a lot of people obviously are skeptical that Indiana
• 13:43
  Speaker 2: can get the same level of production, rightfully so, than
• 13:45
  Speaker 2: what they got from Mendoza last year because he was
• 13:48
  Speaker 2: just so surgical. The position made so few mistakes and
• 13:51
  Speaker 2: was so efficient. Hoover is obviously a different player than
• 13:54
  Speaker 2: Fernando Mendoza. When you look at him entering the season,
• 13:58
  Speaker 2: what are two or three things that you say he's
• 14:00
  Speaker 2: got to do particularly well to have a season that...
• 14:05
  Speaker 2: And again, I don't think it's fair to expect anyone
• 14:07
  Speaker 2: to win the Heisman Trophy or be the player because
• 14:10
  Speaker 2: now that's the expectation. It's unfair, really. But I think
• 14:14
  Speaker 2: he can be the best version of Josh Hoover in Indiana,
• 14:16
  Speaker 2: can still be a really good football team. But what
• 14:18
  Speaker 2: are the things you look at and say he has
• 14:20
  Speaker 2: to do well?
• 14:21
  Speaker 3: Yeah, he's thrown for... nearly 10,000 yards and 80 touchdowns
• 14:26
  Speaker 3: in his career, but turnovers have been a problem. He's
• 14:29
  Speaker 3: been prone to the interception. But when you are coached
• 14:34
  Speaker 3: by Kurt Cignetti, Tino Sinceri, and this offensive staff that
• 14:37
  Speaker 3: is so great with quarterbacks, it's a fixable problem if
• 14:43
  Speaker 3: treated the right way. And they've spoken highly of Hoover
• 14:47
  Speaker 3: in camp. He certainly looked great in what I've been
• 14:51
  Speaker 3: able to see. Insignetti has said that the offense and
• 14:54
  Speaker 3: the passing game as a whole is already further along
• 14:57
  Speaker 3: than where it was last year at this time. So
• 14:59
  Speaker 3: that's an encouraging sign. But limiting those turnovers, and I
• 15:03
  Speaker 3: think responsibly running. Hoover's not a guy that is going
• 15:09
  Speaker 3: to run a whole lot and try and force things
• 15:12
  Speaker 3: like a... Oh, I don't know. Just for easy sake,
• 15:20
  Speaker 3: Anthony Richardson type of player. Or a Lenora Sellers. They
• 15:25
  Speaker 3: have all these design runs and the big strong frame.
• 15:28
  Speaker 2: Hoover's not like that.
• 15:29
  Speaker 3: But with the option game and the RPO game, and
• 15:32
  Speaker 3: if he gets in trouble, he can run and use
• 15:35
  Speaker 3: his legs. I think doing that responsibly and finding the
• 15:39
  Speaker 3: right times to do that while staying healthy and avoiding
• 15:42
  Speaker 3: the hits, however few there may be, that'd be important
• 15:46
  Speaker 3: as well. But the biggest thing is interceptions and turnovers,
• 15:49
  Speaker 3: making sure those are cleaned up.
• 15:51
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and I do want to point out, as everyone
• 15:53
  Speaker 2: is so focused on still Mendoza and Heisman that he
• 15:56
  Speaker 2: won last year, the first year of Kurt Cignetti, Curtis
• 16:01
  Speaker 2: Rourke was Indiana's quarterback, and I believe he finished in
• 16:03
  Speaker 2: the top 10 in the voting for the Heisman Trophy.
• 16:05
  Speaker 2: So it's not like Indiana hasn't had a track record
• 16:09
  Speaker 2: of having great quarterback play, and I think you can
• 16:11
  Speaker 2: expect that to continue this year under Josh Hoover. It
• 16:13
  Speaker 2: may not be the same. Obviously, it's not going to
• 16:17
  Speaker 2: In all likelihood, not going to be another Heisman Trophy winner,
• 16:20
  Speaker 2: but I still think there's a path for Josh Hoover
• 16:22
  Speaker 2: to be really good. And Kurt Cignetti, I mean, obviously
• 16:25
  Speaker 2: his former coach at TCU had some comments in the
• 16:29
  Speaker 2: offseason about Hoover, and Cignetti responded and said, obviously the
• 16:35
  Speaker 2: situation's going to be a little bit different. We're not
• 16:37
  Speaker 2: going to be asking him to do the same thing.
