Media Day Notebook: Camion Patrick Ahead of Schedule And Other Notes
CHICAGO - Camion Patricks’s Hoosier debut has a potential date penciled in.
Just don’t get too attached to it in case it needs to be erased, head coach Kevin Wilson cautioned at the Big Ten's football media days in Chicago.
Wilson said Indiana is targeting its Oct. 1 Big Ten opener against Michigan State in Bloomington as Patrick’s return, should the junior running back remain on schedule after undergoing knee surgery last spring.
“It looks like we’ve got a chance to get him for hopefully a fair portion of the season,” Wilson said. “At the same time, though, every time you’ve missed that much (time), you’ve got to knock some rust off. So even though I thought his skillset was truly, truly high, every time a guy has missed time you don’t just come back day one that good.
“So it might be really until November until he’s back playing with confidence and his conditioning level and all that stuff. So we’ll see.”
Wilson doesn’t want to rush Patrick back too quickly at the risk of doing further damage to the 6-foot-2, 225-pound transfer from East Mississippi Community College. One of Wilson’s major concerns will be how stable Patrick’s knee is, especially with side-to-side movement.
Patrick spent last spring playing only running back so that he could learn the position after playing receiver at the junior college level, Wilson said. Indiana’s coaching staff still hasn’t ruled out the potential to play Patrick at receiver at times, allowing junior running back Devine Redding to stay on the field.
“We had (Patrick) play running back exclusively just to learn how to protect and handle the ball, run through tackles,” Wilson said. “He’s very, very gifted with the ball. You get outside and there’s maybe not as much contact but there’s a lot of break, in and out break. That’s where sometimes when you’re coming off a knee (it’s important) how stable it is.”
Regardless of where he ends up, Wilson only half-joked that he’d either be a receiver playing running back or a running back playing receiver. One way or another, Indiana’s staff wants Patrick on the field, and it could be coming a month into the season.
“We do have a lot of backs, though,” Wilson said. “We have a lot of receivers, and I think (Patrick) is the best of all of them.”
Wilson not ready to name starting quarerback
Wilson said he doesn't have a starting quarterback to name because nobody has won the job yet.
Wilson mentioned junior Zander Diamont, junior college transfer Richard Lagow and redshirt sophomore Danny Cameron all by name when asked about quarterbacks but said he's not leaning one way or another in fairness to everyone on the roster.
"I just don't think it's right to anoint someone until they've earned it," Wilson said. "You've got to earn the respect of the guys. It's not being coy. I've got some guys who have been in the program for three years busting their tail every day. One of them didn't even practice in the spring."
That one being Diamont, who spent the spring rehabbing a foot injury. Wilson said Diamont is finishing up "an awesome summer," before adding that Lagow's has been impressive as well.
Regardless of who gets named the starter, and Wilson said Indiana is going to need at least a week or two to have an idea of where they want to go, there's a possibility multiple end up being used.
"I don't want to drag it out," Wilson said. "Maybe we play a couple. I know we'll need more than one."
As for what he's looking for in his quarterback, Wilson kept things simple by saying he wants someone who can get the ball in the end zone. He'll work on his system to fit whoever they wind up choosing and go from there.
"It's the ability to manage the offense and distribute the ball," Wilson said. "And the ability to have the command presence to talk with confidence. Because the way he calls the play makes these guys feel good or not. So the ability to be a solid leader doing your job in a confident way and really taking care of the ball and getting us into the end zone."
Brandon Drayton won't be at Indiana
Three-star defensive back Brandon Drayton will not be joining Indiana this season because of an admission issue, Wilson said.
The Largo, Florida, prospect committed to Indiana back in September. IU safeties coach Noah Joseph described Drayton as "very similar" to sophomore safety Jonathan Crawford on National Signing Day.
"(We had an issue with admission where he's not going to be able to make it in," Wilson said of Drayton. "Everybody else, just an update on the team, I think everyone's good."
Two-star defensive end Allen Stallings isn't with the team yet because he is finishing up an academic conflict of his own, Wilson said, but he's expected to be with the team by camp.
Wilson pleased with overall health
Indiana escaped the summer relatively healthy, Wilson said, but a few players outside of Patrick are also dealing with nagging injuries.
Redshirt junior Isaac Griffith is still having lingering nerve issues in his knee. He'll have a procedure that will rule him out of the preseason and perhaps the whole season.
Freshman tight end Shaun Bonner, a two-star Georgia native, will be limited after having his knee scoped. Wilson said his situation might end up requiring a redshirt.
Wilson said the staff is going to be cautious with players like redshirt junior safety Chase Dutra and redshirt sophomore defensive back Zeke Walker, who are both coming off 2015 injuries.
"Everybody else is doing really, really well," Wilson said.
Indiana releases initial depth chart
Whether or not initial depth charts mean anything is debatable, but Indiana released its first one Tuesday.
Note:
- Sophomore Brandon Knight takes over at left tackle for the departed Jason Spriggs.
- Redshirt senior Ricky Jones and junior Simmie Cobbs are listed as the starting outside receivers again. Redshirt senior Mitchell Paige is once again listed as the starting slot receiver ahead of redshirt sophomore J-Shun Harris, who missed all of last season with an ACL tear.
- Paige is also listed as the holder because why not? He's also set to return punts again.
- Indiana listed three starting quarterbacks in Cameron, Diamont and Lagow.
- Redding is listed as the starting running back ahead of sophomore Mike Majette. Depending on when Patrick is healthy, that could be a busy trio of backs.
- Indiana's linebackers are deep, especially now that there are only two. Redshirt junior Marcus Oliver gets the nod over senior TJ Simmons. Junior Tegray Scales is the other starter, not surprisingly. Despite senior Clyde Newton being talked about being potentially used at running back, he's listed as Scales' backup at linebacker.
- Redshirt junior Ben Bach is the starting husky along with redshirt junior Jayme Thompson, a transfer from Iowa Western Community College.
- Andre Brown, a sophomore, is listed as the starting cornerback opposite redshirt junior Rashard Fant.
