Author Archives: Kent Sterling

As Anthony Leal ponders decision, here are reasons why Archie Miller is locking down Indiana

” “How many Indiana kids want to play at IU? Let’s see some hands!”

What’s so special about basketball players from Indiana?”

“Do you really think basketball is different inside Indiana’s borders?”

“Why should Indiana University value a kid from Indiana over an identical kid from New York or Texas?”

If you are from Indiana, you would be surprised how often I’m asked these questions.  If you aren’t from Indiana, you might be a person who’s asked them.  When I talk about how pleased I am that IU’s Archie Miller and his staff are working hard to recruit their home state, people either get it or they don’t.

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They say times have changed – the candy stripes don’t mean anything.  I agree that garment colors and designs are valueless to recruits, and that players want more from their experience at IU than wearing funny pants in from of 17,000 people at Assembly Hall as cheerleaders run in a figure-eight carrying flags as the pep band plays the William Tell Overture.

I get what recruits want – a path to the NBA and a chance to win championships.  I also understand some things about basketball in Indiana that gives a program a significant advantage when they are able to gather players from this state in bulk.

There are plenty of reasons for this:

  • The best athletes in Indiana tend to play basketball exclusively.  Playing summer basketball makes competing in fall and spring sports very difficult.  In states like Texas and Florida, football is king.  Baseball and football are huge in California.  If Mike Conley and Gary Harris grew up in Florida, today they would be defensive backs or wide receivers in the NFL.
  • Because Indiana kids play a lot of basketball, they reach the 10,000 hours threshold of deliberate practice needed to gain Malcolm Gladwell’s standard to become world-class.  They also play against each other, which brings a legit use of the well-worn Chuck Pagano axiom, “Iron sharpens iron”.  There are also world class facilities in Indianapolis like the Basketball Factory, 100% Hoops, Excellence Academy, and The Incrediplex with some of the best basketball training in the world.
  • High school and summer basketball coaching in Indiana is superior to other states.  We’ve discussed this before, and there is no objective measurement for coaching superiority, but watch a game somewhere else, and then watch a game in Indiana.  Believe your eyes.
  • Look at the lineage of Indiana high school players over the last 15 years – Josh McRoberts, Greg Oden, Conley, Harris, Trey Lyles, Zak Irvin, Yogi Ferrell, Eric Gordon, the Zellers, the Plumlees, JuJuan Johnson, Jeff Teague, Gordon Hayward, Matt Howard, Caleb Swanigan, Branden Dawson, Luke Harangody, George Hill, E’Twaun Moore, Robbie Hummel, Courtney Lee, Romeo Langford, and Glenn Robinson III.  Think a college team could hang a couple of banners with those 26 guys?  Only four went to IU.  Seventeen went either to other schools in Indiana or programs in states that border Indiana.
  • If Miller can’t recruit Indiana kids to Indiana, what is he going to have to do to secure the talents of talented kids in New York, Texas, Virginia, or Massachusetts?  Kids who can’t point to Indiana on a map are going to require the type of incentives in which Indiana does not want to indulge.  In 49 states, cheating to win is the price of a championship, but this is Indiana.

If Leal commits to Indiana Friday, that will give Miller two native Hoosiers so far in his 2020 class.  The 2019 class included Trayce Jackson-Davis, Armaan Franklin, and grad-transfer Joey Brunk – all from Indiana.  In 2018, Miller netted Langford, Rob Phinisee, and Damezi Anderson from Indiana, Jerome Hunter from Ohio, Jake Forrester from Pennsylvania, and grad transfer Evan Fitzner from California.  Forrester transferred a few months ago and Fitzner exhausted his eligibility, leaving Miller with a bunch of Indiana kids, and one from a neighboring state.

I have no problem with Miller recruiting Illinois and Ohio once the brand of Indiana Basketball is re-established as nationally meaningful, but right now the buzz about IU is strongest within the borders.

With a Leal commitment, followed by Kristian Lander, Caleb Furst, and Trey Kaufman in the class of 2021, Indiana the program has a chance to reflect the basketball excellence of Indiana the state.

