2023 IUFB Preview: Offensive Coordinators
What might IU's offense look like in 2023? We must look at the co-offensive coordinators to predict.
Indiana’s offense was certainly below expectations, which were already admittedly low, last season, but there’s been a reset of sorts, given the departures and arrivals via the transfer portal between 2022 and 2023, that leaves a share of mystery regarding who Indiana Football is now.
Because of the influx of new faces, the best clues we have in August aren’t even necessarily tied to who is on the roster currently, but rather what the current offensive minds on staff have done in recent history. So I explored that.
Indiana added former Utah State offensive coordinator Anthony Tucker not only as wide receivers coach but also as co-offensive coordinator, which seemed strange until we see how tied Tucker and current offensive coordinator Walt Bell are. The two intersected at — you guessed it — Arkansas State in 2014, where Bell was associate head coach, offensive coordinator, and quarterbacks coach and Tucker had just transitioned from wide receivers coach to running backs coach under Blake Anderson. DJ Durkin brought both Bell (offensive coordinator and QBs coach) and Tucker (RBs coach) onto his staff for the 2016-17 seasons until Tucker went to coach UCF running backs and Bell went to Florida State as the offensive coordinator and QBs coach. Tucker would join Anderson again when Anderson needed an offensive coordinator at Utah State in 2021. Now Tucker has moved on to join Bell in Bloomington.
So what does that mean for Indiana’s offense?
Anthony Tucker
Anthony Tucker, a former NFL wide receiver and Indiana’s new wide receivers coach and co-offensive coordinator, has not been a wide receivers coach since 2013 at Arkansas State. He transitioned from WRs to running backs between seasons at Arkansas State and worked his way up the ranks as a RBs coach from there (from ASU to Maryland to UCF). He juggled titles such as “Passing Game Coordinator & RBs coach” in 2019 at UCF, “Co-Offensive Coordinator & RBs coach” in 2020 at UCF, and (lastly) “Offensive Coordinator & QBs coach” the last two seasons at Utah State.
His previous five seasons, spent at UCF and Utah State, are what define Tucker’s career to this point, as he coordinated some of the best offensive seasons in the respective programs’ histories. Last season, though, was his least successful of those seasons and leaves Tucker with a bit to prove at Indiana. That on top of his coaching beneath two offensive-minded head coaches leaves questions as well.
It’s unclear exactly how the minds on the IU staff will meld, but Tucker can make contributions in the following ways:
Doing a lot with only a little at OL
Working with gadget players like Jaylin Lucas
Aiding in inexperienced QBs at IU
Maximizing WRs on the roster
Doing a lot with only a little at OL
Tucker’s time at UCF is what truly follows him to Indiana for any optimist. After coaching Ty Johnson (a current New York Jet) at Maryland in 2016-17, he became the running backs coach at UCF in 2018, where he proceeded to coach the RB room to PFF grades of 19th, 10th, and 17th in the nation (UCF RBs recorded higher grades than Tony Pollard, Kenneth Gainwell, Darrell Henderson, Tyjae Spears, and more). He did this with offensive lines ranked 50th, 58th, and 103rd in the nation in run-blocking.
The 2021 Utah State offense might be Tucker’s crowning achievement at this point in his career (more on that later). That Utah State offense ranked 19th in the country in yards per game, 10th in passing yards per game, and 67th in rushing yards per game with an offensive line that graded 86th in pass-blocking and 118th in run-blocking.
Gadget players (like Jaylin Lucas)
His work with Otis Anderson – who has since passed – stands out for what is needed at Indiana. Anderson, at 5-11, 175 pounds, had a comparable frame and skillset to Jaylin Lucas (5-9, 170 pounds), and Tucker worked with him directly in that RB room for three years, peaking in 2019 when Anderson led the team with 726 rushing yards (6.4 yards per carry) and was third among all AAC RBs with 38 targets. Watch a short highlight reel here.
Tucker won’t be coaching RBs at Indiana, though. So another example of a gadget player in his systems is WR Deven Thompkins, at 5-8, 155 pounds, for Utah State. He exploded onto the scene in 2021 when Tucker arrived, catching 102 passes for 1,704 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also led the Mountain West, head and shoulders, in yards per route run (10th nationally) and targets (3rd nationally), and he was second in PFF’s receiving grade. Keep this in mind when discussing Dequece Carter later, and watch some highlights here.
