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B1G 2015 // Hoosier Personnel Files

Three(-ish) names to watch when Indiana's on offense

Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports

Since Indiana is much more well known for having a successful offense, let's take a look at three players you will want to keep an eye on when the Hoosiers have the ball in 2015.

Nate Sudfeld, QB, Senior

Injured midway through last season, Sudfeld is expected to reclaim his starting spot for his senior year at Indiana. Sudfeld has been on the field for Indiana all four seasons with the program, and is looking to rewrite the Hoosiers' record book with a good 2015 campaign. Sudfeld is currently 3,166 yards behind IU's current all-time passing leader Antwaan Randle-El, and if he can break that mark, he will also have a chance at IU's single season passing lead as well, currently held by Ben Chappell at 3,295 yards. Had he not been injured last year, it is quite probable Sudfeld would already hold the Indiana lead for career passing touchdowns; as it is, he stands 14 behind Kellen Lewis heading into 2015. Nate also sits in the top 10 for total offense in Hoosier history, but even a tremendous season will likely see him move no higher than second, as he trails Randle-El in this category by nearly 7,000 total yards. Kellen Lewis, who trails Randle-El by nearly 3,300 yards, is a much more likely target in second place. Finally, Sudfeld could also make a run at second in career total touchdowns, but would need to shatter the current single season touchdown record to have any kind of chance at catching Antwaan Randle-El's mark of 86 (Sudfeld currently has 37 total touchdowns; the IU single season record is held by Kellen Lewis at 37).

Jordan Howard, RB, Junior

The UAB transfer is the expected starter at Tevin Coleman's old position, though expecting another season just like Tevin's 2014 is pretty unreasonable. First off, Howard will be in his first season at IU, and probably won't have made the adjustment from UAB's playbook to the Hoosiers playbook immediately, so he might need time to figure it all out on the field. Second, with a quarterback more likely to pass the ball available again, Howard shouldn't get nearly the amount of carries that Coleman got in 2014, especially if sophomore Devine Redding plays a bigger part in the offense than he did in 2014 as the third back on the depth chart. Finally, it's quite possible that Redding actually beings the year as the starter, for familiarity reasons if nothing else, which would limit Howard's early opportunities. However, Howard probably didn't transfer from UAB just to sit on the bench, so he should still make his presence felt early and often this year.

Marqui Hawkins/J-Shun Harris/Simmie Cobbs, Jr./Dominique Booth, WR

It's unclear at this time which one of these receivers will be #1 in 2015, but the four of them will probably see the most game action among the 14(!) wide receivers currently on Indiana's roster. Hawkins has yet to take a snap in a college game, having seen no action at Florida his freshman year and not being eligible to play last year due to transferring to UAB. Harris saw the field most in 2014 as a returner for IU, but did get some time on offense, so he'll likely be pulling double duty again this season. Cobbs saw action in every game in 2014, but didn't make a strong impact, so he will likely look to be more forceful on the gridion in 2015. Finally, Booth, the highly touted 2014 recruit, started the half of the season in which Indiana had very little passing game, so he too will be looking to break out in 2015 with Nate Sudfeld back under center.

B1G 2015

MONDAY | Cocktail Party Preview

TUESDAY | Personnel Files (you are here)

WEDNESDAY | Indiana Potluck

THURSDAY | Wildcard

FRIDAY | Hate or Get Real