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BLOOMINGTON – The status of the Indiana football team’s field appears clear. The status of the team’s star quarterback is still uncertain.
IU coach Bill Lynch addressed the two biggest off-season topics surrounding the program during an interview Monday in his office at Memorial Stadium.
The Hoosiers’ season opener against Western Kentucky is still more than two months away, but some have wondered whether Memorial Stadium’s field would be ready after heavy rain and strong winds severely damaged the field turf this month. Early estimates said repairs could be $750,000 to $1 million. Lynch expects the surface will be ready to go.
“Down at the south end zone is where it got hit the worst,” Lynch said. “They are finalizing plans of what they are going to do to correct the situation. We are fairly confident that we’ll be in good shape for the preseason and by the first game.”
Whether Kellen Lewis will be Indiana’s quarterback for the contest remains to be seen.
The All-Big Ten second-team member is serving an indefinite suspension for violating unspecified team rules. The Hoosiers handed down the suspension on March 6. He missed the entire spring camp.
Lynch said a decision should be reached during the summer.
“His situation hasn’t changed from before the spring other than the things we’ve asked him to do, he’s continued to work on,” Lynch said. “Hopefully we can get him back with us full time. A decision will be made before the summer is over so that one, it’s fair to him in terms of his future, and also the team, so the team knows.”
Sophomore Ben Chappell took over in his absence.
“Ben Chappell played well this spring and with Kellen not practicing, it was important that he showed he could become the leader of offense and execute the offense,” Lynch said. “He did that very well.”
Chappell guided the Hoosiers’ newly installed no-huddle offense. Lynch said IU will use the approach this season.
“We liked it, we’re sold on it, and we’re looking forward to doing it fulltime in the fall,” he said.
Injuries and departures both voluntarily (running back Marcus Thigpen on the track team and wide receiver Andrew Means on the baseball squad) and involuntary (Lewis’ suspension) slowed the offense’s progress in the spring. Lynch was pleased with what he saw from the defense.
“That’s where we made the biggest improvement, with the depth at linebacker, the depth on the defensive line and the depth at safety. The young corners – even though they haven’t played – have shown they can be good football players,” Lynch said. “The next area we continued to improve is the offensive line. We had some guys who didn’t practice, but the ones that did played well. The young guys got good work.”
Lynch said those are the two areas the Hoosiers need to rely on if it hopes to build on the momentum of its first bowl appearance in 14 years.
“If you’re good defensively and solid up front offensively, you’ve got a chance,” he said. “The really good football teams, those are characteristics of teams that win year after year.”
lpope@jg.net
