Roberson, Coleman picked as IU starters

The decision to start sophomore running back Tevin Coleman over fifth-year senior Stephen Houston came as a surprise.

Thursday night, Coleman showed why he separated himself from the incumbent tailback.

“Tevin’s a special player,” senior tight end Ted Bolser said. “And he’s going to be extremely good. I mean he’s already extremely good, so that’s an understatement.”

Coleman finished with 169 yards on 14 carries, good for a 12 yards per run average. The sophomore also made two trips to the end zone to propel the Hoosiers to a 73-28 victory.

With the proficient numbers, IU Coach Kevin Wilson said he thought they should have run Coleman more.

“I don’t know why we didn’t call his number more, he had 12 yards a carry,” Wilson said. “On 14 carries. He’s a good player. So bring those guys along too.”

In the first half, Coleman and Houston had an equal amount of carries but an unequal amount of production. Coleman gained 75 yards on his eight rushes, with Houston managing just nine yards.

On a third down in the middle of the third quarter, Houston dropped a pass that could have extended the Hoosier’s drive.

In this game, it wasn’t IU who was supposed dominate the run game.

Indiana State running back Shakir Bell ran amok against the Hoosier defense in last year’s opener.

He ran for 192 yards on 24 carries, averaging eight yards a carry. The Warren Central graduate also tallied the game’s opening touchdown.

“He’s a good player,” Wilson said. “We let him out a couple times. There were a couple times we had him corralled and we let him out.”

This year the Hoosier defense was ready for Bell.

He was held to 68 yards on 17 carries before Bell scampered for a 45-yard run late in the first half.

“I think we came out and set the tone,” sophomore cornerback Michael Hunter said. “I think we did a pretty good job. He’s a pretty good running back. I’m not sure how many yards he had but I feel like we did a pretty good job on him.”

The 45-yard burst was the last play Bell would see. He suffered an injury on the tackle and was donning street clothes for the rest of the contest.

“The good news is that they did an x-ray and there is nothing broken,” Indiana State Coach Mike Sanford said. “He has a shoulder injury, and we’re going to wait and see the severity of it as we go along. It’s not dislocated, but we will have to wait and see what exactly happens.”

Coleman’s emergence as a lead back will help improve upon the Hoosiers run game. Last season they averaged the lowest yards per carry in the conference.

“He’s an awesome player,” Bosler said. “We’re expecting huge things from him.”

Follow reporter Evan Hoopfer on Twitter @EvanHoopfer.