Monday, June 23, 2008

Football odds and ends.

While basketball is dominating the news lately, there have been a couple of new developments with the football team, although nothing new has been reported about the biggest issue, which is the status of Kellen Lewis.
  • IU obtained a commitment from Jeffersonville quarterback Edward Wright Baker. I usually don't write about recruiting commitment-by-commitment, but this recruitment is noteworthy because Baker is a dual-threat quarterback: "121-of-225 passes (53.8 percent) for 1,582 yards and 21 touchdown[s]. He also eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark on the ground, gaining 1,197 yards on 182 carries and 19 TD’s while helping Jeff win the Class 5A Sectional title for the first time this decade," according to the article linked above. The completion percentage isn't great, but per the article Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan State, and Purdue all had offered Baker. It certainly suggests that IU hopes to continue the dual-threat pattern. As I have said before, a quarterback who can run and has legitimate skill as a passer can level the playing field a bit for a program like IU. I might prefer to see a bit higher completion percentage at the high school level, but it will be interesting to see how Baker's senior season transpires.
  • The damages caused by recent flooding will require IU to replace the entire field. It does not appear that IU has found a vendor yet, but removal is underway and IU expects the field to be ready by the beginning of August.

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