• 16:38
  Speaker 2: So Indiana definitely on his side and backing him up,
• 16:41
  Speaker 2: having a ton of confidence in him. That was... the
• 16:45
  Speaker 2: thing about just bringing him in is Indiana could have
• 16:48
  Speaker 2: gotten a lot of different guys and based on kind
• 16:51
  Speaker 2: of where they were in their season last year, having
• 16:53
  Speaker 2: a Heisman trophy winner and having all the success and
• 16:56
  Speaker 2: they chose Josh Hoover for a reason. So there's a,
• 16:59
  Speaker 2: there's a reason they brought him in. I think he's
• 17:01
  Speaker 2: going to be very successful. Another position group that I
• 17:04
  Speaker 2: want to talk to you about. There's been some attrition,
• 17:06
  Speaker 2: but there's still so much returning. Aiden Fisher, obviously moving
• 17:11
  Speaker 2: on at linebacker, but, relijah hardy's back isaiah jones is
• 17:15
  Speaker 2: back and those two guys uh in many ways kind
• 17:18
  Speaker 2: of look at him as kind of the captains of
• 17:20
  Speaker 2: the defense with with jones wearing the green dot and
• 17:22
  Speaker 2: hardy being instrumental and everything they do what what's the
• 17:26
  Speaker 2: next step for both of those guys because they were
• 17:28
  Speaker 2: both so good last season but is there another level
• 17:32
  Speaker 2: that that they can reach i mean i saw hardy
• 17:34
  Speaker 2: was listed among espn's top 100 players for uh the
• 17:38
  Speaker 2: season entering the season. I was a little surprised not
• 17:40
  Speaker 2: to see Isaiah Jones on that list. I mean, he's,
• 17:42
  Speaker 2: he's a guy that was really reliable. Maybe people wondering,
• 17:45
  Speaker 2: you know, do you have to prove it without Aiden
• 17:47
  Speaker 2: Fisher being there with you? I mean, what, what's, what,
• 17:50
  Speaker 2: what's the next step for those two guys?
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 17:52
  Speaker 3: As crazy as it is to say, Isaiah Jones was
• 17:55
  Speaker 3: the number three last year at linebacker behind or in Hardy. Uh,
• 18:00
  Speaker 3: and he still put up an all conference caliber season. Uh,
• 18:04
  Speaker 3: something that he's talked about is his next step, uh, individually, uh,
• 18:08
  Speaker 3: is being a better leader, especially being the green dot,
• 18:10
  Speaker 3: being more vocal, helping the younger guys and making sure
• 18:14
  Speaker 3: that as the quarterback of the defense, that everything runs
• 18:17
  Speaker 3: smoothly and that you can be relied upon whenever necessary.
• 18:22
  Speaker 3: And at least from what we've heard from his teammates,
• 18:25
  Speaker 3: he's done a great job of that up to this point.
• 18:27
  Speaker 3: And for Hardy, there isn't much room for him to
• 18:30
  Speaker 3: grow up. You know, he's only a true junior, um,
• 18:36
  Speaker 3: He's a turnover machine when it's necessary. His pass coverage
• 18:39
  Speaker 3: in the big moments is huge. He always meets the
• 18:42
  Speaker 3: big moment and he's there when necessary. But if he
• 18:47
  Speaker 3: can get those splash plays consistently, I know it's like
• 18:51
  Speaker 3: a my steak is too juicy type of comment, but
• 18:55
  Speaker 3: he produces at his best in the biggest moments when
• 18:57
  Speaker 3: it matters most. But if he can do it consistently
• 19:00
  Speaker 3: at any point, that would just make Indiana's front seven
• 19:05
  Speaker 3: even more dangerous.
