Two weeks ago, the country was all to familiar with the ‘Manning Bowl,’ as Peyton hosted little brother Eli to Lucas Oil Stadium. This weekend as the Indiana football team laces up against No. 19 Michigan, there will be two brother combinations.
The Hoosiers punter, redshirt junior Chris Hagerup will be trying to out-dual his little brother Will, the Wolverines freshman punter. The pair grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and attended Whitefish Bay High School. Chris actually was a quarterback and punter in high-school; Will played tight-end in addition to his kicking duties.
Chris graduated early from Whitefish Bay and enrolled at Indiana in the spring of 2007. He was ranked as the nation’s 7th best kicker according to Scout. Will was a three-star prospect out of high-school and ranked as the fourth best kicker in the country.
The Hagerup brothers are built very similar. Chris is listed at 6-5, 203, whereas Will is 6-4, 210. Chris already, ranks second in IU history with a 41.5 career punt average. He was forced to overcome ACL surgery in offseason to close 2009.
“We’ve been talking a lot,” Will said. “Some trash talking, some supportive talking.”
A family duel is always difficult on the family. The Hagerup’s parents, grandma, sister, aunts, uncles and more will make the drive south to Bloomington. Expect the family to wear both cream and crimson along with maize and blue.
Meanwhile, the other pair of brothers are forces on the teams’ respective defensive lines. Indiana’s Larry Black Jr. has played defensive tackle for the last two years. There is a bit of controversy regarding Larry’s younger brother Jibreel. He originally verbally committed to Indiana before later backing out and signing with Rich Rodriguez’s squad. Larry, a redshirt sophomore is listed at 6-2, 326, a bit heavier than Jibreel’s 6-2, 258 freshman frame.
Jibreel was IU’s most coveted recruit for 2010. How special would it have been to have both Larry and Jibreel lead the defensive line for IU?
“It was his choice and his decision,” Larry said. “I knew he had a lot of opportunities to choose where he wanted to go, and that was the place he felt was better for him.”
They both attended Wyoming High School in Wyoming, Ohio. Coming out of high-school, Jibreel was a four-star prospect and the nation’s No. 15 defensive tackle according to Scout.
The meeting will be the first between each of the brothers on the football field. Growing up, both Chris and Larry of Indiana use to beat down on their younger brothers in different sports and the competitive edge is still there.
Both teams are undefeated, Indiana currently at 3-0 while Michigan sits at 4-0. The pair of brothers will take center stage at 3:30 PM EST on Saturday in front of what is expected to be a sold-out Memorial Stadium (52,929).
“I told Will that this will be the only game I root against him,” older brother Chris said. “If it means him having a bad punt here or there, then I’m all for that.
The Hagerup brothers are a class act. Two great Big Ten legs from guys that unintentionally became kickers. Pretty neat.
it’s pretty remarkable how similar these guys are with the exception of the Black brothers weight. Evidently Jibreel is more lean, primed to pass rush.
BEAT MICHIGAN!
Special teams will play their part but it’s going to be a matter of which defense gets stops. IU’s explosive and diverse offense or Shoelace Robinson.
I’ll take Chappell’s Crew all day unless Robinson has a field day
It’s too bad the game is on ESPNU. I don’t get that down here in Texas. Two undefeated teams should play on ESPN or ESPN2. What’s up with that!