IU Coach Kevin Wilson announced Friday afternoon that the Hoosiers’ starting quarterback will be junior transfer Richard Lagow.
Lagow has been competing through the offseason with junior Zander Diamont for the starting position, but the split reps in practice have increased in volume for Lagow as the summer progressed.
“He’s gotten every one rep except for when we rotated to get Zander or Danny in,” Wilson said about Lagow. “The team has been practicing and knows it. The timing is there. We actually evolved that after about the seventh practice.”
Wilson said Lagow provides the offense with a big-bodied quarterback that has shown growth throughout the summer, and his mobility is something Wilson said wasn’t there when former Hoosier Nate Sudfeld was on the team.
Diamont’s teammates and coaches have heralded him for having the best summer of his IU career, but Cameron has narrowed the gap for the backup quarterback position. The two backups are listed as equals on the depth chart behind Lagow.
Wilson said the team has meshed well with Lagow at the helm, and that played a part in the decision to name the junior the starter.
“He is playing the best, and everyone knows that,” Wilson said. “I think the team has confidence, I think he has confidence. I’m sure he’s going to have some bad plays. We’ll live with it.”
Walk-on scholarships
Immediately after addressing the quarterback competition, Wilson named the six walk-ons to make the 2016 roster, including junior kicker Griffin Oakes, senior receiver Mitchell Paige, sophomore running back Alex Rodriguez, sophomore wide receiver Ricky Brookins, junior defensive back Ben Bach and sophomore long snapper Danny Godsil.
Wilson went on to mention the walk-ons who retained scholarships, reducing the amount of scholarships available for the class of 2017. Those players were sophomore wide receiver Luke Timian, sophomore tight end Ryan Watercutter, junior defensive back Arthur Jones, sophomore linebacker Kenny Arnold, freshman defensive end Josh Brown and freshman offensive linemen Nick Ramacca and Alex Serrano.
Sophomore punter Joseph Gedeon also received a scholarship, and Wilson announced Friday that he will be the starting punter replacing former Hoosier Eric Toth.
Wilson — a former walk-on at North Carolina — said that he is proud of the fact that IU had 17 walk-ons last season, and nine of IU’s touchdowns in the last three games of the 2015 season were scored by walk-ons.
Defense
The defense won the offseason.
That’s what Wilson said of the new-look defense coached by new defensive coordinator Tom Allen, and when Wilson saw eleven of the best defensive players lined up with confidence in the new 4-2-5 scheme, he said it was very impressive.
“I think when they’re realizing that when they all do their jobs — all eleven guys — not just one guy has to make a play, that the defense makes the play, they’ve been really good,” Wilson said.