Between these two players, Jaylin Lucas is likely a mix – less receiving skill than Thompkins, more speed than Anderson – but what they all have in common is that scheme severely helped their production. If Tucker is working deeply in the concepts of the 2023 IU offense, he’s likely helping shape this role for Lucas.
Aiding with inexperienced QBs
Since becoming a coordinator at UCF in 2019, the offenses he’s called have recorded some of the best seasons in their respective programs’ histories. At UCF, Dillon Gabriel recorded the 4th-best passing season in program history (3,653 yards, 29 TDs) as a freshman when Tucker became the passing-game coordinator, and when Tucker became the offensive coordinator in 2020, Gabriel recorded the 6th-best passing season in UCF history (3,570 yards, 32 TDs). Once Tucker left, Gabriel transferred and played at Oklahoma, but he remains the 5th-most productive QB in program history, right above Blake Bortles.
It must also be noted that Josh Heupel, the current head coach at Tennessee – where Tayven Jackson transferred from – was the head coach at UCF and hired Tucker onto the staff in 2018 and promoted him from within. A distant connection between Tucker and Jackson but one nonetheless.
At Utah State, Logan Bonner had an exceptional season in 2021 as a redshirt senior with only one season as Arkansas State’s starting QB behind him. He surpassed Jordan Love (current Green Bay Packer) for the most productive season in program history (3,628 yards, 36 TDs). For reference, the closest an IU QB has gotten to that 36-touchdown number this century was Kellen Lewis, with 28 in 2007, and Nate Sudfeld and Tre Roberson combined for 36 in 2013.
In 2022, nearly all of Utah State’s receiving production left the program and Bonner went down with a foot injury that capped a rough 1-4 start to USU’s season, and redshirt sophomore Cooper Legas took over. Legas did not have a great season, committing the third-most turnover-worthy plays among MWC QBs though still completing 61% of his passes. Even before Legas stepped in, Bonner had struggled mightily, with a 6-to-8 touchdown-to-interception ratio and a dismal outing against Weber State. Tucker needed to glue together a system that still helped Utah State to a bowl appearance last year.
Maximizing Wide Receivers on the Roster
So what is the least Tucker could do in Bloomington? Maximize the wide receivers on the roster. There is increased talent in the WR room than there was a year ago, with the additions of Dequece Carter and EJ Williams and the presumed development of Omar Cooper and Jaquez Smith. I haven’t even mentioned Cam Camper yet.
While he was an NFL wide receiver himself, he only has three seasons of WR coaching experience (from 2011-2013 at Idaho State and Arkansas State), but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t maximized receivers in his other roles.
I already made the connection between Carter – a deep-ball connoisseur – and Deven Thompkins already. Tucker could certainly aid in scheming Carter open, and that’s a dangerous proposition. Tucker also coordinated Gabe Davis (current Buffalo Bill) at UCF, where he caught 72 passes for 1,241 yards and 12 touchdowns as a junior before declaring for the NFL Draft. Indiana doesn’t exactly have a WR comparable to Davis’ skillset or frame (6-2, 210 pounds), but the closest one is Williams, at 6-3, 200 pounds and able to make these types of catches.
Another positive sign is during the disappointing 2022 season, Utah State had lost nearly all of its receiving production between seasons, but two transfer receivers – Terrell Vaughn and Brian Cobbs – were able to step into Tucker’s system and total 132 receptions, 1,547 yards, and 10 touchdowns as essentially USU’s only two receiving targets.
Walt Bell
Current offensive coordinator and QBs coach Walt Bell is a familiar commodity in Bloomington, as he led the offense during its 4-8 season in 2022. He (and most others) hopes to improve upon what was a strange offensive showing that saw the Indiana offense rank near the bottom of most analytical listings. For PFF, which combines individual performances into one Offensive Grade, IU ranked 127th out of 131 in PFF’s Offensive Grade.
After the win vs. Illinois, it seemed like death by a thousand cuts – from Connor Bazelak playing for a coach that specializes in RPOs and running QBs, to the shedding of Darren Hiller as OL coach, to Dexter Williams’ rise and fall to injury, to a lack of any true identity – until Indiana showed some life against Michigan State near the end. It was a less-than-desired first season in Bloomington for Walt Bell, one plagued by powers out of his control but also one leaving several unknowns regarding his capabilities in the position.
What could this season look like for Bell, reunited with an old colleague in Tucker and presented with a new OL coach, new QBs, and several new talents through the transfer portal? Let’s revisit what’s gotten him to Indiana to help determine that.