• 19:08
  Speaker 2: I think one thing that IU fans have become spoiled
• 19:11
  Speaker 2: with under Kurt Cignetti is just the consistency and the
• 19:15
  Speaker 2: lack of mistakes out of special teams play. And I
• 19:17
  Speaker 2: think it's a lot of thing that really goes kind
• 19:20
  Speaker 2: of under the radar for a lot of, you know,
• 19:22
  Speaker 2: there's a lot of focus on the defense. There's a
• 19:23
  Speaker 2: ton of focus on the offense, but you look at
• 19:27
  Speaker 2: how the special teams kind of pulls its weight consistently
• 19:30
  Speaker 2: and doesn't make mistakes, makes a ton of just positive
• 19:35
  Speaker 2: plays that can really impact games, especially with close games,
• 19:40
  Speaker 2: having a long snapper that's doing his job, having a
• 19:43
  Speaker 2: punter that can get the punt off and avoid getting
• 19:47
  Speaker 2: punt blocked, having reliable kicking game, all of those things
• 19:50
  Speaker 2: are important. Do you sense that just... Indiana has a
• 19:56
  Speaker 2: system in place such that it's not going to matter
• 19:58
  Speaker 2: too much who's in those spots. It's just the organization
• 20:01
  Speaker 2: and how they run things. You're going to continue to
• 20:03
  Speaker 2: see that type of consistency, or are there any things
• 20:06
  Speaker 2: you look at and say, maybe that could be a
• 20:08
  Speaker 2: potential problem going into the season?
• 20:11
  Speaker 3: No, I think it's more the first. I think with
• 20:14
  Speaker 3: the process that this team has, running practice the same way, quick,
• 20:19
  Speaker 3: efficient practices, coaches that are bought in, operate themselves. And Cignetti, really,
• 20:26
  Speaker 3: you don't notice him in practice. It's all the assistants,
• 20:29
  Speaker 3: and they're all bought in. Players are all bought in
• 20:31
  Speaker 3: as well. And it does carry down to special teams.
• 20:35
  Speaker 3: Niko Radicic has been and will be one of the
• 20:38
  Speaker 3: best kickers, if not the best kicker in college football
• 20:41
  Speaker 3: for Indiana, especially improving his distance capabilities, which he talked
• 20:46
  Speaker 3: about the other day. There is a battle at punter
• 20:49
  Speaker 3: as well between Quinn Warren and Billy Gowers. That was
• 20:52
  Speaker 3: a note that Cignetti made, which was really interesting because
• 20:55
  Speaker 3: you'd expect Gowers as a 30-year-old sophomore who played really
• 21:01
  Speaker 3: well last season at Hawaii to take the spot. But
• 21:04
  Speaker 3: Quinn Warren has been a quick riser in this program.
• 21:07
  Speaker 3: A walk-on, was the third string kickoff specialist his freshman year,
• 21:12
  Speaker 3: and somehow the first two got hurt and he came
• 21:16
  Speaker 3: in to kick off and then started to punt. and
• 21:19
  Speaker 3: do kickoff duties when Brendan Franke was hurt, Mitch McCarthy
• 21:22
  Speaker 3: was hurt, and he's delivered. I have no bias because
• 21:25
  Speaker 3: I did not go to high school with him. I'm
• 21:27
  Speaker 3: just kidding, I did. But no, I think that'll be
• 21:31
  Speaker 3: an interesting thing to follow. I do think it's Gower's
• 21:33
  Speaker 3: job at the moment. But it's smooth. Long snapping, punting, kicking,
• 21:38
  Speaker 3: and offense-defense as well. It's been the same kind of
• 21:42
  Speaker 3: consistency under any Cignetti team, regardless of the school, the level,
• 21:47
  Speaker 3: or the players.
