Graduation Day For 9 Indiana Football Players
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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Nine Indiana football players earned their college degrees this weekend and received their diplomas during winter commencement exercises.
🎓 Congratulations! pic.twitter.com/GIhUt3UseM
— Indiana Football (@IndianaFootball) December 21, 2019
Graduating at midyear were left tackle Coy Cronk, guard Harry Crider, wide receiver Donovan Hale, linebacker Reakwon Jones, kicker Logan Justus, guard Simon Stepaniak, Grayson Stover, wide receiver Nick Westbrook and punter Haydon Whitehead.
Crider, who's only a junior and started all year at guard and center, graduated in 2 1/2 years. Whitehead will be back next year, too. He's been granted an extra year of eligibility as a medical redshirt. Cronk, who had season-ending ankle surgery in September, may be eligible for another season as well. He's waiting to see how he heals, and if there's enough NFL interest to get drafted this spring.
Most of them have been instrumental in the turnaround of Indiana's football program. The Hoosiers finished the regular season 8-4, the first time they've won eight games since 1993, a span of 26 years. They can win the ninth game — which has only happened twice in school history — with a win against Tennessee in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl on Jan. 2.
The game is at 7 p.m. ET on Jan. 2, and is the only football game that night, so millions of eyeballs will be on the Hoosiers.
Reakwon Jones was a captain for the Hoosiers this year and a leader of a young defense that played well most of the year. He has been invited to play in the Tropical Bowl, a postseason all-star game in Daytona Beach, Fla.
Indiana's graduation rate has increased from 74 percent to 91 percent in the past decade, and now ranks near the top of the Big Ten.