Jack Tuttle injury creates plenty of QB unknowns with a freshman and walk-on left for IU
Dustin Dopirak
The Herald-Times
BLOOMINGTON – The MRI conducted on Indiana quarterback Jack Tuttle's right foot "wasn't as bad as it could have been," according to IU football coach Tom Allen.
For now, that means Tuttle is in the same limbo status as fellow quarterback Michael Penix Jr., who has been out since separating the AC joint in his throwing shoulder in IU's Oct. 2 loss at Penn State. Allen said Tuttle is "week to week" and wouldn't say either way if he'd be available for the Hoosiers' noon game Saturday at Maryland. If he's out, the Hoosiers will find themselves deciding between freshman
Donaven McCulley and walk-on Grant Gremel and might find themselves playing both again as they did Saturday.
He was supposed to redshirt:Now, freshman Donaven McCulley may be last IU QB standing.
Tuttle was injured when he threw a touchdown pass — which turned out to be IU's only touchdown — in
a 54-7 loss against Ohio State on Saturday. He was hit by two Ohio State defensive tackles on the play, went to the locker room for treatment and evaluation and didn't come back until midway through the second quarter when the game had already spiraled out of control. He took two snaps at that point but did not return.
Allen said after the game an X-ray came back negative for bone fractures, but an MRI would be conducted to survey ligament damage.
"I would say what the MRI taught us or showed us was that it wasn't as bad as it could have been," Allen said at his news conference Monday. "I guess that was probably the first words I was given. I think with that — but definitely was enough to where it creates some unknowns for him to be able to know his status moving forward on a day-to-day basis. But hopefully be able to recover from that and as efficiently as possible."
And so it creates some unknowns for the entire IU offense and therefore the Hoosiers as a whole as they try to find some solid footing after a disastrous 2-5 start and an 0-4 Big Ten mark after they began the season ranked in the Top 25 for the first time since 1968.
Where does IU go from here?:'It was ugly. It was painful... it was just not good.'
The Hoosiers weren't particularly efficient on offense with Penix or Tuttle behind center this season. Among the 15 quarterbacks in the Big Ten who have enough pass attempts to qualify, they rank 14th and 15th respectively in both completion percentage and pass efficiency. They have thrown for a combined six touchdowns against 10 interceptions, including just one touchdown against seven interceptions in conference games as the Hoosiers have been outscored 132-28 in league play and scored a total of two touchdowns. It's been a disappointing lack of production at the position, considering Penix was second-team All-Big Ten last season and Tuttle was a four-star recruit out of high school.
But Saturday night's game showed the next men up after Penix and Tuttle were less prepared to take the reins. McCulley and Gremel combined to complete four of just 10 passes in the final three quarters Saturday as the Hoosiers amassed fewer total yards (53) in the time they ran the offense than the 75 Indiana gained with Tuttle at quarterback for the opening drive.
McCulley was listed as the backup behind Tuttle with Penix out, but Allen admitted he wasn't ready by Saturday night to command IU's entire offense against a top-five opponent.
The 6-5 former Lawrence North star is the highest-rated quarterback the Hoosiers have signed out of high school in the recruiting service era (since 2000), and the coaching staff has been thrilled for what they've seen from him so far. However, McCulley also played basketball at Lawrence North and opted not to skip his final season on the hardwood to arrive early for spring practice, so he has only been with the Hoosiers since the summer and has only gotten so much work.
"He was playing other sports, which is fine, that's part of his past and that's part of who he is and makes him as athletic as he is," Allen said, "but also created a situation where he did not have a lot of the rep base that maybe other guys may have. ... He's a talented athlete that hasn't played a lot of college football."
With redshirt freshman Dexter Williams out with an ACL tear suffered in spring practice, McCulley joined Penix and Tuttle as the only three healthy quarterbacks on scholarship when he arrived. The offensive coaching staff was thrilled with his performance in preseason camp and he earned the No. 3 spot on the depth chart. However, once the season began he was actually getting more work running the offenses of Indiana's opponents than he was running the Hoosiers'. Allen intended to redshirt McCulley, and were only considering how to use the four appearances he would be allowed by NCAA rules while still remaining redshirt-eligible.
"Donaven was getting minimal reps with us," offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan said, referring to the first- and second-team offenses in practice. "He was there for certain periods to make sure he was mentally sharp and he would still get an occasional rep or two. He was back and forth between being up with us and being on scout team just so he could continue to develop and play football."
That changed when Penix went down, and Allen said McCulley got all of the second-team reps in practice over the past three weeks. However, the Hoosiers were also trying to accelerate Tuttle's development with the first-team and mostly prepared McCulley to be proficient in a relatively simple package of plays, most of them option-style runs to take advantage of his speed. He ran the ball twice for eight yards against Michigan State in limited action, and the Hoosiers were hoping to bring him along slowly with the occasional cameo and the even more rare passing attempt.
But Tuttle's injury forced him to take on much more than coaches hoped he would have to. He completed just one of six passes Saturday, though it was a 30-yarder to senior Ty Fryfogle. He gained 33 yards on nine designed runs, but lost 24 on two sacks to finish with nine net yards on 11 carries.
"We went to the things he felt he was comfortable doing where he was at in his development," Allen said. "To me, you've got to be able to execute those. And we didn't execute those at the highest level possible, in my opinion. Obviously, the results speak for themselves. But, you know, obviously it's a challenging situation for us to be in at this point in that room. And we have those guys that are there, and they've got to be ready to play."
So this week, Allen said, that means McCulley will get every first-team rep that Tuttle can't take. They'll evaluate Tuttle's availability as it goes, but they'll spend the rest of the time preparing McCulley to be the starter.
"Donaven needs to get as many reps as possible," Allen said. "So you have to have that mindset, he's going to be the guy, and then we'll see what happens."
However, Gremel still has to be part of the plans to make sure there's another option if McCulley isn't prepared to run the whole system. Gremel's only game action prior to Saturday's game were some garbage-time reps in the Hoosiers' win over Idaho on Sept. 11, but the redshirt sophomore from Noblesville has had a lot more time with the playbook than McCulley has.
"Grant's been here a long time," Sheridan said. "He understands our system, the communication both in the run and in the pass. Certainly, Donaven hasn't been here as long. You balance that. That's the challenge. It's getting everybody that's available ready to play."
Follow Herald-Times IU Insider Dustin Dopirak on Twitter at @DustinDopirak or email him at DDopirak@gannett.com.
