Dexter Williams' Injury Recovery Ahead of Schedule, Indiana Unlikely To Add Another QB

Indiana coach Tom Allen shared good news on Wednesday regarding quarterback Dexter Williams' injury recovery progress. Allen said he'd be surprised if Indiana added another scholarship quarterback through the transfer portal, meaning the starting job will come down to redshirt freshmen Brendan Sorsby and Tayven Jackson.

BORDEN, Ind. – Indiana coach Tom Allen initially thought quarterback Dexter Williams II would miss the entire 2023 season with a knee injury, but that might not be the case anymore. 

Allen said Wednesday that the midway point of the 2023 season is now the optimistic goal for Williams' return to action.

"As everything has kind of played itself out, it's kind of gone from he's probably going to be out the whole season, to it might be where he could be ready later in the season. Now, it's like maybe halfway into the season," Allen said Wednesday at Indiana's annual event at Huber's Orchard, Winery and Vineyards. "So I think that's optimistic, without question."

The injury occurred during Indiana's 2022 season finale against Purdue on Nov. 26, when Williams' fell to the turf without any contact from a defender. He scrambled to avoid the pass rush, but his knee gave out in the process. Williams was carted off the field and immediately taken to the hospital.

Indiana's Dexter Williams (5) is carted off the field after an injury during the first half of the Indiana versus Purdue football game at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 26, 2022 :: © Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

Allen said Wednesday that doctors compared Williams' injury to NFL quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, who suffered a torn ACL and other structural damage, including a dislocation of the knee joint. Bridgewater's non-contact injury happened on Aug. 30 2016, and he was activated from the Physically Unable to Perform list on Nov. 8, 2017.

Allen clarified Wednesday that Williams tore his ACL and other ligaments, but after further review, doctors downgraded the injury's severity from the original comparison to Bridgewater.

"I think it was a little cleaner than [the doctors] thought," Allen said. "And they don't really know until they get in there. So that's kind of created the optimism that he might be able to have a little bit less of a timetable."

Williams appeared in four games with two starts for the Hoosiers in 2022. While still raw as a passer, his dual-threat ability caused problems for opponents. 

Williams made his collegiate debut on Nov. 5 against Penn State after quarterback Jack Tuttle suffered a season-ending shoulder injury. Williams finished the game completing 4-of-11 passes for 41 yards and two interceptions, plus four carries for 24 yards. Williams replaced Connor Bazelak in the first half of the following week's game at Ohio State and completed 6-of-19 passes for 107 yards and two touchdowns, along with 16 rushes for 46 yards. 

He made the first start of his career on Nov. 19 at Michigan State and led the Hoosiers to a 39-31 win in double-overtime. In a snowy East Lansing, Williams attempted just seven passes, but he carried the ball 16 times for 86 yards and a touchdown. Indiana totaled 257 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns in the win, good for 5.8 yards per carry.

Hoosiers strike first ‼️@dex5will x @IndianaFootball pic.twitter.com/GDCVz9SPhB

— Indiana On BTN (@IndianaOnBTN) November 19, 2022

Williams earned a second start against Purdue, and early signs proved he and Jaylin Lucas could be a dangerous backfield duo. Lucas ran for a 71-yard touchdown on an option play with Williams on Indiana's second play of the game, but Williams suffered his current knee injury on the following drive as the Hoosiers approached the red zone. 

Since going down with the injury, Allen has been impressed with Williams' approach to the recovery process this offseason.

"He's such a great worker," Allen said. "He's so disciplined in the process. That doesn't surprise me, especially once we found out there weren't quite as many things that they thought in the first place when the initial injury occurred. But still, it's more extensive than a typical ACL, so not going to be easy to come back from. But he's just been, like I said, he's just so disciplined to the process of rehabbing that if he can come back a little earlier, I think he's the right guy to do that. So we'll see. We'll never rush it. It's obviously going to be in his best interest what we do for him, but he'll be anxious to be getting out there for sure. But right now, we're trying to get him to the halfway point and see if he can be ready to go at that point."

It's likely that Williams would have entered the 2023 season as Indiana's starting quarterback, but the injury caused Indiana to change course. 

Allen recruited Tennessee transfer quarterback Tayven Jackson to Indiana, where his older brother, Trayce, just wrapped up a legendary basketball career. Jackson appeared in three games for Tennessee, completing 3-of-4 pass attempts for 37 yards and rushing four times for 10 yards and a touchdown. 

Tennessee transfer Tayven Jackson (left) and Brendan Sorsby (right) are competing for Indiana's starting quarterback job in 2023 / Bryan Lynn-USA TODAY Sports and Robert Goddin-USA TODAY Sports

Due to Jackson's inexperience, Allen said Indiana looked into adding another transfer quarterback. The Hoosiers were linked to Nebraska quarterback Casey Thompson, who ultimately chose Florida Atlantic, but bringing in another quarterback seems unlikely at this point.

"It's a unique dynamic with the age of the [quarterback] group there, so we just never really found the right combination for that," Allen said. "I would be surprised if we did add [another scholarship quarterback] at this point ... It was challenging to be able to really find that spot. We talked about it, and I had interest in that, as well, just more of an insurance policy kind of thing. But it's not like the NFL where you just get a guy off the wire. It's got to be a guy that fits and wants to be in that role and understands the whole situation. With having the young guys that we have, we really felt like those guys that are there – that's where our starter's going to come from. But we do have a couple spots left, and we'll see how those play themselves out here, but just trying to be judicious with those spots."

Jackson is battling with fellow redshirt freshman Brendan Sorsby for the starting quarterback job, a competition that Allen said will likely be decided after the team's second scrimmage of fall camp.

"I just think that gives us a full gamut," Allen said. "We've got two guys with Brendan and Tayven, both young but talented. I really like what I've seen from those guys, and I'm anxious to see it because the summer shows leadership. It's a big part of that, how they handle getting the guys together. We can only do so much with our guys, and they have to do a lot more together. So I'm anxious to see that role kind of come to fruition and see how the guys respond and how those guys handle that. It's obviously a very, very important position. It is the position that's going to drive a lot of our success in 2023."

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