News & Views: My take on a handful of IU topics

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The weekly News & Views piece is meant to be something like a bar-side chat, where a couple of guys — or girls — banter about a couple of topics of the day over a cold grown-up beverage or two. It’s always meant to be fun as we talk about all things Hoosiers, football and basketball alike.

It’s also meant to be interactive, so please weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section and I’ll banter back and forth with you, too.

Here’s our three quick-hitters for the day:

Issues with IU’s tackling problems

NEWS: In the season opener against Ball State, IU coach Tom Allen was disgusted with his team’s tackling and said on film that the coaches counted 25 missed tackles that led to another 181 yards for the Cardinals. That’s 45 percent of their total offense production on the day, which is ridiculous. A cause for concern going forward?

VIEWS: Not in my opinion. Look, since Allen got here, this defense has improved dramatically and tackling well is something they usually hang their hat on. “That’s not who we are,’’ Allen said. And he’s right.

Look, all across the college football landscape, tackling was an issue for a lot of teams. The first true game of the season two weekends ago with Miami and Florida, two teams with great defenses, was littered with bad tackling. A lot of that has to do with teams placing a priority on staying healthy in fall camp and not doing enough live tackling to prepare for the season. A perfect example is Indiana linebacker Reakwon Jones, who had a great game and led the team with 11 but, in his words, ‘’left a few out there.’’

That’s the benefit of actually getting to play a game because, as Allen said, “it was our first three-hour tackling drill since last November.’’ He’s exactly right. Teams always make dramatic improvement from Week 1 to Week 2, and I’m confident we’ll see a lot of this cleaned up on Saturday against Eastern Illinois.

Indiana basketball gets another 4-star recruit

NEWS: Indiana got a verbal commitment from long 6-foot-6 wingman Jordan Geronimo, the second 4-star recruit (Anthony Leal of Bloomington South was the first) and third overall (Trey Galloway, a 3-star). With Geronimo’s commitment, IU shot up to No. 4 in the national team rankings in the 247Sports composite.

VIEWS: Indiana fans blew up on social media all day Tuesday after the announcement came down. There’s a lot to be excited about, to be sure, because Geronimo had a huge summer with his Massachusetts-based AAU team and made a meteoric rise up the individual rankings. Because of his 7-foot wingspan and off-the-charts athleticism, many fans were already comparing him to Victor Oladipo and expecting great things from him in Bloomington

I have three words for all that bravado. Slow. Your. Roll.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of potential there, But this is a young, skinny kid without a lengthy basketball pedigree. Yes, he’s a crazy athlete, but he still has a ton of basketball to learn and a body to fill out. He’s not even 200 pounds. For this kid, we’re going to need to give him some time. Heck, in a perfect world, he redshirts a season and adds 25 pounds before he plays, but that’s wishful thinking. We don’t live in that perfect world anymore.

And let’s not get too excited about this No. 4 national ranking. Sure, IU has gotten two top-100 commitments, but Geronimo is No. 98 and Leal is No. 100. Think about that. They need to add a couple more pieces for this class to be a whopping success — 5-star point guard Caleb Love and 6-foot-11 4-star power forward Dawson Garcia top my wish list — and then I’ll feel really good about this team contending in the Big Ten again. Until then, let’s be patient and see how it all plays out. That No. 4 ranking won’t last long with just these three, not with just 13 of the top 50 already committed. That’s only a quarter of this class committed so far.

Indiana QB Michael Penix Jr. gets honored for debut

NEWS: Redshirt freshman quarterback Michael Penix Jr. threw for 326 yards in his first game as a starter, becoming only the second freshman to do so in a debut (Antwaan Randle-El in 1998 was the other).

VIEWS: There’s going to be a whole lot more of those to come. Let’s get one thing straight. Penix is the real deal at quarterback. He’s got a rocket for an arm and a full and complete understanding of the playbook. And he’s going to throw for more than 300 yards on several occasions this season.

He handled his first start like an experienced veteran, even shaking off two early interceptions, one that was his fault, the other on the receiver. There was no head-hanging, no curling back into any shells. This “1-0 mindset’’ that gets stressed every day about winning the next play is firmly entrenched in his psyche. He was moving on and making plays.

“He was calm, cool and collected the whole game, and that’s the way you want your quarterback to be,’’ Indiana wide receiver Whop Philyor said of Penix, his fellow Tampa native. “We all had to get our feet wet with Mike, since it was his first start. But Mike catches on to everything quick, and every week he’s just going to get better and better.’’

Philyor has an enormous of respect for Penix, two Tampa guys who spend a lot of time together now in Bloomington. He thinks he’s going to be a star.

“That’s my brother for life,’’ said Philyor, who had six catches for 66 yards in the win against Ball State, plus a 22-yard run on a jet sweep. “I’m glad I got to talk him into being here and being our quarterback. He’s from Tampa, Florida, and we’re built different. I knew he was going to do his thing from his first game. Florida football, you always get a great atmosphere. You’re used to it, that’s why we’re all cool, calm and collected.’’

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