Indiana Football: Random Friday Stream of Consciousness

Feeney Out for the Year

Indiana football experienced more downs this week in their practices leading up to next Thursday's first kick-off of the season. Coach Kevin Wilson announced on Tuesday that we had lost starting Right Guard Dan Feeney to a foot injury. Feeney started every game last year for the Hoosiers and was going to be an integral part of the young but experienced line.

Feeney is suffering from a lisfranc injury to his foot which will be required to be surgically fixed. That means he's done for the season, unless something miraculous happens in his recovery. It's a real bummer for Feeney who showed a lot of promise last season and was expected to be a part of a line that would be markedly improved on form last season.

In terms of the offensive line and Indiana as a whole, I don't think the injury and loss of Feeney will be catastrophic. Certainly he'll be missed, but this outside of quarterback and receiver is the deepest position on the team. Indiana has several linemen that can step up and get major time without being too much of a downgrade. Ralston Evans was a guy last year that got a lot of hype before redshirting. You also have Bernard Taylor who earned Big Ten All-Freshman honors last season that can swing over to RG from his spot on the left last season to shore up the blind side. There are several possibilities going forward for the line and I don't expect this to be considered the end of the world.

**UPDATE**

An update real quick on this. The Hoosiers' two deep came out today and it looks like David Kaminski will be starting in Feeney's place. Kaminski is a redshirt sophomore that did not see any action in 2012. Still no update on the quarterback battle however.

Quarterback Battle

Reports from Bloomington suggest that Indiana's quarterback battle will be settled this weekend. QB Coach Kevin Johns told the Louisville Courier-Journal, "It's almost going to be weird when one guy runs out there first, and the other two are just kind of hanging out." That quote is encouraging to hear, as it suggests the staff is dead set on having a primary passer. I could certainly see where the Hoosiers would be capable of running a two quarterback system, but rarely do you see it work in other programs. Let's find one and stick with one.

According to offensive coordinator Seth Littrell the competition is close. Indiana is in a better position than last year with the experienced depth behind whoever ends up getting the snaps, but for now we still aren't certain who that is. All three having different strengths is making the decision a little tougher for Wilson and staff to settle on exactly who they want. I'd say the smart money is still on Roberson, due to his dynamic play making abilities with his feet. Don't be shocked if its one of the more prototypical passers in Sudfeld or Coffman though.