IU football notebook: What they’re saying about Tayven, Guerrieri starting strong

 

By Seth Tow

September 13, 2023

Photo by Mike Schumann / The Daily Hoosier

 

Even before taking the field on Saturday, this has already been a big week for Indiana football.

At the program’s weekly Monday press conference, head coach Tom Allen announced that redshirt freshman Tayven Jackson will be IU’s starting quarterback going forward. He and redshirt freshman Brendan Sorsby had been battling for the job going back to spring camp, and the competition extended through Indiana’s first two games.

So it will be Jackson leading the Hoosiers out on the field at Lucas Oil Stadium this weekend against Louisville.

Allen, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Walt Bell, co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Matt Guerrieri, and several players talked about the quarterback decision and more on Monday. Here are a few key updates and points that came out of the media session.

Guerrieri off to strong start

Indiana’s defense has been impressive in the team’s first two games of the season. The Hoosiers held Ohio State to 23 points, before shutting out Indiana State’s offense (the Sycamores’ lone points came on a defensive touchdown).

IU hasn’t been perfect, but for a defense filled with new faces that had a lot of question marks entering the season, it’s been a promising start to the year.

Co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Matt Guerrieri deserves credit for the encouraging play by the IU defense. Tom Allen brought him in to the program this offseason and immediately handed him defensive play-calling responsibilities, and so far, so good.

“He’s a serious guy when it comes to game preparation,” linebacker Aaron Casey said. “He wants to make sure everything’s good and it starts with him on the back end, but he also delivers it to the linebackers and D-line as well.”

Allen emphasized he has a lot of trust in Guerrieri, noting his character and coaching ability. He said Gurrieri checked the boxes for several things Allen was looking to add to his defense in the offseason, in terms of scheme.

And, Allen said, Guerrieri has done well with identifying various things during the games and making necessary adjustments.

“It’s been a real good fit so far. I think he’s great on game day. He’s a great communicator. Does a good job — he’s up in the press box with several of our coaches — but making adjustments,” Allen said. “He’s a really good teacher and he has the ability to capture the whole room and make guys feel a part of it as a staff, which is critical in that role.

I have high expectations for our defense, and it all starts up front. But I think he’s doing a good job of taking the skill sets of the guys we’ve added to our team and trying to highlight those, and that’s what we’re going to continue to do.”

 

Minnesota Vikings History: Robert Smith drafted 30 years ago

 

As the Minnesota Vikings enter the 2023 season with an uncertain running back situation, let’s recall fondly the 30th anniversary of Robert Smith becoming a Viking.

By Ben Donahue | Aug 19, 2023

Former Minnesota Vikings running back Robert Smith / RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports

In 1992, the Minnesota Vikings were an 11-5 team that lost in the Wild Card round to the Washington Redskins. On the roster that year were two good running backs, Terry Allen and former 49er and Raider Roger Craig. Allen rushed for over 1,000 yards in 1992, and Craig added 416.

Despite the fact that Minnesota had two capable backs on their roster, the team surprised the sports world when they selected Ohio State’s Robert Smith as the 21st overall pick of the 1993 NFL Draft. It turned out to be a fortuitous addition as Allen tore his ACL during summer workouts and missed all of 1993.

Although on paper, Smith was a great athlete, he represented something of a question mark. In high school, Smith received Ohio’s Mr. Football Award twice and had his choice of colleges. He ultimately chose to stay in-state and play for the Buckeyes.

Right off the bat, Smith showed he had skills by running for 1,126 yards and eight touchdowns as a freshman. His rushing total led Ohio State and obliterated former Buckeye legend Archie Griffin’s freshman mark of 867 yards.

Just when it looked like Smith would be a super sophomore, he threw OSU a curve ball. As a pre-med major, Smith was taking coursework that required long hours of study and time away from the football team.

He received pushback from the coaching staff to take different classes that would allow him more time for football. Instead of listening to their advice, Smith quit the team in August of 1991.

In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Smith accused then-Buckeyes coaches John Cooper and Elliot Uzelac of, among other charges, not being concerned about their athletes' education. In the SI article, Smith alleged that Uzelac told Smith he took school too seriously.

"Guilty as charged," said Smith in 1991. "I simply can no longer play for those two [Cooper and Uzelac]."

After leaving the football team, Smith took a scholarship to compete with OSU’s track team. During the 1991 track season, he ran a 10.24 in the 100-meter dash, a personal best. Smith then considered leaving Ohio State to play football elsewhere in 1992.