USC Basketball pays the father of two top recruits a lot of money to secure their services

The Mobleys are laughing all the way to the bank – and it’s 100% NCAA sanctioned!

Corruption in college basketball is alive, well, and legal.

USC Basketball got great news it expected yesterday when Evan Mosley, the top ranked recruit in the 2020 high school class, committed to the Trojans.  They got similarly good news last year when Evan’s brother Isaiah committed.  He’s another five-star recruit.

Eric Mobley, Evan and Isaiah’s dad, was hired by USC coach Andy Enfield as an assistant coach 17 months ago.  Mobley was a coach for the Compton Magic, a summer basketball program in southern California, and his pipeline produced another great get for Enfield – five-star Onyeka Okongwu, a 6’9″ power forward.

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In no way is it against NCAA rules for a coach to be hired by as an assistant coach of a basketball program because he’s the dad or coach of talented children, but corruption is not always against the rules.

Hiring a dad isn’t illegal, but it’s a close moral equivalent to a basketball program handing the father of a recruit cash to secure a commitment.  Dad gets paid, kid commits.  Again, not illegal, but the quid pro quo is at least as clear.

Instead of a coach giving a dad an envelope with $2,500 in it, the school writes him a series of paychecks that total hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.  That makes Brian Bowen Sr. look like a piker by comparison for leveraging his son’s talent to Louisville.

Bowen lost his collegiate eligibility as a result of his dad’s greed.  The Mobleys are going to laugh all the way to the back as Isaiah and Evan play for the Trojans, and Eric coaches until his kids run out of eligibility or jump to the NBA (both Mobleys are projected to be taken in the 2021 NBA Draft).

Enfield will likely find another summer coach with talented progenies to secure top talent, and the cycle will continue.  That’s life in college basketball for coaches willing to do what’s wrong while embracing what’s legal.

In Enfield’s world, the Mobley’s justify the means.

Indiana Football – Five burning questions about #iufb answered; Can Hoosiers win 6 while fans drink 6?

IU’s three starting quarterbacks sharing a moment before answering endless questions about which is best for the Hoosiers.

Indiana Football is the losingest football program in history among Power Five universities.  That’s where all discussions about IU football must start.  Fans who head to Bloomington on game days have become accustomed to winning tailgate parties, even if it means never setting foot in Memorial Stadium.

That has been the state of Indiana Football for a very long time – minus a beautiful respite from the mediocrity from 1987 to 1994.

Every year, fans listen to coaches, players, and others affiliated with the program talk about positive steps being taken to close the gap between themselves and teams at the top of the Big 10 East.  And most years, fans drown their sorrows at Nick’s or Kilroy’s Sports as they look forward to basketball season, where a whole new set of disappointments have awaited them the last three years.

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It’s early August, and that’s time for measured optimism as IU heads into its third full season with coach Tom Allen (LEO!) at the helm.  Here are five pressing questions about IU Football which will determine whether fans might have a trip to Nashville for the Music City Bowl ahead of them:

1 – Is Tom Allen the right coach to lead IU to relevance in the Big 10 East?

In fairness to Allen, the chasm between Indiana Football and Ohio State Football (or Michigan, Michigan State, and Penn State) is measured in parsecs, not inches, feet, or miles.  There may not be a human being on Earth capable of providing the level of success Hoosier fans politely request (we never demand, right?).

Allen is a unique presence on the sideline – enthusiastic and peripatetic as he exhorts players for positive plays.  Some love it, some do not.

One positive move for Allen was to become a full-time head coach by hiring Kane Wommack as the defensive coordinator.  A head coach needs to be the CEO of the program, not a staffer, and Allen tried to be both for his first two years.  Good to see him acknowledge doing both just doesn’t work.

Maybe that change will help Allen reach his potential as a leader.

2 – Who the hell is going to be the quarterback?

For the second straight year, there is a three-way battle for the starting spot.  Two of the players in this drama are the same – Peyton Ramsey and Michael Penix.  The third is a transfer from Utah named Jack Tuttle.

