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 El's our man Despite top QB, Hoosiers take good look at freshman
Posted: Monday April 12, 1999 02:41 PM
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) -- Antwaan Randle El, the Big Ten freshman of the year last season, isn't likely to lose his job as Indiana quarterback, although it's not inconceivable he might line up as a wide receiver or slotback in some situations, coach Cam Cameron says. The Hoosiers gave redshirt freshman Tommy Jones a good look at quarterback during a 140-play scrimmage last week, and they liked what they saw. "Early in the scrimmage, especially, I thought Tommy really did some good things. And he's had a good spring so far," Cameron said. "He still has a lot of room for improvement, but he's not bad." The Hoosiers will practice four days this week before the annual Red-White spring game Saturday night in Billl Armstrong Stadium. "I'm not willing to say right now that they [Randle El and Jones] are both going to be out there at the same time," Cameron said. "But the 11 best players on offense are going to play. And if those two guys are in the top 11, and even weighing the possible injury situation, we have to go with the 11 best guys. We can't afford for one of those guys sitting on the sidelines." No official statistics were kept for the scrimmage last Friday, and the unofficial totals did not include yardage from staged goal-line situations. However, on plays that were recorded, Randle El was 18-for-31 passing for 233 yards, and he ran 16 times for another 81 yards. Jones was 13-for-23 for 86 yards, and Earl Haniford was 5-for-10 for 52 yards. "It wasn't a typical scrimmage in that it was strictly situational," Cameron said. "It was first-and-10 every play in that first sequence, for example, so you're always bringing the ball back and you're never really moving it down the field. But, I'll tell you what, our first-team defense looked better. That's the best they've played. "Offensively, we have a long way to go. I don't care how you look at it -- a situational scrimmage or not -- we have a lot of work to do offensively." Cameron said position changes have improved the linebacking corps, with Joslin Goodman moved to the weak side, Devin Schaffer to middle linebacker and Justin Smith to the strongside. "A guy who kind of caught my eye was [sophomore safety] Brandon Rodgers," Cameron added. "He made some plays that I thought were good. [Sophomore cornerback] Maurice Tucker is starting to show up out there, too, which is good to see. That defensive unit is getting better."
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