Hoosiers season preview: Foundation in place, Wilson ready to win
By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Correspondent
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – While chatting with reporters after a Hoosiers training camp practice earlier this month, third-year coach Kevin Wilson heard the shrill ringing of a cell phone emerge from a table in the corner of the room.
Stopping in mid-sentence, Wilson turned his head and asked a media relations official if the phone was Wilson’s. It was not, came the bemused reply.
“Good, because then you’d say I was Coach Sampson or something,” said Wilson, who eyed the assembled press as they ate up the punch line.
It’s been like that for the Hoosiers as they embark on a period of new optimism, new helmets and a new culture. There is reason to laugh and smile. The past is insignificant. And unlike Kelvin Sampson, no shortcuts were taken.
Generating preseason excitement is nice, but the Hoosiers feel poised to build a program that lasts, is workmanlike and expects success – traits not usually associated with cream-and-crimson football for the past two decades.
Wilson, 51, is like the boss who has slowly and carefully reorganized every department of a company and then says, “Let’s expand from this.”
Naturally, there are several sectors still in the black on a team that has finished above .500 once since 1994 and is coming off a 4-8 season. Two major areas Wilson, hired by athletic director Fred Glass in 2010, still is targeting for repair: rushing and defense.
The 2012 Hoosiers were the fourth straight edition to not exceed 4 yards per carry, and their defense was porous enough to hemorrhage 6.1 yards per snap. Wilson considers “attitude” a secret ingredient of the sport and believes a more mature, forceful mentality can cure both ills.
Linebacker David Cooper, starting his second year at Indiana after joining as a junior college transfer in 2011, said Wilson’s preaching is sinking into players’ thought processes.
“We’re ready to show out,” Cooper said. “We’re ready to showcase what we’ve been working hard for since last season ended. We’re being more aggressive, more physical. There wasn’t a day in practice that anybody wanted to take off. Last year we had a couple practices where we were sluggish. This year we had none. None.”
By his own admission, Wilson struggled at the beginning to win converts among holdovers from the Bill Lynch administration. Since then, doing things his way, opening up all positions on the roster to competition, Wilson is painting a fresh image. Players can see it.
“It’s about being accountable to yourself,” running back Stephen Houston said. “Everybody – 98 percent – has bought into Coach Wilson’s scheme on offense and defense. The competition level is high. It’s making everybody bring their A-game every day.”
The trick now is translating changed habits into victories. With a nice haul of recruits and 18 returning starters on hand – which adds up to better, more seasoned talent – the 2013 Hoosiers want to take the next step.
The Hoosiers sought out “attitude” players in their freshman class such as linebacker T.J. Simmons and safety Antonio Allen, whose toughness and take-no-prisoners mindset appealed to Wilson’s goal of being more physical.
They also added defensive linemen Darius Latham and David Kenney, two prized prospects who were recruited by big-name schools but chose to stay in their home state.
The vibe around this season is one that suggests the pieces are in place. Rather than lay low and accept incremental progress as a matter of reaching a lesser bowl game, the Hoosiers are learning to function by setting internal standards.
“I would like outside expectations to be high,” Wilson said. “Sometimes we try to stroke that chip on our shoulder. Quite honestly, I don’t think people expect a lot of us yet. Trying to prove people wrong is a great deal of satisfaction.”
With Wilson having had two years to implement his methods and vision, the transitional stage is complete. In the past, he and his coaches were just trying to evaluate players and establish authority in a new environment.
When the Hoosiers opened preseason practice on Aug. 2, they were greeted with knockdown, drag-out sessions called “Big Ten.” Hitting teammates became an indispensable part of camp, rather than a chore or necessary evil. Players were challenged to stay in bounds and on their feet through contact.
In terms of urgency, Wilson is coaching in the style of Les Miles or Bill Cowher, imploring and impressing upon his team that production is due.
“We trust him,” tight end Ted Bolser said. “We’re expecting huge things. As a team, we’ve just got to have confidence. I know for a fact we’re not going to be lacking that this year. We’ve got everything on our side.”
Said cornerback Kenny Mullen: “We’re trying to make an impression. That’s what Coach Wilson instills in us, that it’s about being the best team you can be. We go out in the community and people will come up to us and say, ‘We’re expecting big things and we can’t wait.’ We feel like we have the team to do it.”
Wilson has tweaked the Hoosiers’ schemes on offense and defense. He worked with Seth Littrell to shift their up-tempo, spread system to include more variety in formations, pure smashmouth running and verticality in the passing game.
In combination with defensive coordinator Doug Mallory, Wilson added new defensive calls and alignments that provide more manpower to stop the opponent’s rushing attack while scaling down on the amount of nickel coverages favored in recent years.
In contrast to the tense, uptight manner of the 2011 or even 2012 squads, the Hoosiers’ demeanor is now relaxed and assured, in part because they realize they’re past the first phase of rebuilding.
There are no grand proclamations of winning nine games or making the postseason. Wilson, the sixth head coach in 17 seasons, is looking to supply stability and sustained success, not hit a one-year high and be four-and-out like recent predecessors.
Indiana has 34 winning records in 128 seasons of college football, and Wilson is quick to stipulate that nothing is fixed and the team remains a work in progress.
“It’s not like we’re walking around with all the answers and just excited everywhere,” Wilson said. “We have a long way to go. We’re not going to get every call or every bounce and maybe won’t get every game. We’re not close to the way it needs to be.”
Indiana players, though, say so much has changed, it’s practically a new program. Because of that foundation, Wilson’s pushing hard this season for improvement.
“I think we’re a team that’s a little hungry to go prove something,” Wilson said. “We’re getting them pointed in the right direction. You’ve got to coach a team to have toughness. We’re not going to win a lot if we’re not tough. You’ve got be tough to play defense. You’ve got be tough to run it. That’s what we’re trying to stand on as a program.
“This is about winning some daggone football games. It’s about time we started doing that.”
Part I of Hoosiers season preview: What to watch for