Fans know what Ramsey has been for the last two seasons – a mobile safety first quarterback who wasn’t going to lose a game.  He was also a quarterback who would not win it for you.  Penix is a superior athlete with a strong arm and quick feet.  Tuttle was a highly rated pro-style QB out of San Marcos, California, who went to Utah for a season prior to transferring to IU.

Allen says he will pick a quarterback and stand by that decision.  There is an old football saying that is you have two starting quarterbacks, you don’t have any.  I’m unaware of a saying regarding three starters, although I’m sure it’s similar to that saying about two.

Penix seems to be the high risk, high reward guy, and I’m good with that.  Ramsey is a nice guy with a high floor and ceiling we’ve already seen.  Tuttle is a complete unknown to me from a physical perspective.

3 – Given the schedule, is it reasonable to even hope for bowl eligibility?

Indiana has four games it must win to keep bowl hopes alive, and all come in the first six games of the season.  Without a win against Ball State at Lucas Oil Stadium, and home wins against Eastern Illinois, UConn, and Rutgers, a bowl is out of the question.

There is an interesting home game September 14th at Memorial Stadium against Ohio State.  This is Ryan Day’s first season as Ohio State’s head coach after succeeding Urban Meyer, and maybe he’s going to still be a little wobbly at that point.  Indiana hasn’t beaten Ohio State since Joe Staysniak was a tackle for the Buckeyes (1988), so imagining a world where a Hoosiers upset is possible is a little like hoping weekends will last for five days.  IU also plays Michigan and Northwestern at home and are not expected to win either game.

The road slate offers a little hope – at least against Maryland.  Michigan State, Nebraska, Penn State, and Purdue with also host the Hoosiers.  Winning just one of those road games would be a good result for IU.

Three non-conference wins plus a win over Rutgers equals four.  One road win takes IU to five, which means they either need another road win, or have to beat Ohio State, Michigan, or Northwestern in Bloomington.

Oof!  Possible, but it sure looks like a tough putt.

4 – Can Stevie Scott take a step forward in his sophomore season?

Scott averaged almost 100 yards per game in his freshman season as he set records for true freshmen in yards, TDs, attempts, and 100-yard games.  His productivity will take pressure off a passing offense that is currently without a quarterback – or with two too many quarterbacks.

If Scott can ground and pound behind the veteran offensive line and match the five-yards per attempt he managed as a freshman, that makes everything else go for the Hoosiers.

5 – Will beer sales inside Memorial Stadium prompt more people to leave the tailgates?

OK, this has no bearing upon whether IU wins a magical sixth game this season, but it’s going to be interesting to follow.  IU is a little late to this party by finally admitting fans drink beer and other intoxicants prior to games, and if games are going to last four hours, either those fans are going to be allowed to grab a beer inside the stadium, they will leave the stadium to get more beer, they will sneak beers into the stadium, or they will take naps in the fourth quarter.  Indiana has decided to provide fans with the first option.

Interesting fast fact about Indiana Football that should provide a smile – IU is 33-24-3 against SEC teams.  If we exclude games against Kentucky, in which IU has an 18-17 all-time advantage, IU’s record against the SEC improves to 15-7-3!

As a basketball player and a dad, it’s hard to be the King

LeBron pleases the fans at one of his son’s game by joining the team’s layup line.

LeBron James has no peer.  He is the most famous basketball player in the world, and the best player of his generation – without argument.

He’s also a dad who wants to watch his son play – especially during the summer when he’s not putting on a show for Lakers fans.

So LeBron goes to a game, knows that all eyes are on him, and tries to please fans with a dunk.  He gets in the layup line, and throws down a dunk.  The video of that dunk goes viral and everyone has an opinion.  Some love it, and some loathe it.

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During a game, his son’s team executes a nice alley-oop.  LeBron runs onto the court to celebrate.  Some love that he’s there supporting his son, and others see this as grandstanding because he’s drawing attention that rightfully belongs to the kids.

Complicating matters – it’s also true that if LeBron does not run onto the court, that play wouldn’t have been on Sportscenter or been seen millions of times on social media.

There is no way for LeBron to do anything in public without being a polarizing figure.  Whatever he does – people love or hate it.  That’s what happens when you are not only the best, but the most famous.  LeBron James provides reasons to cheer and boo in equal measure.

