Author: Mike Schumann

“Things will be more competitive this season.” That’s how IU coach Mike Woodson answered a question about the allocation of playing time at an alumni event in late May. More competitive because Indiana has returned nearly 80 percent of its minutes played from a year ago while bringing in four freshmen who, to varying degrees, appear to be ready to play a role in November. Woodson hopes the talented roster he has assembled, which is picked by many to win the Big Ten, will function like a rising tide that lifts everyone involved. “Competition is good,” Woodson said.  “If you’re…

A stint in the resuscitated USFL helped revive Stevie Scott’s football career. The New York native and three-year IU football starter signed with the Denver Broncos on Wednesday according to multiple reports. This is Scott’s second stint with the Broncos.  He was signed by them during training camp last year but was waived after just a week with the team. He did make a preseason appearance with Denver a year ago, totaling seven rushes for 23 yards. In the USFL Scott rushed for 310 yards and three touchdowns on 99 attempts for the Michigan Panthers as part of a season…

It’s no secret — Tom Allen wants to keep things a secret until the IU football season kicks off on Sept. 2. That started with not opening spring practices to the media and not holding a public spring scrimmage, and it continues into fall camp. Yes, the media can attend portions of practice this month.  When it comes to the position battles and schemes on both sides of the ball, there are some clues.  But not much.  Most of what we are seeing are drills.  Full scrimmages such as the the first one this Friday will be closed to outside…

He’s come a long way since lying on the field holding his knee after the opening kickoff of the 2017 Indiana season. Nick Westbrook-Ikhine wasn’t sure what his football career looked like after he tore his ACL on the first of play of what was expected to be a big season for the Florida product five years ago. This week he was listed by the Tennessee Titans as one of the franchise’s No. 1 receivers on their preseason depth chart. Going back to his days in Bloomington, Westbrook-Ikhine is familiar with the ups-and-downs of a football life.  That’s why he…

After his offense produced just 11 points per game over the last eight weeks of the 2021 season, Tom Allen knew he needed a spark. Several months earlier he had seen Jaylin Lucas at a camp, and it was love at first sight for the IU coaching staff. “He’s a guy that we actually found when we were doing our camps off campus down in the South, and got to see him live, in person, and immediately I was like ‘Wow, this is the kind of guy we’ve been looking for,'” Allen said on Tuesday via Zoom. What Allen saw…

Indiana has an early path to earn some votes in the national rankings, but after a 2-10 2021 season, not even head coach Tom Allen was willing to go there in the preseason USA TODAY Sports AFCA football coaches poll. To the surprise of no one, IU did not receive any votes in the preseason coaches poll, but several of their 2022 opponents did. The Hoosiers could open the season 3-0 with wins over Illinois, Idaho and Western Kentucky, three teams also not receiving votes at this time.  If Indiana claims those three games in impressive fashion they could certainly…

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…