Jump to content

Thanks for visiting BtownBanners.com!  We noticed you have AdBlock enabled.  While ads can be annoying, we utilize them to provide these forums free of charge to you!  Please consider removing your AdBlock for BtownBanners or consider signing up to donate and help BtownBanners stay alive!  Thank you!

ThompsonHoosier

IUFB Offseason Updates

By ThompsonHoosier, in Indiana Hoosiers Football

Recommended Posts

ThompsonHoosier    3,413

ThompsonHoosier
Posted

Pete DiPrimio did a 3 part Q&A series with Coach Allen.

Part 1: http://www.news-sentinel.com/article/20170504/SPORTS/170509915

Reward and challenge – the state of Indiana football, Part 1

BLOOMINGTON – Tom Allen embraces the long hours. He always has. Goals don't come without cost and he paid it in the transition from high school to college football.

Reward finds him as Indiana head coach, an unexpected opportunity with intriguing prospects.

“It's a dream opportunity for sure,” he says.

Kevin Wilson took the Hoosiers to the brink of winning record success with consecutive bowl games.

Can Allen finish the job?

It took him a decade to go from Indianapolis Ben Davis High School head coach to running IU's historically struggling program, with stops at Wabash College, Lambuth, Drake, Arkansas State, Mississippi and South Florida.

In one year, Allen turned IU's traditionally inept defense into a solid Big Ten unit, which helped convince athletic director Fred Glass, after parting ways with Wilson, to promote him without conducting a national coaching search.

Now comes the challenge, and Allen addresses it his way. He retains the defensive coordinator role. He hired veteran Mike DeBord to coach the offense.

Allen talked about that, and more, during a recent one-on-one discussion with The News-Sentinel at his Memorial Stadium office. This is the first of a three-part series.

IS THIS YOUR DREAM JOB?

When I think about being in your home state, being able to be in the Big Ten, and being able to lead THE Indiana University, it's pretty special. I'm cautious because I can't say I dreamed of this my whole life. You never know how things will play out. I never thought I would be at Ole Miss. I never thought I'd be at South Florida. You never know where your path is going to lead.

 

The opportunity to be here is a dream come true.

 

YOU LEFT BEN DAVIS HIGH SCHOOL, A POWERHOUSE PROGRAM, TO TRY COLLEGE COACHING, FIRST AS SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR/SECONDARY COACH AT WABASH. HOW RISKY WAS THAT?

 

 

It was a big risk, but it was an easy decision. I knew in my heart what I wanted. I would have lived with a lot of regret if I had never taken the opportunity to try college football. Now I wasn't guaranteed the outcome and how long it would last. The risk involved the (high school) retirement. You lose all that. You lose the guarantee of a lot of things. When you get into college, you're tied to the head coach. There are a lot of unknowns. You don't know the level you'll end up.

I had many people who thought I was crazy, especially going to a non-head coaching position or a non-coordinator position. I was the special teams coordinator (at Wabash), but that's not the same as being the defensive coordinator. Many thought it wasn't a good move. They were like, 'What are you doing?' The ones who were in college said, If you want to coach college, you've got to go do it. It was a great opportunity with a program that had been successful with a great head coach (Chris Creighton). From my perspective, yes risky, but I was willing to take that risk.

It's not the normal path. Most people haven't done it that way. It was definitely unorthodox.

IF YOU WEREN'T COACHING, WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

I went to school to be an accountant. I majored in business. Professionally, now that I know myself more, I'd probably be a preacher or a youth pastor. That's where my heart would be. That's what I feel I am sometimes with 125 guys (on the football team).

I can't see being in an office crunching numbers all week long. I'd be like a caged tiger.

FOR IU TO HAVE A BREAK-THROUGH SEASON, TO WIN SOME OF THE CLOSE GAMES IT HASN'T WON THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, WHAT WILL IT TAKE?

I believe it will take increased depth. It will take increased focus in those situations. Increased confidence and expectations to make those plays.