When my son played summer basketball, so did Michael Jordan’s two sons, and one night in Louisville, Ryan’s game was sandwiched between games featuring each of the Jordan kids.  Michael sat on the baseline eating an ice cream cone with a security guard to his right.  Security was there to allow Michael to watch the game without being pestered by autograph hounds.

He sat quietly, and never drew attention to himself.  This was a couple of years after he retired, but he was still one of the most recognizable men on the planet.  Michael was there to see his kids, not be seen by millions via social media.

I would prefer LeBron acted a little more like Jordan, and maybe he does most of the time.  People may see LeBron’s behavior as an example to follow in gyms all across America, and that means dads running onto the court every time a kid makes a great play.  That’s not good for kids or basketball.

Is it good parenting?  I would never presume to tell LeBron James or anyone else about being a good parent.  Being there is where it starts, and LeBron was there.

James and Jordan might have responded differently as dads supporting their kids, but one thing is certain, it’s not easy being alone at the top of a mountain with all eyes on him – judging him, making a mountain out of a molehill.  It’s not easy being LeBron, LeBron’s wife, or LeBron’s kids.  His world is a fishbowl with billions of eyes.

Maybe LeBron can ignore the debates he causes wherever he goes because it has been his constant companion since he was in high school.  Maybe it wears on him.  Whichever it is, the world will continue to judge him – rightly, wrongly, or both.

 

Colts QB Andrew Luck down until at least Saturday – won’t play at Buffalo

Deon Cain has looked healthy during the Colts five practices – very healthy.

Colts quarterback Andrew Luck will miss the next three days of work at training camp and will not play the preseason opener in Buffalo, according to coach Frank Reich.

The decision to sit Luck in Buffalo was made three months ago, but the adjustment in his practice schedule came due to pain in the calf he strained during the offseason.

Reich has been consistent in saying that Luck would play Sunday if the Colts had a game, but he qualified that today by saying Luck would “probably” play if there was a game Sunday.

This puts us on another training camp Luck watch.  Will he or won’t he go today, tomorrow, or next week has been a consistent theme for the Colts since early in the 2015 season.

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The Colts are obviously aware that the preseason is not critical to Luck’s performance – or the team’s ability to compete.  If Luck is available for the regular season opener in Los Angeles, the Colts have a hell of a chance to win.  If he’s not, well, that’s not ideal whether Jacoby Brissett, Jim Sorgi, or Earl Morrall is the backup.

Brissett has looked good during camp to this point, but the surprise has been the arm talent of Chad Kelly, who put the ball exactly where he wanted it today.

Nyheim Hines dropped a pass and fumbled once.  Cornerback Pierre Desir made several nice plays in the padless workout.

Colts will be back at it tomorrow and Thursday mornings before enjoying another day off Friday.

Cubs need to stand pat at the trade deadline, then get busy in the offseason

Not a lot of smiles in the palatial Cubs front offices these days.

The Cubs have a decision.  Exercise patience, hoping the team magically finds the exuberance that made them so much fun to watch from 2015 to 2017, or sell some parts to restock a depleted farm system.

The trade deadline is two days away and president Theo Epstein could try to find a piece of two to bolster the bullpen and infield, or he could sell players for prospects to reload for another few years of excellence down the road.

Sadly, Addison Russell, a guy who used to be referred to as “the next Barry Larkin”, has lost all value through entrenched offensive mediocrity and behavioral lapses that brought allegations of domestic violence earning in a lengthy suspension.

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Kyle Schwarber is immensely popular in Chicago, but his stats (minus home run numbers) are imperfect.  His career .228 batting average and lack of gold glove defensive abilities will make him tough to move too.

Like most center fielders through the years on Chicago’s north side, Albert Almora is a place holder whose potential is defined by his present.

So who can be moved to go get young prospects?  Javy Baez, Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, and Willson Contreras are off the table as in their prime veterans.  Jason Heyward is enjoying his best season as a Cub, and their pitching is already thin as hell.

