Bluegrass QB commits to Hoosiers
Three-star Kentucky quarterback
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Powers
has given a verbal commitment to his admitted "dream school."
The 6-foot-5, 200-pound Meade County star picked Indiana
after visiting Bloomington this week for a senior camp. At that point, new
Hoosiers coach Gerry DiNardo made it clear that Powers was their ideal
quarterback of the future.
"My visit was just
great," he said. "It couldn't have been any more perfect. I got to meet with all
the coaches again and watch some film with their quarterbacks coach (Al Borges),
got to see what their offense was going to be like. We did that for about an
hour, then coach DiNardo pulled me into his office and flat-out told me he
wanted me. He said he was offering a scholarship and standing by his commitment
no matter what, even if I got hurt or something, and wanted the same commitment
from me.
"As soon as he offered me, when I left
his office, I knew it was the place for me. I told him I had to go home and talk
to my parents about it, but I knew I was going there. I've always dreamed of
playing for Indiana. We have pictures of me from when I was 7 or 8 dressed up in
an Indiana uniform."
The family tradition will
carry on a generation. Powers' father, Dan, was a tight end for IU in the late
70s.
"He's been real careful to let me make my own
decisions, but I know deep down he's really happy about this," Powers said of
his father's reaction to the news.
Powers picked
the Hoosiers over Kentucky, Louisville, Northwestern, Purdue, Wake Forest and
West Virginia. None of the other schools had made the commitment of a
scholarship to date.
"There were a lot of 'what
ifs' with the other schools," he said. "Indiana didn't have any of those. It was
perfect."
As a junior, Powers passed for 1,129
yards and 11 touchdowns at Meade County. He says the IU staff told him he'd be
expected to redshirt as a true freshman, but could be in line for the starting
job the following year.
"They've got two
quarterbacks on the roster now, and both of them are seniors," he said. "Then I
think there's two more coming in from last year's recruiting class, but one of
them is probably going to move to wide receiver.
"They also have Matt LoVecchio, who transferred from Notre Dame, but he's a
junior. He'll be there for my redshirt year, then I should have a pretty good
chance to play. That's what they told me."
Powers
said he was relieved to have the process wrapped up.
"There would have been a lot of pressure," he said. "Now I
can just go out and play, try to help my team win instead of wondering who's
watching or who's in the stands."