• 21:48
  Speaker 2: I had to stop myself for a second when you
• 21:50
  Speaker 2: said 30 years old, because it's, it's just crazy where
• 21:53
  Speaker 2: we are in college sports. You talked about the eligibility
• 21:55
  Speaker 2: stuff with Stephen Daly and why I didn't want to
• 21:57
  Speaker 2: get back to that for a second. If how, how
• 22:02
  Speaker 2: does that change things for this team? If they're both
• 22:05
  Speaker 2: able to play and if they're not able to play,
• 22:07
  Speaker 2: like what, Do you see that as being, because a
• 22:12
  Speaker 2: couple months ago, this wasn't even on our radar, and
• 22:15
  Speaker 2: now all of a sudden it became a possibility. I
• 22:19
  Speaker 2: think people thought it was going to be, so now
• 22:22
  Speaker 2: we're kind of in limbo. I'm just kind of curious
• 22:24
  Speaker 2: how you see the two scenarios and what difference they
• 22:28
  Speaker 2: actually make in the outcome of the season, because obviously
• 22:30
  Speaker 2: you want to have them available, but do they have
• 22:33
  Speaker 2: enough if they're unable to play to still be a really,
• 22:36
  Speaker 2: really good team?
• 22:37
  Speaker 3: Here's how I would describe it. You're right. We weren't
• 22:41
  Speaker 3: talking about this before a month ago. Indiana's defensive end
• 22:45
  Speaker 3: group right now is like a big bowl of ice cream.
• 22:48
  Speaker 3: Wyatt and Daly are like the whipped cream and the
• 22:50
  Speaker 3: cherry on top. It'd be perfectly fine and more than
• 22:53
  Speaker 3: serviceable without them, but when you have them, it's just
• 22:56
  Speaker 3: that added extra boost that just makes it even better.
• 23:01
  Speaker 3: If they can get those guys back, that would make
• 23:05
  Speaker 3: this probably clear number one the best defensive end and
• 23:09
  Speaker 3: defensive line room in the country at least the deepest
• 23:15
  Speaker 3: um but if they're not able to play it's still
• 23:20
  Speaker 3: on paper better than they were in the preseason last
• 23:23
  Speaker 3: year and it really doesn't matter when brian haynes is
• 23:25
  Speaker 3: the dc because he'll scheme guys the right way um
• 23:29
  Speaker 3: but if they can get those two guys look out
• 23:33
  Speaker 3: Do you think.
• 23:33
  Speaker 2: They have enough size on the lines? I remember that
• 23:36
  Speaker 2: was our good friend Nick Rodekap had some fun with
• 23:38
  Speaker 2: that last year. And credit to Nick, he took that
• 23:44
  Speaker 2: one and ran with it and had a lot of
• 23:46
  Speaker 2: fun on social media. But I know you included a note,
• 23:49
  Speaker 2: I think, about that. I don't know if it was
• 23:50
  Speaker 2: on the defensive line or the offensive line, but they
• 23:53
  Speaker 2: are a little bit bigger, right, on both lines? Yeah,
• 23:55
  Speaker 2: it was both.
• 23:56
  Speaker 3: The defensive line, I took the top four D tackles
• 24:01
  Speaker 3: and the top six D ends from this year and
• 24:05
  Speaker 3: last year for this year obviously they're kind of the
• 24:08
  Speaker 3: projected guys but the tackles were on average 10 pounds
• 24:12
  Speaker 3: heavier and the ends were on average an inch taller
• 24:15
  Speaker 3: which both of those may not sound like a lot
• 24:18
  Speaker 3: but they really are and it's noticeable when you see
• 24:23
  Speaker 3: these guys in person for sure I mean a 6'5
• 24:26
  Speaker 3: Chidi Obiezo is much different than a, you know, Mikhail Kamara,
• 24:33
  Speaker 3: who was six feet off the edge. And then on
• 24:36
  Speaker 3: the offensive line, you add a six-foot-seven Joe Bruner, and
• 24:41
  Speaker 3: that's really the only addition. You lose Pat Coogan, but
• 24:44
  Speaker 3: just slide everybody down one, and yeah. Size is not
• 24:50
  Speaker 3: going to be a problem.