The Cubs are in the unenviable position of not having the assets necessary to lure a trade partner into sending elite prospects to Chicago, and also void of the prospects needed to yield the return of a win-now player.

The Cubs are stuck in an emotional and physical malaise from which they cannot lift themselves.

They are too good to tank, but too mediocre to win a championship.

Like Stealer’s Wheel used to sing, the Cubs are “Stuck in the Middle with You”.

The trade deadline should come and go without the Cubs making a major deal.  Trades are about timing, and the timing for a major deal is poor – barring an opposing GM’s idiocy, which is always a possibility.

Theo went hard after a world championship in 2016, and this era of OK to good baseball is the price for what we enjoyed during that glorious fall.

Sure, it would be great to have Gleyber Torres playing second base for the Cubs instead of the Yankees, but would it be worth that banner?  That’s a topic for another day, but what is for sure is that the Cubs don’t have another Torres in the minors to deal for another Chapman, and what the Cubs would surround Champman with would not make a run to another banner.

The best move for the Cubs is to wait until the 2019 dust settles, and retool for a decade of excellence.

Or they can wait for Bryant, Lester, Hamels, Schwarber, Baez, and Castillo to drift away to other teams or retirement.

Whatever happens, we’ll always have 2016.

Was Carl Edwards use Sunday a public sign of Joe Maddon’s discontent with Theo Epstein?

Theo Epstein and Joe Maddon never seemed likely to be friends, but their mutual tolerance appears to be nearing an end.

What better way for a manager  to tell a general manager the bullpen sucks than expose one of the pitchers who comprise it?

That may be exactly what Cubs manager Joe Maddon did last Sunday when he brought in Carl Edwards Jr. with two outs and two on in the top of the ninth inning with the Padres trying to extend a 2-1 lead.

Why else would Maddon summon Edwards, a pitcher who had not thrown a live pitch for the Cubs since June 9th?

I was slack-jawed by the move at the time.  Edwards looked nauseous as he toed a rubbed he had not sniffed for six weeks.  After giving up a walk, hitting Greg Garcia with an 80-poo curve, and serving up a four-seam meatball to Fernando Tatis Jr., Cubs fans hopes for a win were snuffed, and the Cubs lost 5-1.

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How did bringing in Edwards make any sense?  Surely, Maddon saw the same thing I did – that Edwards look emotionally frail and likely to self-immolate.  He must have.  He’s a smart guy being paid a ton of money to see those things.

My mind went to the dark side – the place where conspiracies are hatched.  I decided the tension and acrimony between Maddon and president Theo Epstein must have reached critical mass, and Maddon had gone rogue in a public way to expose Theo as the architect of a flawed bullpen.

I have no corroborative evidence to support my theory, but longtime Cubs fans are familiar with this scenario.  In 2006, Dusty Baker used his bullpen as GM Jim Hendry designed it, and the results were disastrous.  Three years after coming a Steve Bartman incident away from the World Series, Baker’s Cubs lost 96 games.

Baker fought for his job by trying to show that Hendry was a dunce.  It failed miserably, and it was another three years until fans correctly concluded that Baker was onto something

Maddon is in a contract year, and would like to stay in Chicago for another five-year term.  If his job retention strategy is to taint Epstein’s image as the best executive in baseball, it’s is as suspect as inserting Edwards into Sunday’s game.

The Cubs problems run deeper than the occasionally ineffective bullpen and Kyle Schwarber in the leadoff spot.  When members of the management team are operating on different paths, everything else is going to seem out of kilter.  And the Cubs are out of kilter.

Again, all of this is conspiracy theorist supposition, but when Maddon writes his book chronicling his improbable rise as one of baseball’s best managers of the last two decades, it’s wouldn’t surprise me in the least if his rift with Theo was as deep as the fractious Art Howe/Billy Beane non-relationship chronicled in Moneyball.

At the very least, pondering the unpleasantness between Maddon and Epstein is a lot more fun than watching the Cubs continue to slide toward mediocrity.

Cubs send Addison Russell to Iowa because talent without discipline will always fail

Addison Russell is an Iowa Cub because Theo Epstein didn’t have the stones to release him when he should have.

