Indiana quarterback Kellen Lewis, who was second-team All-Big Ten in 2007 before struggling with injuries and inconsistency in '08, is now Indiana receiver Kellen Lewis.
With over 1,600 career rushing yards and 48 touchdown passes, Lewis seems like the playmaking QB a bad Indiana team desperately needs. There's apparently some belief that he can take over for last year's leading receiver, Ray Fisher, who has since moved to cornerback (hooray for stability). The problem with that assumption is that while Lewis is an outstanding athlete, he hasn't played receiver since his sophomore year of high school -- and with the dearth of talent around him, it's not like he'll be going up against other teams' second or third corners.
Replacing Lewis at QB will be Ben Chappell, who obviously forced the position switch with spectacular results in his redshirt freshman and sophomore seasons: 52% completion percentage, four touchdowns, four interceptions and a 1-5 record in games in which he attempted more than 10 passes (a 21-19 win over Northwestern last year).
To his credit, Lewis has been willing to do his part to help the team win:
I hate to criticize Hoosiers coach Bill Lynch, who took over in unbelievably difficult circumstances after the death of Terry Hoeppner just before the 2007 season, but coaching moves like this are what make Indiana ... well, Indiana.
With over 1,600 career rushing yards and 48 touchdown passes, Lewis seems like the playmaking QB a bad Indiana team desperately needs. There's apparently some belief that he can take over for last year's leading receiver, Ray Fisher, who has since moved to cornerback (hooray for stability). The problem with that assumption is that while Lewis is an outstanding athlete, he hasn't played receiver since his sophomore year of high school -- and with the dearth of talent around him, it's not like he'll be going up against other teams' second or third corners.
Replacing Lewis at QB will be Ben Chappell, who obviously forced the position switch with spectacular results in his redshirt freshman and sophomore seasons: 52% completion percentage, four touchdowns, four interceptions and a 1-5 record in games in which he attempted more than 10 passes (a 21-19 win over Northwestern last year).
To his credit, Lewis has been willing to do his part to help the team win:
"When you go 3-9, you've got to change something."But that "something" doesn't usually involve moving your star QB to receiver and moving your top receiver to the defensive backfield.
I hate to criticize Hoosiers coach Bill Lynch, who took over in unbelievably difficult circumstances after the death of Terry Hoeppner just before the 2007 season, but coaching moves like this are what make Indiana ... well, Indiana.
No comments:
Post a Comment