Author: Mike Schumann

The power of social media was moving faster than Indiana’s sideline. In his first ever college football game, IU freshman running back David Holloman didn’t expect to play much, and he certainly didn’t anticipate becoming the center of attention, much less part of a national news story before kickoff. But Iowa’s Kinnick Stadium is known for how close the fans sit to the opposing sideline, and the Hawkeye fans already knew something Holloman didn’t. “I started hearing people on the sideline from Iowa chanting my name and number, and I was confused,” he said on Monday following a fall camp…

As is always the case in August, rising senior prospects are narrowing their recruitments and announcing commitments. That means Indiana’s pool of 2023 targets is shrinking regularly.  On Monday it was highly-coveted forward T.J. Power who announced a list of his final five schools. Although IU prioritized Power heavily since offering him in April, he left the Hoosiers out of his final five.  Duke, Virginia, North Carolina, Boston College, and Iowa were instead the schools that made the cut for the Massachusetts product.  IU was widely expected to land an official visit from Power over the summer before his recruitment…

The college basketball season begins in three months, and with that preseason outlooks are starting to trickle in. You’ll have to wait even longer to know if the attention is warranted, but you can expect Indiana to be frequently mentioned as one of, if not the favorite in the Big Ten, and a top-25 team nationally. Along with those preseason accolades will come individual recognition for an IU team that returns nearly 80 percent of its minutes played from a year ago. Well known CBS Sports analyst and publisher of College Hoops Today Jon Rothstein came out with his prognostications…

Maintaining success has never been more difficult in college basketball.  The combination of the transfer portal and the NBA Draft makes each offseason both eventful and potentially transformative for most programs. Now that the smoke has mostly cleared following the 2021-22 season, we’ll go team-by-team in the Big Ten to assess which programs are set up for success, and who might take a step back. ———— Next up is Rutgers.  After 13 straight seasons with a losing record, the Scarlet Knights have posted winning seasons for three straight years under head coach Steve Pikiell.  Rutgers has also been .500 or…

Which position groups will lead the way for IU football in 2022? The best-of-the-best are likely easy to come up with for diehard fans, as is the area of biggest concern.  Below we rank them all from best to worst. For a complete position-by-position summary of who is back and who is new in 2022, GO HERE. For the first draft of the two-deep depth chart published by the program last week, GO HERE. 1. Cornerbacks:  Let’s start with a hot take, shall we?  In Tiawan Mullen and Jaylin Williams, Indiana might just have the best cornerback duo in the…

Watch as IU football safeties coach Jason Jones met with the media this week to discuss his position group.  Jones enters his third season as Indiana’s safeties coach in 2022 With the return of Devon Matthews and Bryant Fitzgerald, safety is expected to be a strength of the Indiana team in 2022.  For a position-by-position look at who is coming and going on the roster, GO HERE. Indiana opens the 2022 season on Sept. 2 against Illinois in Bloomington (Schedule). See also:  Brandon Shelby fall camp Q&A https://youtu.be/Xmv7hWngcD4 Video credit – IU Athletics The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re…

One of Indiana’s main class of 2023 targets formally came off the board on Sunday afternoon. Virginia-based wing Jamie Kaiser announced live on 247Sports he will play in the Big Ten at Maryland. The 6-foot-6 Kaiser chose the Terrapins over a IU and Virginia.  Indiana offered Kaiser in May and he came to Bloomington for an official visit in July.  But the appeal of playing closer to home and a more clear path to the floor early influenced his decision to play for the team he grew up rooting for. Indiana’s primary targets in the 2023 class now appear to…

Mike Woodson’s first acts of leading the Indiana program came long before he formally took over as head coach last March. Former IU head coach Bob Knight was a stickler for senior leadership, and when it came to making a strong impression on a young Isiah Lord Thomas III, Woodson was up to the task. One of the most coveted recruits in the country, Thomas arrived at IU as a true freshman in 1979.  Indiana was coming off a NIT championship, and with a stacked roster the Hoosiers opened the 1979-80 season ranked No. 1. Woodson was a natural role…

D.J. Matthews is one of the smallest players on Indiana’s roster, but no one left a bigger void than the Florida State transfer when he suffered a season-ending knee injury at Western Kentucky in week four last season. Indiana brought in Matthews to fill the opening left by Whop Philyor as the next playmaker in the open field, and the 5-foot-11 and 160-pound Jacksonville, Fla. product was highly productive in a number of ways. Matthews caught 13 passes for 165 yards, returned four punts for 83 yards with a career-long, 81-yard touchdown against Idaho, and he rushed twice for 28…

According to a report by Joe Tipton of On3, class of 2023 four-star wing Jamie Kaiser is down to Indiana, Maryland and Virginia, and he plans to announce his college decision on Sunday. Kaiser took an official visit to Indiana last week, and according to a separate report by On3’s Jamie Shaw, he took an unofficial visit to Maryland on Thursday. In Tipton’s report, Kaiser said he had a great visit at Indiana, but noted he has been a Maryland fan since he was a small child, and sees an immediate opportunity to play at the school which is a…