Who is at QB for IU football? That and 4 other takeaways from a busy spring

BLOOMINGTON – IU football’s spring season now finished, coach Tom Allen turns his attention toward an important summer.

The Hoosiers will have a busy June, an equally important July and a busy August, as they build on the past two months to prepare for the 2023 season.

As Allen and staff dissect spring, what questions will they face? What have we learned from spring practice, and what’s left to be resolved? Here are five storylines that follow Indiana into the summer.

Quarterback battle goes on

It never appeared likely the Hoosiers would name a starting quarterback in spring, and so it was. Allen made it clear after Saturday’s spring finale he would be forthright with each of his QBs about where they stand heading into the summer, but there will be no public pronouncement of a frontrunner, much less a starter.

Open portions of practices saw redshirt freshmen Brendan Sorsby and Tayven Jackson, a midyear transfer from Tennessee, split time between IU’s Nos. 1 and 2 offenses. True freshman and January enrollee Broc Lowry saw some action up the depth chart, but it’s fair to characterize Sorsby and Jackson as the likeliest candidates for the top job as of now.

Separation never seemed practical in this small of a window. Sorsby got a taste last fall but just finished his first collegiate spring camp, while Jackson only got to campus 3 ½ months ago. Both had good moments and bad in what we were able to observe, and player-led summer workouts will be crucial to furthering their development.

Eventually, Indiana will have to pick one. But that was never likely to happen now.

More: Tayven Jackson is trying to build his own legacy with IU.

Havoc returning?

Allen’s defenses have struggled across the past two seasons to create the game-changing turnovers, sacks, quarterback hurries, etc., that so defined his successful 2016, '19 and '20 units. The Hoosiers have been among the Big Ten’s worst teams since the start of 2021 in havoc rate, a measure of such plays, after being solidly around the top of the conference the previous two seasons.

Enter a handful of transfers — chiefly among them Andre Carter, Lanell Carr and Jacob Mangum-Farrar — all of whom should compete for serious snaps and each of whom has the capacity to cause some trouble.

Carter (Western Michigan) and Carr (Texas Tech) could give Allen the sort of individual pass rush IU hasn’t really had since Zack Shaw and Nick Mangieri exhausted their eligibility. At minimum, with experience at linebacker and a rebuilt secondary, new defensive play-caller Matt Guerrieri should have of the necessary tools to get havoc back in Indiana’s defensive identity. It looked like it in spring.

Ballers in the backfield

It’s hardly a surprise to find strength in the Hoosiers’ running back room. Allen and offensive coordinator Walt Bell might have found some versatility there, too.

Returners Josh Henderson and Jaylin Lucas — one of the Big Ten’s most-explosive players — were joined this offseason by Wake Forest transfer Christian Turner (1,022 rushing yards, 12 rushing touchdowns). A minor injury limited Turner through spring, but redshirt sophomore David Holloman flashed in the snaps he gained because of Turner’s absence.

And Bell started mixing in some two-back and mixed-use packages designed to use quarterback athleticism and a deep well of ball carriers more often. They’re a reminder the air raid can be a run-centric offense too, if it’s designed right, and both Bell and Allen remain adamant of the importance of a healthy ground game.

They might just have one in 2023.

Receivers grow up fast

Cam Camper’s recovery from a torn ACL handed extra spring reps to E.J. Williams and Donaven McCulley, while an open competition in the slot waged between Kamryn Perry and Omar Cooper.

It was all a reminder IU might have more recruiting pedigree and raw skill in its receiver room than it has in some years, but also that those qualities only take a team so far.

Williams was named one of the Hoosiers’ most-improved players after spring camp finished. McCulley flashed time and again, after talking about redoubling his focus during an offseason in which his coach assured him the converted Lawrence North quarterback still only had scant sense of how good he might be.

Perry made plays. So did Cooper, as well as a handful of others, and all that was without both the injured Camper and Fordham transfer Dequece Carter, who has more than 3,000 career receiving yards at the FCS level.

There’s obvious talent among the Hoosiers’ pass catchers. They also need to grow up fast. It will be as important of a summer for them as for their quarterbacks.

Sharpening up this summer

Allen talked up the value of player-led workouts and June OTAs after the scrimmage wrapped Saturday, just minutes after he reminded the fans who turned out that the Hoosiers will need their support from the jump this season.

That’s because Indiana opens with Ohio State at home, for the second time in Allen’s tenure. The Hoosiers also face Louisville in Indianapolis and travel to Maryland and Michigan within their first six games.

Point is, IU needs to begin the season at full sprint, if it’s going to build postseason momentum. That schedule (potentially) lightens up over its second half, but the first 6-7 weeks will be a gauntlet, and Indiana’s navigation of it will determine the course of its season.

There can be no wasted words or effort. The Hoosiers needed a good spring, and they need a good summer, because they’re in for a tough fall.

Follow IndyStar reporter Zach Osterman on Twitter: @ZachOsterman.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana Hoosiers football: 5 takeaways from IU spring football