• 24:51
  Speaker 2: No problem, and I'm sure if it gets mentioned, Brian
• 24:54
  Speaker 2: Hazel will use it to his advantage somehow. So I
• 24:58
  Speaker 2: feel like everyone's obviously counting down the days until the
• 25:01
  Speaker 2: season actually starts, and then you look at the schedule,
• 25:03
  Speaker 2: and I'm thinking to myself, when are we actually going
• 25:06
  Speaker 2: to see Indiana challenged in a game? Not to look
• 25:10
  Speaker 2: past anything, because last season's opener was interesting for a
• 25:14
  Speaker 2: while against Old Dominion. They actually gave Indiana one of
• 25:17
  Speaker 2: the better games. They gave them a better game than
• 25:19
  Speaker 2: Alabama and Oregon in the playoff, to be clear. But
• 25:23
  Speaker 2: when do you think we start to learn... something about
• 25:27
  Speaker 2: this team, because I'll be pretty surprised if it's not
• 25:30
  Speaker 2: smooth sailing, at least through the non-conference portion. And then
• 25:33
  Speaker 2: I believe it's, what, Northwestern and Rutgers, maybe? Yeah. Those
• 25:38
  Speaker 2: are games that India's going to be heavily favored in. October, obviously,
• 25:43
  Speaker 2: is when we're going to really learn something, but is
• 25:46
  Speaker 2: there a game you've obviously circled going ahead where you
• 25:50
  Speaker 2: think we'll have some legitimate takeaways from this group? Well,
• 25:54
  Speaker 2: the trio of.
• 25:56
  Speaker 3: Nebraska, Ohio State, and Michigan is the thing that everybody's
• 26:01
  Speaker 3: keeping an eye on. And I think, I mean, Nebraska's
• 26:04
  Speaker 3: first in that order and it's on the road in Lincoln.
• 26:07
  Speaker 3: Not easy. However much of a fake sellout it may
• 26:11
  Speaker 3: be or not, I don't know. They always brag about
• 26:14
  Speaker 3: sellouts and their crowd is sometimes good, sometimes not. I
• 26:20
  Speaker 3: think that'll be an interesting test, not in terms of
• 26:25
  Speaker 3: Is Nebraska going to, I mean, they may put up
• 26:28
  Speaker 3: a good fight, but I think Indiana will still be
• 26:30
  Speaker 3: favored decently in that game. But I think that's the
• 26:33
  Speaker 3: first real test of where does this team stand? It
• 26:36
  Speaker 3: feels very similar to the Iowa game last year in
• 26:41
  Speaker 3: just what kind of game you can play against a
• 26:44
  Speaker 3: solid team on the road with a big game next. Because,
• 26:48
  Speaker 3: of course, last year, Oregon was after Iowa. There was
• 26:51
  Speaker 3: the bye week in between. And Ohio State at home
• 26:54
  Speaker 3: is after Nebraska. So I think that's a big test.
• 27:01
  Speaker 3: Michigan on the road, I have weird feelings about it.
• 27:03
  Speaker 3: I don't know. Michigan is a complete wild card with
• 27:08
  Speaker 3: the new coach and new system and the big house.
• 27:12
  Speaker 3: I don't know. I think that's going to be a
• 27:13
  Speaker 3: fun three games, but Nebraska is going to be my
• 27:17
  Speaker 3: pinpointed first test. Yeah.
• 27:21
  Speaker 2: That sounds right. Anything in the first three weeks, any
• 27:25
  Speaker 2: of those games have any, obviously Taven Jackson coming back
• 27:28
  Speaker 2: in week one to start for North Texas is kind
• 27:32
  Speaker 2: of the storyline from a former IU quarterback perspective, but
• 27:36
  Speaker 2: is there anything about any of those first three games
• 27:38
  Speaker 2: that intrigues you at all, or do you think it's
• 27:40
  Speaker 2: going to be an instance of Indiana's going to get
• 27:43
  Speaker 2: up big in these games and have a relatively easy
• 27:47
  Speaker 2: time and let some of the depth guys get some snaps?
