Indianapolis Colts give Running Back Jonathan Taylor permission to seek trade
Jonathan Taylor’s days with the Indianapolis Colts might be numbered. The team has given their star running back permission to seek a trade. That marks significant movement in the team’s impasse with Taylor and a change in Jim Irsay’s stance. Taylor asked for a trade after meeting with his boss in late July, and Irsay insisted that would not happen.
“We will not trade Jonathan Taylor,’’ he told FOX59/CBS4. “That is a certainty. Not now or not in October. “That is the bottom line.’’ Apparently that bottom line has shifted. Taylor, who led the NFL in rushing with a franchise-record 1,811 yards in 2021, remains on the physically unable to perform list (PUP) while completing his rehabilitation from surgery on his right ankle.
Taylor is in the final year of his rookie contract, which pays him a base salary of $4.3 million this season. He sought an extension that would make him one of the NFL’s highest-paid running backs, but the Colts decided they would wait until the end of the season to address his situation. When an extension failed to materialize, Taylor requested a trade. That, too, was denied. Until now.
Indiana University Men’s Basketball adds Two Walk-Ons for the 2023-24 season
Jackson Creel and Jordan Rayford will join the Indiana basketball roster as walk-ons for the upcoming 2023-24 season. Creel played the last three seasons at Rend Lake College, a community college program in Ina, Ill. Listed as a 6-foot-5 forward, Creel averaged 12.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game last season and started 65 games in his career. He is originally from Mount Vernon, Ill.
Rayford, a 6-foot-5 guard, spent his freshman year at Air Force, but he missed the entire season due to shoulder surgery. In the high school class of 2022, he committed to Air Force out of Phillips Academy Andover in Andover, Mass., where he was a NEPSAC All-Conference and MAC All-Conference player. Rayford also held Division I offers from Maine and Old Dominion as a high school recruit. He entered the transfer portal in March. With these additions, Indiana’s 2023-24 roster now includes five walk-ons: Creel, Rayford, Shaan Burke, James Goodis and Ian Stephens. Indiana still has one open scholarship for next season, as the fall semester began Monday.
Three Indiana University Soccer players named to the Big Ten Preseason watch list
Two Indiana men’s soccer juniors and a freshman featured on the Big Ten Players to Watch list, announced by the conference office on Monday. Third-year players Samuel Sarver, a forward, and Patrick McDonald, a midfielder, were joined by freshman forward Collins Oduro as notable talents in the conference’s season preview. Indiana opens its 2023 season on Thursday at Notre Dame. Kickoff is set for 8pm at Alumni Stadium, and fans can watch the match on ACCNX.
Sarver has totaled 30 points on 11 goals and eight assists in his two seasons at Indiana and has played in each of Indiana’s 47 games in that span. All of Sarver’s goals during Indiana’s 2022 College Cup season came in big games as he scored against Clemson, Akron, Maryland and UNCG – all ranked opponents. McDonald has evolved quickly through his two seasons, transforming from an apprentice to Joe Schmidt and Ben Yeagley as a freshman to becoming a mainstay and leader in midfield last season. He assisted Sarver’s goal against UNCG in the Elite 8 and scored a game-tying goal against Syracuse in the national championship match, ending the season with two goals and two assists. Oduro joins Indiana after a senior season at The Phelps School in Philadelphia where he was named Pennsylvania Gatorade Player of the Year, scoring 39 goals and adding a pair of assists.
Indiana University Men’s Basketball Head Coach Mike Woodson gets a $1 Million Dollar annual raise
Entering his third year, Indiana coach Mike Woodson received a $1 million annual raise, the school announced Last Friday. Woodson will earn $4.2 million per year on the remaining four years of his contract, which he signed in 2021. As a result, Woodson is now the Big Ten’s third-highest paid coach, behind Michigan State’s Tom Izzo and Illinois’ Brad Underwood.
“Upon his arrival, Coach Woodson immediately re-inserted our program into the national conversation both in terms of an elevated level of success on the court and in recruiting,” Scott Dolson, IU Vice President and Director of Athletics said. “I knew that returning our program to the level that Hoosier fans rightfully expect would be a process that wouldn’t happen overnight. I have been extremely pleased with the steps we have taken during the last two years. I believe under Coach Woodson’s leadership, we have positioned the program to compete at the highest levels in recruiting, which in turn will enable us to compete at the highest levels within the Big Ten and in the NCAA Tournament.”
