The good news: Seven Hoosiers made the all-Frosh team in the Big-Ten for football.
The bad news: Seven Hoosiers made the all-Frosh team in the Big-Ten for football.
The honors, as determined by Sporting News, are a mixed blessing. The seven selections — Iowa had the next-most selections with three — included five redshirt freshmen (quarterback Kellen Lewis, wide receiver Nick Polk, defensive end Jammie Kirlew, back Josh Bailey and safety Austin Thomas) and two true freshmen (offensive tackle Rodger Saffold and linebacker Will Patterson). All deserving, of course, but odds were good IU would have strong representation. Almost half of the football Hoosiers (49 of 105 players on the roster) are freshmen, thirteen of whom started games during the 2006 season.
All that reliance on young talent means one of two things. Either the future is bright as these players continue to develop and lead Indiana for the next three seasons, or the lack of veteran talent artificially inflated the numbers of our honored frosh, who wouldn’t have had the same opportunities on a Michigan or Ohio State roster. Probably both are true.
While the end of the season was a huge disappointment, reminsicent of Antwaan Randle-El’s best season in Bloomington, because the team didn’t manage a bowl bid, the team is clearly improving and energized. I look forward to another strong incoming class and the continued development of this bunch of freshman.
