Last season was a baptism by fire for the IU secondary.
Inexperienced players were thrust into starting roles and they learned quickly how hard life in the Big Ten could be.
Junior safety Chase Dutra sees that experience paying off in a big way this season.
“I think we are going to be one of the top (secondaries) in the Big Ten,” Dutra said. “A lot of people would disagree with us because of last year’s stats and everything. I think with how much our young guys played last year… that we are all starting to communicate a lot better.”
Dutra isn’t short on confidence, and he’s not far off. If all goes well, the secondary could turn into a strength for the Hoosiers.
IU’s defensive numbers were bad last year and the secondary consistently got burned for big plays. Then-freshmen Andre Brown Jr., Jonathan Crawford and Tyler Green all were elevated into larger roles than usual for freshmen.
Their play was predictably up-and-down. New defensive coordinator Tom Allen said that he right away realized the toll last season’s poor play took on the secondary.
“When I got here, in meeting with them and talking to them, (their confidence) had been shattered,” Allen said. “They did not have a lot of confidence. I think it’s a difficult thing to rebuild.”
Allen did however go on to say that the secondary’s confidence had begun to be repaired in the spring when they had success and will continue to grow in the fall.
The coaches knew how difficult playing so many freshmen would be.
Safeties coach Noah Joseph talked about how hard the adjustment to college is for freshmen.
“When you have one of them, you can help him through it,” Joseph said. “But the situation last year, we had all of them. It was challenging to give them the attention they needed.”
Joseph said it’s so hard for freshman because they have so much to learn – from how to stretch properly to getting to class. Now, he said the young guys know how to prepare for Saturdays and what it takes to be successful.
“You hope that all that game experience will allow our guys to be more comfortable with the scheme,” cornerbacks coach Brandon Shelby said. “With a year under our belt at the corner position, a lot of young guys will help us on the road and we won’t be bushy tailed and bright eyed going into big stadiums.”
Dutra echoed Shelby and said the secondary is now ready to play in the Big House or the Horseshoe.
“They aren’t going to tentative or antsy,” Dutra said. “We’re going to be ready to go. We know what to expect.”
With Allen’s newly implemented scheme, the secondary will have five defenders on the field.
“The great thing that you have now when you add that extra defensive back is more speed on the field,” Shelby said. “It allows us to have the opportunity to run with offenses.”
In addition to his scheme, Allen has been emphasizing takeaways. The secondary wants to take that mantra and run with it.
“Every day, we try and take it a step further,” Joseph said. “It’s not only takeaways, but we want to preach scoop and score. To me as a DB, our job is to score touchdowns whether it is an interception or a fumble recovery.”
Last season was a necessary struggle for the secondary. Its growing pains will pay dividends this season and they could become a unit to count on.
“We don’t want the offense to feel like they have to carry to the team.” junior cornerback Rashard Fant said.
They will still have their doubters, but they have their confidence back and are ready to prove it come fall.
