CHICAGO – Finding a replacement for Austin Starr at kicker will be one of the more interesting position battles for Indiana.
The Hoosiers open camp Aug. 7 with four guys vying for the top spot.
“You can make decisions on a kicker through camp because you can chart them and grade them every single day,” IU coach Bill Lynch said Tuesday during Big Ten media day at the Hyatt Regency. “Generally you are going to come up with an idea who is your most consistent kicker and who has the best leg strength. We will do that. It’s a different story once you get into a game. None of them have kicked in a game.”
Lynch said freshman Nick Freeland has a strong leg and has shown he could be effective on kickoffs. Lynch said senior Charlie Klingensmith doesn’t have as strong a leg but is accurate. Junior Nick Ford missed a majority of the spring with a hip injury. Mitch Ewald, the third-best kicker in the nation for the class of 2009 according to Rivals.com, joins the group in the fall.
“I’m sure it’s going to be competitive through camp, and once the season starts if the guy who wins it in camp handles it in games, then we’ll have the answer,” Lynch said. “If the guy who wins it in camp doesn’t handle in the game, then it will open back up.”
Staying in touch
Justin Siller is not be able to take classes at Purdue – he was dismissed from school in April after violating academic policy – but he still is in West Lafayette and speaks often with coach Danny Hope, offensive coordinator Gary Nord and the players, Hope said. Siller was expected to challenge Joey Elliott for the starting quarterback spot.
Hope said Siller is taking classes at another school “somewhere else” but wouldn’t be more specific, citing Siller’s privacy.
The earliest Siller could return to Purdue would be in the fall of 2010, and it’s clear Hope would like Siller back in the program.
No Marve worries
Siller’s return to the team could depend on the depth at the position.
Former Florida Mr. Football and Miami transfer Robert Marve will be eligible to play in 2010, and the team already has redshirt freshman Caleb TerBush as its No. 2 quarterback.
But Marve will be coming off surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. Marve injured the knee in May, but the extent of the injury wasn’t revealed until last week.
“We’ll wait to see when he gets (on campus), but I feel good about him being ready for spring ball,” Hope said. “It was a knee injury, but not a major knee injury that would be career-ending or even close to that.”
lpope@jg.net, sclardie@jg.net