That never happened, and he returned to play for Cooper in 1992 and rushed for 819 yards and 10 touchdowns (Uzelac was dismissed). 

Although Smith still had college eligibility left, he decided to forgo his final two years and enter the 1993 NFL Draft. Minnesota believed he had shown enough promise in college, and the organization to decided to snap him up in the first round.

When Terry Allen was felled with his injury before the 1993 season, it was thought that Smith could take over the rushing load. He lasted 10 games and 399 yards before exiting the season with his own injury and a serious case of chicken pox.

Then for the next few years, Vikings fans wondered if Smith was a bust, especially when he never started more than seven games and only ran for a high of 692 yards (1996), primarily due to several more injuries.

Thankfully, the bust label never materialized. Beginning in 1997, Smith finally stayed healthy enough to break loose and become one of the best running backs in Vikings history.

In four consecutive seasons, he rumbled for over 1,000 yards, including a career-best 1,521 yards and seven touchdowns in 2000. That year he also snagged a career-best three receiving touchdowns. Meanwhile, Minnesota went to the playoffs between 1997 and 2000 and appeared in the NFC Championship game twice.

 

Surprisingly, after the postseason in 2000, Smith decided to retire despite the fact that he had just tallied career numbers. In eight years with Minnesota, Smith ran for 6,818 yards and 32 touchdowns and caught 178 passes for 1,292 yards and six scores. He was selected to the Pro Bowl twice and received second-team All-Pro honors once.

Smith still owns the Vikes’ second-best all-time career rushing mark, and he holds an NFL record for average yards per touchdown at 27.2. Smith is currently an NFL analyst for Fox Sports.

2023 preseason All-NFC North Team

 

We take a look at the best players at each position in the NFC North

 

By Jared Dubin

September 6, 2023

The 2023 NFL season is rapidly approaching, which means it is once again time for us to unveil our preseason All-Division teams. We've done this exercise for the past several years, and the point is to preview which players at each position, in each division, we expect to put forth the best performance this coming season. 

We began last week with the AFC, starting with the AFC East, continuing to the AFC North and AFC South, and finally finishing up with the AFC West. This week, it's on to the NFC. We began Tuesday with the NFC East, continue today with the NFC North, and will work our way through the remainder of the conference over the next couple days. 

Without further ado ...

Offensive skill positions

QB: Kirk Cousins (MIN)
RB: Aaron Jones (GB)
WR: Justin Jefferson (MIN), Amon-Ra St. Brown (DET), D.J. Moore (CHI)
TE: T.J. Hockenson (MIN)
FLEX: Christian Watson (GB)

Choosing the quarterback for this division was tough. Do you want consistency (Cousins, Jared Goff), explosiveness (Justin Fields), or the unknown (Jordan Love)? In the end we went with Cousins, who consistently throws for 4,000-plus yards and around 30 touchdowns. If the Lions had given Goff a premier outside receiver to complement Amon-Ra St. Brown, that might have tipped the scales in his direction. 

There's been a lot of turnover at running back in this division. Dalvin Cook is gone, supplanted by Alexander Mattison. Jamaal Williams and D'Andre Swift are out of Detroit, replaced by David Montgomery (who used to be in Chicago) and Jahmyr Gibbs. Khalil Herbert is the lead back for the Bears, likely sharing time with some combination of D'Onta Foreman and Roschon Johnson. But Jones is still here, and he is coming off a wildly productive season during which he averaged 5.3 yards per carry and set a career high in receptions (59). He'll turn 29 years old in December so this pick is a little shaky, but his talent is still there and he's yet to show signs of a drop-off.

Jefferson is the current belt holder as the best receiver in football. Not much more needs to be said. The Sun God is a target vacuum who should continue seeing a ton of looks from Goff in Ben Johnson's offense, and could reach something like 120 receptions if he stays healthy. Moore might not have the same effect on Fields that, say, Stefon Diggs did on Josh Allen or A.J. Brown did on Jalen Hurts, but he's such an enormous upgrade over what Fields had last year that he can't help but bring his QB along with him. Watson's ridiculous speed and explosiveness was on display throughout last season. Now, he needs to be more consistent. As the clear-cut top option for Love, we're betting he shows out. And Hockenson emerged as a true No. 2 threat alongside Jefferson last season, and with Jordan Addison and K.J. Osborn also there, it's difficult to devote extra attention to everyone. 