• 27:51
  Speaker 3: If this was last year's North Texas team, that would
• 27:54
  Speaker 3: be a fantastic game week one. But unfortunately, that's not
• 27:57
  Speaker 3: the case. I think it'll be pretty similar. I think
• 28:01
  Speaker 3: the North Texas game is going to be ugly. Very
• 28:05
  Speaker 3: similar to Old Dominion or FIU in 2024. Just that
• 28:08
  Speaker 3: first game of the season always has its hiccups. But
• 28:12
  Speaker 3: then Howard week two should be very similar to Indiana
• 28:14
  Speaker 3: State last year. And I don't know, Western Kentucky... These
• 28:19
  Speaker 3: teams have history. I know it was the Tom Allen era,
• 28:21
  Speaker 3: but Western Kentucky isn't a bad program by any means.
• 28:24
  Speaker 3: I do think Indiana will win pretty handily, but it
• 28:27
  Speaker 3: could be fun.
• 28:28
  Speaker 2: I don't know.
• 28:28
  Speaker 3: Big Red will be in the house. I like Big
• 28:30
  Speaker 3: Red as a mascot. Western Kentucky is a fun program,
• 28:33
  Speaker 3: and who knows? It's college football.
• 28:35
  Speaker 2: It's the best. Yeah, five or six years ago, that
• 28:37
  Speaker 2: would have been a game where you thought Indiana could
• 28:40
  Speaker 2: definitely lose, and now it's one where you're wondering how
• 28:44
  Speaker 2: big the spread will be going into that game. Last
• 28:46
  Speaker 2: thing I wanted to ask you about, Obviously, in these
• 28:49
  Speaker 2: early preseason projections, which really mean nothing, but it's a
• 28:52
  Speaker 2: starting point, and the AP poll and the coaches poll
• 28:55
  Speaker 2: are out, and Oregon and Ohio State are ahead of
• 28:59
  Speaker 2: Indiana in both of those polls. What do you think
• 29:01
  Speaker 2: about both of those teams coming into the season? Is
• 29:04
  Speaker 2: it justified to have them above Indiana? I'm sure Kurt
• 29:07
  Speaker 2: Cignetti doesn't mind that he's got two teams to look
• 29:10
  Speaker 2: up to in the rankings now because it's a way
• 29:12
  Speaker 2: to motivate his team. There's not a lot of programs
• 29:15
  Speaker 2: that would be coming off a 16-0 undefeated season, return
• 29:19
  Speaker 2: what Indiana does and be ranked sixth in the polls.
• 29:21
  Speaker 2: But I think that kind of shows skepticism that some
• 29:24
  Speaker 2: people still have as to whether this program has long-term
• 29:28
  Speaker 2: staying power.
• 29:29
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, there's always going to be that element
• 29:32
  Speaker 3: of it's still Indiana. And as much as the 16-0
• 29:38
  Speaker 3: season should help you get rid of that, college football fans,
• 29:42
  Speaker 3: especially down south or in the big markets, are not
• 29:45
  Speaker 3: too big fans of that. No, I think Ohio State
• 29:49
  Speaker 3: and Oregon.
• 29:51
  Speaker 3: Do I like Ohio State at one? No. With how
• 29:54
  Speaker 3: much they lost defensively. Offensively, it's going to be one
• 29:59
  Speaker 3: of the best teams in the country, that's for sure.
• 30:01
  Speaker 3: But you lose like six to eight NFL players from
• 30:07
  Speaker 3: last season's team and a whole bunch of them near
• 30:10
  Speaker 3: the front of the draft. Oregon loses some talent as well.
