The Indiana quarterback situation became a serious question mark when it was announced Monday that Nate Sudfeld would have season-ending shoulder surgery. After Chris Covington filled in for him on Saturday in the 45-29 loss to Iowa and only gained 72 total yards, it wasn’t quite certain that the job was his to lose after details of Sudfeld’s situation was publicized. Head coach Kevin Wilson praised Covington’s effort under such short notice in his weekly press conference, but didn’t go so far as to guarantee he’d be the starter going into Saturday’s home tussle with Michigan State.
That uncertainty appears to have come to an end Wednesday, as an Indianapolis Star report has indicated that true freshman Zander Diamont will take the reins this weekend against the Spartans for his first career start. The Los Angeles, CA native will be thrust into a significantly gleaming spotlight right off the bat having to face arguably the Big Ten’s top team with national championship aspirations in a game that will be televised on ESPN.
Zander Diamont's mother confirms that he is starting Saturday's game against Michigan St. "We're flying out Friday because we got the call."
— Mike Miller (@MikeMillerSTL) October 15, 2014
It might be an obnoxious pun to say that the Hoosiers travails at quarterback have suddenly become a soap opera, but bear with me here. Diamont is the son of Don Diamont. That name might not ring familiar unless you’ve watched network television in the middle of the afternoon beginning in the mid-1980s. He is an acclaimed soap opera actor, having appeared on well-known shows such as Days of Our Lives, The Young and the Restless, and The Bold and the Beautiful. He also was named to People Magazine’s “50 most beautiful people in the world” list in 1990.
https://twitter.com/HoosiersLive/status/522512597560852480
Before I drive the IU coeds who might stumble across my article crazy talking about our new quarterback and soap star father, let’s get back to the sports aspect of it. The younger Diamont was a standout signal caller at Venice High School and was named Los Angeles City Player of the Year during his senior season in 2013 where he threw for 3,501 yards and 47 touchdowns. He was also the third player to commit to Wilson’s staff as part of IU’s 2014 recruiting class which was one of the Hoosiers’ best in recent memory.
It will be interesting to see if this decision was made taking into account Covington’s injury history and whether or not he is 100 percent. He struggled with a knee injury during his senior year of high school, aggravated it during preseason practice and was actually unavailable for the Hoosiers first few games. Indiana has been noticeably silent regarding his status from a health standpoint going into Saturday’s game.
Diamont does bring dual-threat ability to the table much like Covington. IU offensive coordinator Kevin Johns once remarked that he has “a little Johnny Manziel in him.” His high school coach Angelo Gasca has continually praised his big play potential. Size is a bit of an issue though. His 175-pound frame could be in for a bit of a pounding against a physical Michigan State defensive unit. In deciding to initially go with Covington instead of Diamont in the immediate aftermath of Sudfeld getting hurt, Wilson simply said during Monday’s presser, “Big Ten’s big.”
It doesn’t get much more difficult than having to play a top ten team when you’re making your first-ever career start, but as they say, desperate times call for desperate measures. This is year four of Wilson’s tenure and fans are beginning to get a little impatient as regards expectations. The Big Ten is considerably top heavy this year with only Ohio State, Michigan State and maybe Nebraska as relative monsters. Other than that, the conference is as down as it has ever been.
About the only excuse Indiana has of not getting bowl eligible this season, and perhaps the head coach’s saving grace when all is set and done, is what has transpired at quarterback over the past week. His dad may have done soaps, but it might be high time for son to don the cape and become the superhero Hoosier nation is looking for on the gridiron.
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