Across the first two seasons coaching his alma mater, Woodson holds a 44-26 record and a 21-19 mark in Big Ten play. The Hoosiers finished ninth in the Big Ten during Woodson’s first season but improved to finish tied for second in the conference in 2022-23. Woodson led Indiana to the NCAA Tournament in each of his first two seasons, representing the program’s first back-to-back tournament appearances since the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons under coach Tom Crean. The Hoosiers earned No. 12 and No. 4 seeds under Woodson, who holds a 2-2 record in March Madness.
Two Hoosiers became NBA Draft picks after playing for Woodson, with Jalen Hood-Schifino going No. 17 overall to the Los Angeles Lakers and Trayce Jackson-Davis being selected No. 57 overall by the Golden State Warriors. Hood-Schifino won Big Ten Freshman of the Year in his lone season at Indiana, and Jackson-Davis was named a consensus first-team All-American as a senior. With Indiana’s top scorers off to the NBA, Woodson was forced to overhaul Indiana’s roster heading into his third season at the helm. Indiana lost Hood-Schifino, Jackson-Davis, Race Thompson, Miller Kopp, Tamar Bates, Jordan Geronimo and Logan Duncomb from last year’s roster, but replaced them with transfers Kel’el Ware, Payton Sparks and Anthony Walker, as well as incoming freshmen Mackenzie Mgbako, Gabe Cupps and Jakai Newton. Altogether, the class ranks 10th in the nation.
Two Indiana University Walk Ons earn Football Scholarships while another one Medically Retires
Indiana University Football players Matt Hohlt and Trey Walker have earned scholarships while Tight End Ryan Miller announced he is medically retiring and will end his Football career.
Matt Hohlt, a 6-foot-2, 225-pound linebacker from Greenwood, Ind., who was fighting to earn his place on the team. Hohlt’s on-field play in 2022 already established his place on the roster, but Allen further solidified it Last Thursday when he told the entire Indiana team that Hohlt had been placed earned a scholarship. A product of Center Grove High School just under 40 miles north of Bloomington, Hohlt walked on to the team during 2021 fall camp and gradually worked his way up. He was redshirted during his first year but did see action in games against Rutgers and Minnesota. He twice earned recognition as a scout team player of the week during his true freshman season. In 2022, Hohlt became a regular in the linebacker rotation, playing in 10 games and racking up 19 total tackles, as well 1.5 tackles for loss. His role expanded after a season-ending injury to Cam Jones, and Hohlt made the most of his opportunities. Alongside players such as Aaron Casey, Jacob Mangum-Farrar and Josh Rudolph, Hohlt already figured to be a key piece in the 2023 Indiana linebackers’ room before he was put on scholarship. As the son of Eric Hohlt, who played at Indiana from 1982-85, Matt has long been dreaming of and fighting for a spot with the Hoosiers. He’s willing to do whatever it takes, both on the field, and off.
Trey Walker never played football at his high school in Winnetka, Ill. Instead, he was a three-year letter winner as a hockey player for New Trier High School. He walked-on to coach Tom Allen’s team in 2019, and four seasons later, he’ll finally be a scholarship football player for the Indiana Hoosiers. Walker’s scholarship was announced to the team in a video on Saturday, which played on Walker’s past by using a scene from the Adam Sandler movie Happy Gilmore, where famously an amateur hockey player is turned into a professional golfer. Currently listed at roughly 6-foot-5 and 255 pounds, it’s not hard to see why Walker was able to make the transition from the ice to the gridiron. He plays the tight end position for the Hoosiers but has more often seen the field in games on special teams. Walker was redshirted in 2019 and did not see any game action until 2021, making his debut in Indiana’s 56-14 win over Idaho. In total, Walker has played in seven games for IU in his career, has been named a scout team player of the week five times and was named the offensive scout team player of the year in 2020. The newest Indiana scholarship tight end is also an outstanding performer in the classroom, being named to the Academic All-Big Ten team twice, and a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar in 2021.
Tight end Ryan Miller announced on Sunday that he is medically retiring from the game of football following a second hip surgery. Miller came from Cleveland, Ohio, in the spring of 2022 to join coach Tom Allen’s Indiana Hoosiers. He did not play at all during the 2022 season due to injuries. Miller also said in his post that it was both him and the Indiana medical staff who decided it was in his best interest to retire from the sport. With Miller’s retirement, Indiana currently has nine tight ends on its roster for the 2023 season: Aaron Steinfeldt, James Bomba, Brody Foley, Bradley Archer, Sam West, Anthony Miller Jr., Zac Scott, Bryce Hendershot and Trey Walker (who on Saturday earned a scholarship after playing four years as a walk-on at IU). Miller committed to Indiana as a three-star prospect in the class of 2022, and was ranked as the 30th overall best player in the state of Ohio in the class, according to 247 Sports. He had several other power five offers, including ones from Tennessee, Auburn, Louisville, Kentucky, Georgia Tech, Iowa State and Kansas. Miller picked Allen and Indiana over all of them.