We talk a lot about creating those competitive situations. Those third-down situations. As a receiver, we've got to make the play. As a defender, we've got to get the break-up. Making plays on fourth down and whatever. Making the critical kicks we've missed in the past.

You have to create that in practice. Simulate them. Doing them to where we expect — not hope — to make that play.

Depth is a big deal. Fatigue sets in and you're not able to execute at the end. Look at a lot of those games we lost and we were able to execute the quarter before, but we didn't do it in the fourth quarter. We're not doing it at crunch time. It's about execution and confidence and simulating that in practice.

PERHAPS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE IS TO HAVE SUSTAINED SUCCESS. WHAT'S THE KEY TO THAT?

It starts with recruiting to your culture. Get guys who fit what you want. The ability to recruit to that. It's about getting those right guys. When you have the right guys who believe and have bought in to what you're doing, then you can make that happen. I believe you get that when you recruit the family for a whole year, then you have that success. That's how it perpetuates itself.

DO YOU SEE A TIME THAT YOU GIVE UP BEING DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR AND JUST BE THE HEAD COACH?

I could see that. I don't have a timetable for it. It would have to be at a point where I felt the defense was where I wanted it to be. I'd have to feel comfortable with whoever takes it over.

IS THERE A TIME WHERE YOU WOULD BE MORE INVOLVED IN THE OFFENSE?

No. I will be responsible for everything that goes on over there, but I want to make sure I hire a guy, no matter who that is, that I have 100 percent confidence in him to be the head coach of the offense.

Even if I'm not calling the defensive plays, I want to be involved with the defense and special teams. Those are the two things I want to put my energy into. I want to have an offensive staff that I completely trust to run that side of the ball. I know in my heart that's what I want to do.

LET'S SAY IT'S FIRST AND GOAL AT THE 1-YARD LINE. WILL YOU TELL YOUR OFFENSIVE STAFF TO RUN IN THIS SITUATION, OR DON'T RUN IN THIS SITUATION? DO YOU MAKE THE PLAY CALL?

No. My responsibility is to create a situation where I trust that guy to make those kind of calls. Going for it on fourth down, I won't tell him what to call, but I'll say let's go get this. I don't want to tell him what to do. That's not my intent.

FOR INDIANA TO HAVE A WINNING RECORD NEXT SEASON, WHAT HAS TO HAPPEN?

 

The obvious ones are we have to protect the ball. That's a huge stat. Take it away on defense. The turnover ratio is huge. For us red zone performance — offense and defense — is big. Take advantage of those opportunities by scoring touchdowns on offense, forcing field goals on defense. Those are turnover ratio, red-zone production. Those are how you win or lose games. The special teams. Our effectiveness will be a key part.

HOW DO YOU FIX THE FIELD GOAL KICKING INCONSISTENCY? IU MISSED 10 FIELD GOALS AND TWO EXTRA POINTS LAST SEASON.

A big part of it is mental. We made changes in the person holding. We went back and forth. It's important for that position to have consistency and trust. We call that unit the trust team. It's all about trusting the long snapper, the holder, the kicker. It's important that the kicker focus on just one thing. We seemed to have a lot of things going on last year. At the end of the day, the key to having good special teams play is having good specialists — good kickers and punters.

WHAT IS THE SUMMER FOCUS, AND HOW BIG A ROLE WILL STRENGTH COACHES PLAY?

Those coaches still spend more time with the players over the summer than we do. The biggest thing is developing player leadership and accountability. I've met with all the players and stressed how critical this summer is for us. It's about them trusting our strength staff. It's doing the little things. We keep emphasizing the little things. Make sure these guys are doing that.

The No. 1 thing — do they understand the expectations? Then No. 2 — are they holding each other accountable?

Share this post

Link to post
Share on other sites

ThompsonHoosier    3,413

ThompsonHoosier
Posted

Show me the talent – state of Indiana football, Part 2

By: Pete DiPrimio

BLOOMINGTON – In the end, Indiana football’s prospects for consistent winning come down to talent.

The Hoosiers will never out-recruit the likes of Ohio State and Michigan, but they don’t have to. They need good players, disciplined players, tough-minded players, players who do what they’re coached to do, play after play.