Note: Out of respect for your time (not mine because I delved into the data), I did not include much about Bell’s three years as head coach at UMass due to institutional unseriousness and nearly nothing to glean from two 1-11 seasons and an 0-4 season cut short by the pandemic.
QBs who can run
Most Indiana fans know that this is part of the conversation with Walt Bell – QBs who can run the ball. Dexter Williams displayed a semblance of this near the end of last season and finished with one of the best PFF rushing grades among all qualifying Big Ten QBs. In fact, in Indiana’s win against Michigan State, Williams threw the ball 7 times and ran the ball 16 times for 86 yards. When comparing Bazelak and Williams last season, Williams (46% of dropbacks - second-most in the conference) spent far more time in play action than Bazelak (29%), which makes sense, but can add a dynamic to an offense.
Looking back on Bell’s time at UMass, one thing that can be gleaned is that when Bell needed a spark on offense (he started as many as four QBs in a season), the ones who provided that spark posted decent rushing grades.
In 2014 at Arkansas State, Fredi Knighten led an Arkansas State team that finished 7-6 and scored 37 points per game (top-20 in the country). Knighten led that team in rushing yards, with 776, and was second with 11 rushing touchdowns, thanks to Bell’s RPO-like system. This rushing success didn’t carry over into 2015 as much, even though Arkansas State went 9-3, but it still existed. Knighten finished with 400 yards and 5 touchdowns during a year cut short for him. Even so, the QB rushing strategy wasn’t as successful as it had been the previous year.
This was also part of Bell’s concept at Maryland, when he refused to run a two-quarterback system with Perry Hills and Tyrell Pigrome (the athletic dual-threat freshman) — “Walt Bell is a firm believer in the philosophy that if you have two quarterbacks, you have zero quarterbacks,” The Washington Post wrote in 2016 — but gave Pigrome plenty of rushing opportunities when he entered the game. He carried the ball 62 times as the backup QB in 2016, and Hills and Pigrome combined to be used on 23% of Maryland’s rushing plays that year. Bell also recruited Kasim Hill, then a top-300 prospect and a dual-threat QB, to Maryland.
While Florida State is a bit of a blemish on Bell’s resume, Deondre Francois recorded the 33rd-best PFF rushing grade among QBs with at least 200 dropbacks in 2018, placing him above Daniel Jones at Duke and below Trace McSorley at Penn State.
Explosive plays
Throughout Walt Bell’s career, this is something he’s preached: winning explosive plays. Indiana ranked 66th in plays of 40-plus yards in 2022, with 12. But that hasn’t always been the case for a Walt Bell offense.
Dating back to 2014, Arkansas State ranked 5th in the country in plays of 40-plus yards, followed by 35th in 2015. At Maryland in 2016, the Terps ranked 24th (up from 37th the year before), followed by 49th in 2017.
Florida State, a dark spot in Bell’s resume, ranked 83rd in this category in 2018.
This is encouraging in a number of respects – with Jaylin Lucas’ role now that he’s not a true freshman, with the wide receivers’ roles, with Bell’s collaboration with Anthony Tucker, and with the prospect of an improved offensive line under Bob Bostad.
Poor OL play
Indiana fans saw how Walt Bell reacts to a poor offensive line in 2022. That’s part of what has led to his experimentation throughout his career. This is something that he’s walked into since leaving Arkansas State after the 2015 season. He’s had poor offensive lines everywhere he’s gone.
This is where Florida State in 2018 comes in. That OL was graded dead last (130th) in pass-blocking and 124th in run-blocking. While all offenses are interconnected between positions and accountability says it was his offense and his scheme, the FSU OL had been on the decline before that too, placing outside the top-70 in both categories the season before.
At Maryland, the Terps had a No. 45 run-blocking offensive line in 2016, and they ran well. That same line was graded 85th in pass-blocking. The next year, there was little improvement – 63rd in pass-blocking, 103rd in run-blocking. They went 4-8.
This sounds like an excuse, but it’s leading to a point about a young coordinator. We’re going to see who Walt Bell is in 2023. He doesn’t have the best offensive line, but he has a full offseason of Bob Bostad. He also had the chance to go get players who fit his idea of what Indiana could be on offense – whatever system that is – with the understanding of this OL’s condition. While Bell has had opportunities at Maryland and Florida State and a head coaching job at UMass, we still know little about him because of circumstances he’s walked into. But there are no excuses in Bloomington in 2023.