Richard Lagow, Danny Cameron battling for IU quarterback position
Zach Osterman
zach.osterman@indystar.com
BLOOMINGTON — Indiana's search for a starting quarterback won't end with spring practice, but the last three weeks have started paring down the field.
IU coach Kevin Wilson said Tuesday that junior college transfer Richard Lagow and redshirt sophomore-to-be Danny Cameron are splitting reps with the Hoosiers' first and second units. Zander Diamont, who will be a junior and is Indiana's most-experienced returning quarterback, is sitting out spring practice due to injury.
"Did a little bit more today with Danny and Richard Lagow getting the bulk of the work," Wilson said. "I like Donavan (Hale) and Austin (King), but as young guys, I'm just not sure they're putting the time in they need to."
There is no topic more salient to the success of Indiana's offseason than replacing Sudfeld, the program's all-time leading passer.
A four-year player who held the No. 1 quarterback job, when healthy, for each of the last two seasons, Sudfeld provided a security blanket for an offense developing youth at several skill positions.
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With a strong core returning around a yet-to-be-determined signal caller, including all three starting wide receivers and a 1,000-yard rusher, the Hoosiers now need that veteran leadership to come back in the opposite direction.
"We have the experience from the previous year of how a great offense looks," said Simmie Cobbs Jr., IU's leading receiver, with 1,035 yards last season. "We know if something's not right, we have to tell the quarterbacks, because without us communicating with them, they're not really learning."
Thus, grooming a new quarterback, whether it be Diamont, Lagow, Cameron or someone else, has become a community project.
Those experienced skill players, offensive coordinator Kevin Johns said, haven't been shy about leading vocally. Wilson said Indiana's defense has improved enough to give its quarterbacks a variety of obstacles to overcome. And IU's staff has cranked up their workload as much as is prudent.
"We just feel like they need lots of throws," Johns said. "They need defensive linemen in their face. They need to feel blitzes. We're trying to create as many of those situations as we can."
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Lagow, a midyear enrollee, might be the most intriguing player in the mix, having transferred in from Cisco College in Texas. Over two seasons at the community college, the 6-6 redshirt junior-to-be threw for more than 4,500 yards, and 38 touchdowns.
Both Johns and Wilson talked positively about IU's newest quarterback, but cautioned against rushing him to the front of the line.
"There's just a demeanor, there's a look in your eye, a confidence, just a quiet swag that we need to see from him," Johns said. "Right now, he's still thinking when he's on the field. We're trying to be smart with our installation and not dump a million plays (from) our playbook, into the offense, this spring."
The search for Sudfeld's replacement likely won't end with IU's spring game on April 15.
Diamont is expected to be ready for summer workouts and fall practice, and Indiana reportedly hosted Pitt transfer Chad Voytik on a visit recently, though Wilson said the Hoosiers did not offer him a scholarship.
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Wilson likes to keep his options open when it comes to his most important position, unless or until a player makes himself impossible to ignore. Right now, Indiana's coach is looking for depth, as much as he is separation.
"Nate got sacked the fewest in the conference this year," he said. "At the same time, he didn't make it through the year (without getting injured).
"To me, we need more than one. Even though we need a starter, we need two that we can win with, if not three."
Follow IndyStar reporter Zach Osterman on Twitter: @ZachOsterman.