Bison Bites: Dispatch #6
Data bites touching on: recent pass-blocking performances by incoming OLs, potential kick returners, and Jailin Walker named a "Freak" by The Athletic.
View previous Bison Bites dispatches here:
Mike Katic ranked in the 71st percentile of FBS OLs in pass-blocking efficiency, the best of current Indiana OLs.
Indiana’s offensive identity is expected to be mostly tied to its passing attack in 2024, meaning the offensive line, which graded 103rd in pass-blocking last season, is going to need to step up for Kurtis Rourke and a revamped philosophy. The below chart uses PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency – a metric calculated using an individual OL’s pass rush allowed, with increased weight on sacks allowed – to show where each incoming lineman ranked in the FBS during his most recent qualifying season.
There are several questions about this OL: Can Tyler Stephens claim and maintain the LG spot? Can Nick Kidwell not only return from his injury but move to the inside and translate to the Big Ten? Can Kidwell and Wedig, who have not played a season with 300+ pass-block snaps since Kidwell’s 2021 season, play an entire season’s workload on the right side? Will Indiana see improvement from Carter Smith at the most significant pass-blocking position? And can Mike Katic anchor this line at center with only 293 career snaps at center?
There is a ton of potential on the line, and Bob Bostad has shown that he can work with much less, but an effective offensive line is not necessarily guaranteed for 2024. The good news is that it doesn’t necessarily need to be guaranteed. James Madison’s OL ranked 122nd in line yards per rush in 2023, but this new IU offensive staff still recorded the 6th-best passing success rate in the nation.
Solomon Vanhorse graded 5th in FCS in kickoff returns during the 2021 season.
Curt Cignetti said the kick returning situation is between three players – Myles Price, Ke’Shawn Williams, and Solomon Vanhorse. Williams brings the most experience in total kicks returned (35), but it’s almost entirely on kickoffs, while Price brings experience as well (24) but almost entirely on punt returns. Vanhorse’s career has been plagued with injuries, but his 2021 season, which featured 15 kickoff returns, graded 5th in the FCS, according to PFF.
Price is a very effective punt returner. At Texas Tech in 2023, he returned 11 punts and ranked 5th of 113 FBS punt returners (8+ punt returns) in yards per attempt (16.5). Overall, he graded 55th in that same group. He’s been returning punts since 2021 and has one muffed kick on 53 punts fielded (fair catches and returns).
Williams is effective on kickoff returns, which he’s been doing since his freshman season in 2020, and last season, he averaged 24 yards per return, including the longest return of his career (44). He graded in the 58th percentile among FBS returners (8+ kickoff returns) in 2023 and, while he is reliable, he won’t blow the top off a kickoff team. He has 0 returning TDs in his career.
Vanhorse is the real wildcard. He was brought to Indiana for a reason – getting healthy and competing for a spot in the return game. Indiana announced Wednesday morning that he was named to the Comeback Player of the Year preseason watch list, and it’s because, when he’s healthy, he’s dangerous. While he was graded 5th in the FCS for returns in 2021, he also ranked 38th among FCS returners (10+ kickoff returns) in yards per attempt (28) and was one of 76 returners to take a kickoff to the endzone. He also returned his only two punts in Week 1 of last season before his most recent injury, so he will be competing for both phases.
Jailin Walker named to The Athletic’s Freaks List.
Before every season, Bruce Feldman (currently at The Athletic) releases a Freaks List – a list focusing on raw athleticism in college football – and new Indiana LB Jailin Walker was on the list this year. Feldman noted that Walker, at 6-foot-1, 220 pounds, can reach a max speed of 22.5 miles per hour and jump a vertical of 40 inches. His teammate at JMU and now Indiana, Aiden Fisher, had a quote about Walker in the story too.
I’ve been high on Walker after seeing how highly he was graded by PFF last season. He graded 3rd among FBS LBs (400+ snaps) in 2022 and 23rd in 2023. He’s a sideline-to-sideline LB, and while he saw a dip in his performance from 2022 to 2023, he’s proven to be effective in both coverage and rush defense. Paired with Fisher, the LB duo’s upside is high. Watch his recent press conference here (credit to The Daily Hoosier).