Indiana Fever get a road win against the Phoenix Mercury
Kelsey Mitchell’s season-high 28 points and NaLyssa Smith’s 10th double-double of the season guided the Indiana Fever (9-24) to an 83-73 victory against the Phoenix Mercury on Sunday night at Footprint Center. Along with a season-high, Mitchell surpassed 3,000 career points on a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter becoming the 21st player in league history, and the second fastest, to hit the 3,000-point threshold while also recording 400 made 3-pointers and 500 assists through the first 186 games of her career, per Across the Timeline. The All-Star guard also went 5-for-10 from 3-point range and dished out four assists tonight against Phoenix.
Indiana held the Mercury to 32 points in the first half for the lowest first half offensive output this season from a Fever opponent. The win was Indiana’s second win against Phoenix this season and marks the first win in Phoenix since 2017. Smith’s double-double was highlighted by 25 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the floor with 11 rebounds. Smith became the sixth player in WNBA history to score at least 25 points and pull down at least 10 rebounds while shooting 75 percent or better from the floor in a single game during their first or second season, per Across the Timeline.
Aliyah Boston added nine points on 4-of-6 shooting from the court to go along with five rebounds and two blocks. Boston’s 43 blocks this season moves her one block behind Teaira McCowan’s franchise rookie record. Erica Wheeler contributed seven points and Emma Cannon gathered six points in the win, while rookie guard Grace Berger dished out a team-high five assists off the bench. Berger the IU grad scored 3 points in 30 minutes. Berger was 1-6 from the field and 1-3 from three-point range. Berger pulled down 2 rebounds, had 2 steals and committed a turnover. In addition, the Fever tied a season-high 10 steals, highlighted by Boston and Wheeler’s three steals each. Indiana also tied a season-low committing only eight turnovers.
After completing only one basket in the first two minutes of play, Indiana used a 12-0 scoring run to spring ahead and take a lead of as many as 10 points on one occasion in the first frame. The Fever scoring run that eventually improved to 18-7 was propelled by Mitchell’s 10 points and Smith’s eight points in the quarter. Though Phoenix closed out the quarter on an 11-4 scoring run of its own, Indiana held a three-point lead going into the second frame, 22-19. The Fever maintained the lead throughout the entirety of the second quarter as they held the Mercury to only 13 points on 31.3 percent (5-of-16) shooting from the floor within the final 10 minutes of the half. In addition, Phoenix was held to shooting 0-for-10 from 3-point range in the opening half. Boston’s six points on a perfect 3-of-3 shooting clip combined with Smith’s five points and four rebounds in the quarter helped Indiana take an eight-point lead, 40-32, at the halfway mark.
Following the lowest scoring first half of the season for an Indiana opponent, the Mercury opened the third quarter with a 10-3 scoring run that allowed Phoenix to reduce the deficit to one. Sophie Cunningham and Megan Gustafson notched 10 and eight points respectively for the Mercury, while Smith added seven points for the Fever. Despite being outscored by Phoenix, 22-17, in the third frame, Indiana went into the final quarter ahead, 57-54. The fourth quarter belonged to Mitchell, who notched 13 points in the final frame on 5-of-8 shooting from the floor. Mitchell’s 3-point field goal at the 3:28 mark set off an eventual 14-4 scoring run that gave Indiana a 13-point advantage, which was the largest lead of the night. Both teams shot 50 percent from the floor in the final frame, but the Fever outscored Phoenix, 26-19, to seal the win.
The Mercury’s four scorers in double-figures tonight were led by Cunningham’s 18 points on 11-of-12 shooting from the free throw line. Gustafson came off the bench to add 15 points to help the Mercury reserves outscore the Indiana reserves, 25-11. Michaela Onyenwere contributed 12 points and Moriah Jefferson pitched in 10 points. The Mercury recorded the lowest 3-point field goal percentage of the season at 13.6 percent from beyond the arc while tying a season-low three 3-pointers made on 22 attempts. Phoenix tied a season-high 12 offensive rebounds, highlighted by Gustafson’s three offensive rebounds. Mercury guard Diana Taurasi did not play in the second half after exiting with a left toe injury. The Fever return home to take on the Seattle Storm on Thursday at 7pm at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Thursday’s game will be broadcast on the official Fever Facebook page.
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