5 Burning Questions for Indiana Football on Eve of First Practice

Indiana begins fall football practice on Friday, and several coaches and players will meet with the media on Thursday to kick things off. Here are five burning questions that we'll search for answers for throughout August.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – One of the most anticipated Indiana football seasons in decades cranks up on Friday when the Hoosiers hit the field for their first practice of the fall. And after last year's 6-1 regular season that results in national top-10 rankings, expectations are high again in 2021.

The Hoosiers' first game is a real test, too, starting the year with  Big Ten showdown at Iowa City against the Iowa Hawkeyes, who will also be nationally ranked in the first preseason poll.

Here are five questions that will need to be answered before the opener:

1. Most importantly, will Michael Penix Jr. be ready?

There is no easing into this 2021 college football season, with Indiana starting its campaign on the road against Iowa in what likely be a matchup of top-20 teams. Indiana will need to be at its best, and that means having quarterback Michael Penix Jr. at full strength.

Penix was injured last November, tearing his ACL in a non-contact situation while running down the sideline against Maryland. He had surgery soon thereafter and has been rehabbing hard ever since. The goal was for him to be 100 percent by camp, and that seems to be the case, although the Hoosiers will remain very careful with him.

"We have a great group of trainers at Indiana University," Penix said last week at Big Ten Media Days.. "Obviously, I'm going to be smart. I want to get that chemistry with the guys so I've been working extremely hard to get to where I need to be so I can get out there as much as possible."

It's likely that Penix will be held out of live periods as a safety precaution, at least during the first few weeks of fall camp. That may chance in the final few weeks as game-day preparations for Iowa begin, but everything is wait-and-see. All signs are positive that he'll be ready to go, but Indiana coach Tom Allen is also on record that he won't play Penix unless he's 100 percent. Even just 95 percent won't do.

All indications point to Penix being ready to have a huge, breakout year. Still, all eyes will be on him throughout fall camp. Jack Tuttle, who led the Hoosiers to a win at Wisconsin last year after Penix went down, will get plenty of reps, too.

"I feel like we have two starters, and Jack has already proven that he can win huge Big Ten games on the road,'' Allen said earlier this summer. "Everyone in this building has a lot of confidence in Jack, too.'' 

2. Who gets the carries in the backfield?

Indiana's offense was very good last year, but the running game was a constant struggle. The Hoosiers were just 12th overall in total rushing, and that needs to improve.

It probably will, for many reasons, but it's going to be interesting to see who emerges as the starter. This the most wide-open race of any position group.

With Stevie Scott off to the NFL, junior Sampson James should be ready for a breakout year. The former Avon star, a four-star recruit coming out of high school who de-committed from Ohio State to play at Indiana, has dealt with a few nagging injuries during his career and hasn't done much yet. But he also has an Old Oaken Bucket win under his belt, proving his worth by running for 118 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries in the double-overtime win at Purdue in 2019. But he's played in 15 totals games, and has never had more than 36 yards in a game otherwise.

What makes this position chase interesting is the arrival of Stephen Carr from USC. The fifth-year senior was a five-star recruit out of high school, and he has a great relationship with new Indiana running backs coach Deland McCullough. He's rushed for 1,319 yards in his career, and is healthy and ready for a breakout year of his own.

And let's not forget Tim Baldwin Jr., who showed some flashes a year ago as a true freshman. Somewhat surprisingly, he was listed No. 1 on the depth chart that Indiana released a week ago.

This is the best story of the fall camp, in my opinion, because all three are capable and Indiana absolutely has to be better at running the ball this year. McCullough, who spent the last three years with the Kansas City Chiefs in the NFL, will bring plenty of fresh ideas for the running game. 

3. What's the adjustment curve to new defensive coordinator Charlton Warren?

Indiana's defense played at a high level a year ago, and with nine starters back, more big things are expected from this group this year, too.

It's led by All-Americans Micah McFadden and Tiawan Mullen, and the Hoosiers have more depth at all three levels than they've ever had. But former DC Kane Wommack is gone after being named the head coach at South Alabama, and Charlton Warren takes over.

Warren has a great resume of his own, but Indiana didn't bring him in to install his own defense. Allen's defense stays in place, and Warren is adjusting to that. How long will that take? It's a big question, as to how quickly everyone adapts to having a new man in charge.

Everything went well in the spring, so the guess is the Hoosiers will hit the ground running. But watching all the communication this fall will be interesting.

4. Is the offensive line good enough?

We mentioned the running games struggles earlier, and we all know that starts up front. Indiana has its two talented tackles back – Matthew Bedford and Caleb Jones – and that's a solid start. But there are lots of changes on the interior, and the fight for playing time there is going to be interesting.

Mike Katic (left guard), Dylan Powell (right guard) and Zach Carpenter (center) are listed as starters on the first depth chart. Katic has seen some action already and Powell was a nice addition after transferring from Stanford. The interesting name there is Carpenter, who transferred from Michigan after just one season. That's a big responsibility, but everyone is raving about him so far. It's going to be fun to watch this group come together.

There's decent depth behind them, plenty of talent with young but unproven guys who have paid their dues, too. Look for Randy Holtz, Charlie O'Connor, Cameron Knight and Tim Weaver to compete for playing time, too.

There's good depth at the tackle spots too, with Luke Haggard proving a year ago that he can play at a high level, too. I'm sure he'll get worked into the rotation quite a bit. There are often plenty of moving pieces around this position group, and it's going to be interesting to see how this all plays out, too. They need to step up their game this year for sure, not only in being able to run the ball better, but the keep the pressure off of Penix as well.

5. Is America wrong, or am I wrong?

I'm on record, repeatedly, for predicting Indiana's breakout season a year ago, and I don't think it was a fluke one bit. I firmly believe that this team will be very good again, but the rest of America doesn't agree with me.

When gambling websites released their over/under win totals for every college team, I was shocked that Indiana's total was so low. On the FanDuel.com website, the line is set at 7.5 wins for the 12-game regular season, which means they're hoping half of America thinks Indiana will win seven games or less.

That's crazy in my book.

Even a winning wager at 8-4 would be considered a major disappointment for the coaches and players on this team. Sure, the schedule is tough and there are a lot of difficult road trips, but I'm still expecting big things.

That wager might come right down the final weekend, but I don't think so. I think nine or 10 wins is very possible, and I was clear last week that I think Indiana has a chance to win EVERY week. 

Is that team good? Heck yeah, they are. So it should be a very fun journey. And it starts with media day on Thursday in Bloomington and that first practice on Friday.

Bring it on.