NCAA Football

Hoosiers get star QB Lewis back

It’s rather symbolic of the state of Indiana football (or lack thereof) that arguably the best quarterback in the Big Ten this season was kicked off the team for months and hardly anyone made mention of it.

Well, that problem was rectified this week when Kellen Lewis was reinstated to the Hoosiers after being suspended for about four months. The school has never explained why Lewis was booted off the team, however.

“Kellen has worked very hard and reached all the benchmarks we set for him,” coach Bill Lynch said in a release. “He is committed to this football program and is excited to rejoin his teammates. We are happy to welcome him back.”

Lewis is just the fifth quarterback at IU to reach 5,000 career passing yards and the fourth player to collect 6,000 total yards. He is tied for first on Indiana’s career list with 42 passing touchdowns, fifth with 5,264 passing yards, third with 6,441 total yards, third with 455 completions, third with 788 attempts and second in completion percentage at 57.7.

He joined Tim Tebow of Florida and Dan LeFevour of Central Michigan as the only quarterbacks in the nation to pass for 3,000 yards and rush for 700 yards last season (Lewis was IU’s leading rusher).

He is coming off a record-breaking sophomore season, helping the Hoosiers make a bowl game for the first time since 1993. He set a school mark with 3,043 passing yards. Lewis also holds the single-season school record for passing touchdowns (28) and completions (265).

Lewis set IU bowl game individual records for attempts and completions, completing 22 of 43 passes, in the Hoosiers’ 49-33 loss to Oklahoma State in the Insight Bowl. His two passing touchdowns tied an IU bowl game record.

A second-team All-Big Ten selection, the dual-threat weapon had been serving an indefinite suspension since March 6. Lewis missed the entire spring practice. In that time, Ben Chappell ran a newly installed no-huddle attack, but Chappell threw just two passes as a freshman in 2007.

Watch out for IU this year. Another bowl game seems a lock, and with eight home games and not having to face Ohio State and Michigan, the Hoosiers could be a surprise team in the Big Ten if not the country. They open the season Aug. 30 against Western Kentucky.

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