• 30:14
  Speaker 3: Malik Benson's out of Eugene, as is Kenyon Sadiq. Dante
• 30:19
  Speaker 3: Moore returning, though, is a really big addition. Defensively, they're
• 30:24
  Speaker 3: still strong. I honestly may have Oregon ranked above Ohio
• 30:29
  Speaker 3: State at the current moment until I'm proven otherwise, but
• 30:34
  Speaker 3: this is why I don't like the AP poll, and
• 30:35
  Speaker 3: I especially don't like the preseason AP poll. It's because
• 30:38
  Speaker 3: you have no basis of anything. It's completely made up
• 30:42
  Speaker 3: just for numbers and ratings sake.
• 30:47
  Speaker 2: To give something like guys like us something to talk
• 30:50
  Speaker 2: about and to write about, right? That's what it's for.
• 30:52
  Speaker 2: You don't get the first CFP rankings until what, early November?
• 30:56
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 30:57
  Speaker 2: So everything until then is just trying to establish position. Well, Ian,
• 31:02
  Speaker 2: you're an encyclopedia of IU football knowledge. That's why I
• 31:04
  Speaker 2: had you on. Thanks for carrying the show this week.
• 31:08
  Speaker 2: Really appreciate it. I know you've also already got your
• 31:11
  Speaker 2: broadcast schedule. You're going to be calling some games for WIUX.
• 31:13
  Speaker 2: Which games are people going to be able to hear
• 31:16
  Speaker 2: you on the call this year for football?
• 31:19
  Speaker 3: I know you're really excited about that. Yeah, I'm super
• 31:22
  Speaker 3: excited for it. I've got Western Kentucky in week three,
• 31:26
  Speaker 3: and then the last three regular season games of the year.
• 31:29
  Speaker 3: So USC at home, Washington on the road, and the
• 31:35
  Speaker 3: good old Oak and Bucket game at home to wrap
• 31:37
  Speaker 3: it up in my final game as a student in
• 31:40
  Speaker 3: that building. Maybe.
• 31:41
  Speaker 2: That one could be a bloodbath based on, you know.
• 31:46
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 31:48
  Speaker 2: The comments a couple weeks ago, it's, you know. They
• 31:51
  Speaker 2: poked a bear, which I don't think they should have done.
• 31:53
  Speaker 2: So Kurt Cignetti took the high road when he was
• 31:55
  Speaker 2: asked about it, but I wouldn't expect the same when
• 31:58
  Speaker 2: the game's played out.
• 32:01
  Speaker 3: So that'll be interesting. I would have loved to have
• 32:03
  Speaker 3: been in the same room when he saw that clip
• 32:05
  Speaker 3: for the first time.
• 32:08
  Speaker 2: It would have been entertaining. Probably didn't crack a smile
• 32:11
  Speaker 2: or anything. Similar to the State Farm commercial, right? He's
• 32:15
  Speaker 2: always in character.
• 32:17
  Speaker 3: Great commercial.
• 32:18
  Speaker 2: For sure. It was really good. Ian, thanks for the time.
• 32:21
  Speaker 2: Appreciate it. I look forward to continuing to read your
• 32:24
  Speaker 2: work over on Inside the Hall, doing a really good
• 32:26
  Speaker 2: job along with Zach so far. Best of luck as
• 32:33
  Speaker 2: you begin the broadcast, too, for the football season. Thanks
• 32:36
  Speaker 2: for taking the time to come on the show.
• 32:38
  Speaker 3: Yeah, thanks for having me. Always a pleasure.
• 32:40
  Speaker 2: Thanks, as always, to everybody for listening, for supporting the show. Again,
• 32:44
  Speaker 2: as I said at the top, if you're listening over
• 32:46
  Speaker 2: on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, please leave us a rating
• 32:49
  Speaker 2: or review. If you're watching on YouTube, like the video,
• 32:51
  Speaker 2: subscribe to the channel. We'll be back soon with another
• 32:54
  Speaker 2: episode of Podcast on the Brain.