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August 29, 2010

Fouch vital in ISU football's desire for balance

Todd Golden The Tribune-Star

TERRE HAUTE — Asked whether he noticed that a good portion of Indiana State’s football fanbase was taking a wait-and-see approach as to how valuable he might be to the Sycamores’ offensive fortunes, Indiana State quarterback Ronnie Fouch just smiled wryly.

He knows.

He knows others have come before him and failed to give ISU’s offense the balance it desperately seeks. He knows the pressure is on him more than ever to get the Sycamores’ program moving in the right direction.

And perhaps more so than any of his predecessors, he knows if he fails to give ISU a passing game, the entire fate of the team might go down with him.

“I sense that a little bit. I’ve heard a lot about the past quarterbacks and I can tell people aren’t really sold on me yet,” Fouch said. “I’m not worried about it. It’s not my job to worry about what other people think. All I’m worried about is helping these guys win games.”

Fouch, who transferred to ISU from the University of Washington, is the third quarterback in as many years of the Trent Miles era to come into the program as the man to solidify the position.

To put it mildly, the last two would-be saviors didn’t pan out.

In 2008, there was Calvin Schmidtke, who had signed a letter-of-intent at Washington State out of high school. A Washington native, Schmidtke was released by the Cougars before he enrolled because of legal problems at home. Trouble with the law followed him to Terre Haute, where he was infamously arrested and tazed during the 2008 season. Ineffectiveness also forced the team to turn to option quarterback Ryan Roberts. Schmidtke was eventually released from the team.

In 2009, Wyoming transfer Chris Stutzriem arrived. Stutzriem, who had beaten Tennessee as Wyoming’s starter in 2008, earned ISU’s starting role out of 2009 preseason camp, but infamously lost four fumbles on quarterback-center snap exchanges during ISU’s embarrassing 26-20 overtime loss to Quincy in the season opener. Stutzriem also had trouble with his release as he was trying to guide passes to receivers. His 6-foot-4, 240-pound frame also made him a sitting duck in the pocket as ISU’s young offensive line struggled in its 2009 trial by fire.

Stutzriem eventually lost the starting job, and by the end of the season, Roberts was once again running the show as an option quarterback. Stutzriem has since transferred to Morningside College in Iowa.

The result of having to lean on Roberts was that ISU had the one of the most anemic passing games in the FCS Division, averaging just 92.91 yards per game (116th out of 118 FCS schools), which led to having the worst total offensive output of any FCS team at 190.73 yards per game. ISU also averaged a FCS-worst nine points per game in scoring offense.

Fouch arrives with fellow transfer Coy Glass, who became available when his previous school, Hofstra, eliminated its football program. But from the first snaps of spring practice, Fouch has been the anointed starter and is the one being called upon to improve ISU’s passing numbers.

“My opportunity here is a fresh start on my career. I’m here to be a leader. These guys are looking for someone to win ballgames and take them to the next level,” Fouch said.

Fouch started eight games for Washington in 2008. He threw for 1,334 yards, four touchdowns and 13 interceptions. After a coaching change prior to the 2009 season, Fouch did not play for the Huskies last year.

“He’s got experience at the highest level. He’s been in the battles. He knows what’s going on. He can make adjustments to get out of bad plays and he gives us leeway as coaches to be able to do more,” Miles said.

Fouch has a maturing cast around him that Miles hopes is ready to make strides. It starts in the backfield as Darrius Gates returns for his senior season. Gates rushed for 266 yards last season as he spelled leading rusher Antoine Brown and played in passing downs. Gates rushed for 566 yards during his sophomore season, and with the hope that ISU will produce some semblance of a passing game, he believes he can get back to that level of production.

“We’re going to be more balanced and I’m excited about it. It feels good to finally feel like other teams will have to gameplan for our quarterback and not just our running game. No more eight in the box, teams will have to respect our passing game,” Gates said.

Behind Gates are freshmen Shakir Bell and George Cheeseborough, both of whom came from Warren Central High School’s powerful program. Bell is the first Parade All-American to ever play for ISU as he rushed for 3,105 yards for the Warriors, the second-highest total in the nation. Cheeseborough, who has been bothered by a hamstring through preseason camp, rushed for 1,273 yards for the Warriors last season and was an All-State running back.

Gates, Bell and Cheeseborough are all under 5-foot-9. So while ISU will have speed, it won’t have a lot of brawn in the backfield, save returning fullback Brock Lough.

“We plan to give them reps every game. None of them are big backs. We’ll have to rotate to keep them fresh,” Miles said.

They will run behind an offensive line that returns all five starters and adds senior Pat Burke, a former starter who missed the 2009 season with a shoulder injury.

ISU’s receiving corps also has new blood. Junior college transfers John Goodlett, Justin Hilton and Ednut Egberongbe all saw action with the Blue starting team during the Aug. 21 Blue-White Game. The JUCO trio have earned practice reps along with incumbents Bryant Kent (20 catches, 326 yards, 2 TD), Larry Lacotti (18 catches, 101 yards), Tanner Riley (three catches, 45 yards) and redshirt freshman Leonard Riston. Alex Jones (five catches, 54 yards) and Michael Mardis (12 catches, 105 yards) return at tight end.

Whether Fouch succeeds as ISU’s next new hope or whether it’s Glass or one of the other six quarterbacks on the roster, Miles said ISU’s fate rides on the revival of its passing game.

“We have to be able to throw the ball or we don’t have a chance. We’re not an option football team. We have to be more than one-dimensional to save our defense and special teams. It is huge for us,” Miles said.

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