Offensive line

OT: Christian Darrisaw (MIN), Penei Sewell (DET)
G: Elgton Jenkins (GB), Jonah Jackson (DET)
C: Frank Ragnow (DET)

Darrisaw ranked in the top 10 of Pro Football Focus' pass-blocking grades last season, and showed massive improvement year over year as both a pass and run blocker. He's only in his third season and should still be getting better. It was hard to leave David Bakhtiari off this list, but Sewell is such a rare athlete for his position that I can't help but bet on his untapped upside. He's already really good and he could be a consistent All-Pro type of player if he puts it all together. 

Jenkins took a slight step backward last season as he had to play multiple positions due to injuries, but locked back in at guard he should be able to recapture his prior form. And while Jackson also took a slight step back, he's headed into his physical prime as part of a unit that should be able to jell into one of the league's best. Playing alongside Ragnow doesn't hurt.

Defensive front

EDGE: Rashan Gary (GB), Danielle Hunter (MIN)
IDL: Kenny Clark (GB), Devonte Wyatt (GB)
LB: Tremaine Edmunds (CHI), De'Vondre Campbell (GB)
FLEX: Aidan Hutchinson (DET)

Gary is coming off a torn ACL but should be ready to go to start the year, and in just half a season had collected 6 sacks, 7 tackles for loss, and 12 quarterback hits a year ago. The year before, he totaled a career-best 9.5 sacks and and ranked third in the NFL with 81 total pressures, according to TruMedia. A breakout could be coming soon. And Hunter got his raise to stay in Minnesota, and last year showed he still has the double-digit sack upside he'd consistently reached in the earlier portion of his career. He turns 29 in October but has plenty left in the tank. Hutchinson collected 9.5 sacks, nine tackles for loss, and 15 QB hits as a rookie. His pressure rate wasn't as high as you'd like it to be for a player of his pedigree, but he showed he can hold his own and should get better as he gets more used to the league.

Outside of Clark, who is a consistent force in the middle of Green Bay's defense but has just not had much help in there over the past few years, the interior defensive line talent in this division is pretty lacking. So, we're betting on Wyatt breaking out in his second NFL season after not making much of an impact in Year 1. Edmunds is still incredibly young for a player of his experience level, and his athleticism on the second level of the defense is rare. Last year was the best of his career and Matt Eberflus identified him as a guy the Bears needed to sign. A former linebacker coach, he can potentially help Edmunds get to the next level. Campbell didn't come all that close to hitting the All-Pro level he achieved in 2021, but he was still a solid player for Green Bay and should continue to be one for the next few years, even as he hits his 30s. 

Defensive backfield

CB: Jaire Alexander (GB), Jaylon Johnson (CHI), Cameron Sutton (DET)
SAF: Harrison Smith (MIN), Jaquan Brisker (CHI)

Alexander picked off five passes and got his hands on eight more last season, and he nearly matched his elite performance from 2020 by yielding a passer rating of only 66.2 on throws in his direction. (It was 54.3 a few years ago.) He's in his prime and has the prototypical size-strength-speed combination to remain an elite corner. Johnson is a pretty underrated player because he's been on an awful Bears defense, but he's never allowed more than 59% of passes thrown in his direction to be completed and last year he ranked right on the CB1 borderline in coverage snaps per reception (12.2), per PFF. Sutton is a really solid player who should help a Detroit secondary that desperately needs it. 

Smith is getting up there in age now and showed a slight sign of drop-off last season, but other elite safeties have been able to maintain a high level of play into their mid-30s and his versatility makes him a strong bet to contribute at a high level. Brisker played really well as a full-season starter in his first NFL action a year ago, racking up tackles, collecting four sacks, and holding his own in coverage. With more talent in front of him and on the outside (draft pick Tyrique Stevenson seems like a locked-in starter), he should be freer to roam around and make even more plays in Year 2.

Specialists

K: Cairo Santos (CHI)
P: Jack Fox (DET)
RET: Keisean Nixon (GB)

Santos has made 84.5% of his career kicks and has been over 86.7% during each of his three seasons in Chicago. He also made four kicks of 50-plus yards a year ago. Fox owns a career punting average of 49.0 yards and has reduced his touchback rate in each NFL season. Nixon led the NFL in kick return yardage last year and was named a first-team All-Pro. He might have a bit more responsibility as a corner this year but he should still be a major factor in the return game.