People who make bad decisions – or exhibit a lack of behavioral control – in one area will likely make them in others.

Such is the case with Cubs second baseman Addison Russell, who was accused in social media posts by his ex-wife of general idiocy that included physical abuse and emotional terror.  Russell was suspended by Major League Baseball before being welcomed back by the Cubs in early May.

Cubs president Theo Epstein explained that he wanted the Cubs to play a part in helping Russell improve as a human being instead of casting him aside.

Over the weekend, Russell’s off-field buffoonery appeared to extend to the field as he misplayed to pop-ups, reportedly missed multiple signs, and was doubled off second on a routine line drive to left.  All that happened in the same game.

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As trust in Russell eroded to a critical point, the Cubs made the call to send him down to AAA Iowa as Willson Contreras was activated from the IL.

The Cubs clearly overestimated their ability to aid in Russell’s ability to overcome adversity when they decided to tender him a contract extension after his ex-wife’s credible accusations of abuse led to his suspension.

That was wrongheaded from jump street, and Russell has failed to live up to Theo’s self-indulgent generosity.  he’s responsible for building a roster that wins games, not running a halfway house for wayward ballplayers.

Employment is a privilege, not a right, and the Cubs would have been wise to cut ties with Russell for a variety of reasons when they discovered he battered his then wife.  It was the best call for the team, Epstein (who has wasted innumerable hours monitoring Russell’s progress) and likely the best call for Russell, whose attention would have been gained by a Cubs refusal to employ him.

Russell is not an Iowa Cub because he tormented his wife; it’s because he’s simply not a reliable baseball player.  Epstein made the obvious call that they are better off with Robel Garcia and his gaudy 1.020 OPS at second than their problem child.

Epstein’s decision to continue to employ Russell answered an urge to help him through kindness and friendship.  The spoiled kid who needed a grown up consequence from his employer got a helping hand.  It was rewarded with more opportunities to screw up, and Russell used them.

Russell is a talented baseball player, but talent without discipline will always be wasted.

There will be more chances for Russell prove himself worthy of a major league team’s trust, but it will take the stark reality of being a former Cub to give him a chance to get there.

That was as true last September as it is today.  Sadly, Epstein didn’t know it then – and it’s unclear whether he’s learned it since.

NCAA chides Big East bottom feeder DePaul Basketball with silly sanctions

Dave Leitao will sit for three-games, and his Blue Demons will be mocked, but nothing changed today.

Lot of jokes about DePaul cheating its way to the bottom of the Big East because the NCAA Committee on Infractions levied some mostly meaningless penalties against the Chicago school’s basketball program.

I enjoy a good joke at DePaul’s expense myself, but the joke is that the NCAA smited a program that did nothing more than try to help a recruit gain eligibility through closely monitored diligence.

Here is what happened – an assistant director of basketball operations was directed to live with a recruit to make certain he completed the course work necessary to be eligible to compete.  That is an impermissible benefit, according to NCAA rules.

As a result, head coach Dave Leitao is suspended for the first three games of the regular season, a three-year show-cause order for the former associate head coach who ordered the assistant DOBO to live with the recruit, vacation of DePaul’s wins for the games in which the recruit played while ineligible (probably not many – I’m guessing), and some paltry self-imposed recruiting restrictions.

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With basketball players getting paid by shoe companies, boosters, and coaches, the NCAA is wasting bandwidth on a struggling basketball program that did nothing more than try to help a kid develop solid work habits.

At North Carolina, scholarship athletes were herded into shadow classes and a basketballplayer earned a spot on the Dean’s List without attending a class, but DePaul is waylaid because a potential student-athlete attended class at the direction of a a program staffer.

If the NCAA wants coaches, media, and fans to take seriously its lofty and angry rhetoric about cleaning up college basketball’s corruption, it needs to go after a program with skin in the game and presence on the national landscape.

DePaul is not that program, and these violations are hardly worthy of acknowledgement by those who would like to see the game scrubbed of self-promoting, money-grubbing, win-hungry oafs who suckle at the teat of a cash rich system.

The NCAA needs to penalize or shutter programs that routinely break real rules, not slap the wrists of the DePauls of the world who try to help players become better students.

