Quarterback battle remains unsettled amidst rising expectations

CHICAGO — IU plays Indiana State in 36 days under the lights, but who will be under center is still unknown.

“We’re unsettled at quarterback,” IU Coach Kevin Wilson said. “Got three guys in a dead heat ... Haven’t seen someone separate through spring.”

Sophomores Nate Sudfeld and Tre Roberson will try to unseat junior Cam Coffman, who started ten games last year at quarterback.

“I really don’t know what it’s going to be, the deciding factor or anything like that,” senior wide receiver Kofi Hughes said. “I think it’s going to be really tough. But like I said, I think our whole team is confident in Nate, Cam and Tre. And whoever they want to throw out there, I think it’s going to be really good.”

Roberson, last season’s initial starter, lost his starting job last season when he broke his leg against Massachusetts in the second game of the season.

He subsequently received a medical redshirt, and Coffman started the rest of the season with Sudfeld seeing action in seven games.

Despite leading the conference with 311.2 yards per game, Wilson wasn’t impressed with his team’s response to the Roberson injury.

“We also did not handle the adversity of losing our starting quarterback,” he said. “We led the league in passing, blah, blah, blah, all that junk. Once our quarterback got hurt, we lost five straight games.”

Coffman stepped in and averaged 248.5 yards a game with a passer efficiency rating of 123.87.

However, he was pulled in many games for Sudfeld, a 6-foot-5-inch California native who was statistically more efficient than Coffman.

Sudfeld had a higher completion rate, and his average of 12.4 yards per completion was higher than Coffman’s 11.1 figure.

No matter who is leading the Hoosier offense, Wilson stressed the importance of his quarterback to be elite.

“For our program to win, have the year we’re capable of having, we need to be dynamic at quarterback,” Wilson said. “We can’t be average and let the complementary pieces give us the victories that we need for our program and our fans and alums and school.”
Having great intangibles is vital, Hughes added.

“I just want to really make sure they can command the offense,” Hughes said.
This season is different from Wilson’s previous two, he said. All three players can play at a high rate.

“The first year, I didn’t know if we could throw it in the ocean,” Wilson said.

Each player has a uniqueness that makes him special on the field, Wilson said.

“Maybe the greatest arm strength is Nate Sudfeld,” he said. “Tall. Very smart. Young player, very good. Maybe greatest moxie might be Cam Coffman. He’s a little daredevil. He’ll take some shots and take some chances. Great anticipation, vision. The best athlete of the crowd is probably Tre Roberson.”

Other players are not stressing about the quarterback situation, Hughes said. All of them are capable of spearheading the Hoosier offense, which ranked second in total yards in the Big Ten last season.

“I don’t think there’s a crowd favorite on our team,” Hughes said. “That’s why we’re all at ease. Let Coach Wilson decide that, take that into his own hands because we’ll be great with whoever.”