5 facts
Senior leaders: Indiana has just eight seniors, tied for the fewest in the country. The Hoosiers have just five – defensive tackles Larry Black Jr., Adam Replogle and Nicholas Sliger, center Will Matte and tight end Charles Love III – who came to IU on scholarship.
A first: Tre Roberson became the first true freshman quarterback in IU history to start a game last season.
Accurate leg: Junior kicker Mitch Ewald has a career field goal percentage of 82.9 percent (29 of 35). That’s the best percentage in Indiana history.
Local connections: Indiana’s roster includes Fort Wayne’s Kenny Mullen and Lawrence Barnett. Mullen and Barnett are listed as starters at cornerback on IU’s two-deep. Barnett started nine games last year.
New faces: Seth Littrell takes over as the offensive coordinator/tight end and fullbacks coach. Littrell joins the team from Arizona. Jon Fabris is the new defensive ends coach. He has 29 years of coaching experience, including coaching defensive ends at Georgia, South Carolina and Kansas State.
4 games of interest
Sept. 1 vs. Indiana State: It’s important to get coach Kevin Wilson’s second year off on a good note.
Sept. 15 vs. Ball State: The Hoosiers look for revenge after last year’s loss to the Cardinals at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Sept. 29 at Northwestern: IU opens the Big Ten on the road. The Wildcats scored 59 points against IU last season.
Nov. 24 at Purdue: IU closes the regular season with a trip to West Lafayette. The Hoosiers won in 2010 at Ross-Ade Stadium.
3 best players
Larry Black Jr.: The senior defensive tackle had 47 tackles and 1 1/2 sacks last year. He was tied on the third on the team with 5 1/2 tackles for loss.
Adam Replogle: The senior defensive tackle has started the last 35 games. He had 49 tackles, including 7 tackles for loss, last year. He had a team-high 4 sacks.
Shane Wynn: The sophomore wide receiver led the Hoosiers in all-purpose yards last season (1,249). He had 1,015 kick return yards, 197 receiving yards and 37 rushing yards.
2 points of concern
Defensive strides: The Hoosiers gave up an average of 37.3 points per game. The number has to come down if the team wants to improve.
Offensive strides: Wilson pointed out the offense has to produce more points than it did last year in Big Ten play (an average of 18.4 points per game).
1 major issue
Youth will be served: Indiana played 32 freshmen last year, the highest total in the country. IU played 16 true freshmen, the third most in the nation. The growth of the group will play a role in the improvements made this season.