Indianapolis Colts – Positional battles not as scarce as many believe

Andrew Luck has reason to smile two days prior to the opening of training camp.

Colts GM Chris Ballard and coach Frank Reich are running the Colts as a meritocracy.  You excel, you earn.

That’s the way the NFL works.  If Player B outplays Player A, Player B gets snaps and Player A sits.

Ballard has shown a proclivity toward drafting very talented and driven players who push veterans, and that is what we are going to see during camp and the preseason – young pushing old, and old trying to hang on to what they have worked so long to attain.

It’s easy to look at the Colts roster and feel the starters are mostly set.  Twenty-one starters return to a team that shocked the NFL by bouncing back from a 1-5 start to earn a playoff berth and win a road playoff game in Houston before wilting at Arrowhead Stadium.

There are a few spots that are beyond debate given continued health, but fewer than you might think.  Obviously, Andrew Luck and T.Y. Hilton are the starters at QB and WR1.  The offensive line appears solid with Anthony Castonzo, Quenton Nelson, Ryan Kelly, Mark Glowinski, and Braden Smith.  Reigning NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Darius Leonard is going to start at linebacker.

Other than that, there a bunch of position battles that bear watching:

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Running back – Marlon Mack is the clear starter, but the Colts have an interesting couple of backs who will battle for the third spot behind Mack and Nyheim Hines.  Spencer Ware signed with the Colts as a free agent and Jordan Wilkins returns for a second year.  Colts will keep one of them.

Tight ends Eric Ebron and Jack Doyle are going to play a ton at tight end, but Mo Allie-Cox is going to get a bunch of run too.  It might be interesting to watch how Ebron will adjust to fewer targets because of Doyle’s return from injury as his goal is to set the record for touchdown receptions.

Devin Funchess is the clear front-runner for the second wide receiver spot.  Ballard didn’t sign him to a deal paying him $10-million to watch other guys catch balls, but Funchess has lived up to his draft position during only one of his four NFL seasons.  Deon Cain could push Funchess, depending upon the health of his surgically repaired knee.  Rookie Parris Campbell will be deployed in a variety of roles, but primarily work out of the slot.

Let’s work from the back of the defense to the front.  At safety, Malik Hooker will start at free, and Clayton Geathers will be the starter at box.  It wouldn’t be a surprise if Geathers had trouble staying healthy and Khari Willis replaced him and never left.

It would seem logical to expect Pierre Desir and Kenny Moore to start at corner as each will earn $9-million this season, but I think Quincy Wilson and Rock Ya-Sin are going to play – a lot – and at some point one of those guys will be a starter this season.

Linebacker is a funky spot in that it hard to project guys like rookies Ben Banogu and Bobby Okereke.  Are they outside linebackers or speed rush guys – or both?  Bobby Okereke says he can play all seven spots up front, which seems ambitious.  Will Okereke unseat Anthony Walker at middle?  A bunch of guys are going to have the opportunity to earn snaps opposite Leonard.  Defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus used a bunch of linebackers last year, and I would expect to see linebackers shuttling in and out often.

The defensive line is going to be the one spot on this roster where veterans are invited to compete en masse.  Justin Houston, 30, signed as a free agent from Kansas City.  Margus Hunt, 32, is back, as are Jabaal Sheard, 30 and Denico Autry, 29.  Pushing those old men will be Tyquan Lewis, Kemoko Turay, Grover Stewart, Jihad Ward, and others.

In truth, it really doesn’t matter which of that group starts.  They will all be mixed and matched depending upon the situation by Eberflus.

As for the specialists – guess what, Adam Vinatieri, Rigo Sanchez, and Luke Rhodes are back and their jobs are safe.

Just as we had no idea that Smith would establish himself as an outstanding starting right tackle (as camp opened last year Ballard told the media he believed Smith was a guard), there is no way to know what the hell the starting lineup is going to be come September 8th in Los Angeles.  There are too many variables.

But two things are true about this roster.  It’s deep enough at the bottom that good players are going to get cut, and if healthy it’s good enough at the top to win 10 games – as that was their total last season.