Guys you can count on, on and off the field.

Tom Allen understands that. It starts by getting a fair share of in-state talent, and the Hoosier head coach has a plan.

Allen talked about that, and more, during a recent wide-ranging discussion with the News-Sentinel. This is the second of a three-part series.

BEYOND TALENT, WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A TOM ALLEN PLAYER?

A tough, hard-nosed kid who loves to compete. That’s what I want. To me, mixed in with that, a guy who cares about school. A guy I learn to trust. Those are the guys I want to surround myself with.

WITH THE IN-STATE RECRUITING EMPHASIS, HOW MANY HIGH SCHOOLS DO YOU TRY TO VISIT?

We made an emphasis to get to as many schools as we could get to in Indiana. I got several emails from high coaches thanking me. They said, I hadn’t seen an Indiana coach for a long time. Or even a Big Ten coach.

The first thing I did, I gave every (IU assistant coach) an area in Indiana. That was not the case before. All nine of our coaches have an area. Even if I can’t physically get to a school, I want to make sure my staff gets in touch with those coaches so they know who is the coach for that part of the state. I want the high school coaches to know if they need anything — like tickets to a game, if they want film, if they want to watch practice, this is the guy to reach out to. Make them feel important because they are important to us.

Some schools might have a player we want once every 10 to 15 years. It doesn’t matter. When they do have that guy, I don’t want it to be that’s the first time we show up. That’s important to set that tone. We’ve laid a good foundation.

HOW TOUGH IS IT TO GET THE GOOD PLAYERS IN THIS AREA GIVEN ALL THE STRONG NEARBY COMPETITION FROM OHIO STATE, MICHIGAN, NOTRE DAME AND MICHIGAN STATE?

It is a real challenge. It’s the reality of having a small pool of guys that everybody wants. With the increase in the talent and level of play in Indiana, it causes more competition. I saw it as a high school coach.

There was a difference in terms of who was recruiting Indianapolis from the time I got to Ben Davis (1998) until the time I left (2007). It got where the SEC was coming in way greater numbers than they had before. That makes it harder for us.

At the same time, it’s about relationships. Identifying those guys early to where they have a connection to Indiana, and give them a reason to stay home. It’s challenging for sure, but that’s the goal.

HOW YOUNG AN AGE ARE YOU COMFORTABLE RECRUITING A PLAYER?

Once he completes his sophomore year. That’s probably the earliest you could give him a fair assessment. Your body changes so much. After the sophomore season, you’ll have an idea. Much before that, you’re just guessing.

I don’t think I’ve ever offered a kid before his sophomore year. I remember watching an eighth grader once and I said to the staff – ‘What are we doing? Are we really watching an eighth grader?’

An SEC team had offered him, so we might have offered him as a freshman just because we had to. If you didn’t, you’d look silly. At the same time, I didn’t want to. You have to be careful.

I say that, and my staff might show me some eighth grader two weeks from now, and we’ll start recruiting him.

I will say this — we will start targeting freshmen more in this state. As a former high school coach, I could tell you who the four to five freshmen were who would have a chance to play Division I. What level Division I, who knows? Some kids start fast, some don’t, in their development.

We need to be in on guys early at Indiana. That way that deep-seated thinking — Indiana has been talking to me since I was young — kicks in.

I don’t think recruiting really young players is the best thing. With the NCAA, everything is shifting forward. Now official visits can come in the junior year. They’ll shift signing day again. They’re going to do one in December. They’re just kind of massaging the whole movement.

WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU OFFER A YOUNG PLAYER, AND HE DOESN’T DEVELOP THE WAY YOU THOUGHT?

I don’t think you have a choice but offer some kids early. You have to be ahead of the game a little bit. At the same time, when you do that, you have to be transparent. You tell the player, we have to see continued growth. You have to be better as a junior than you were as a freshman. If not, even though we offer you early, it might not work out. We had better communicate that. You have to be very transparent. I have to see continued growth. If not, I won’t feel the same way about you.

If you’re honest with them, you’re probably OK. If not, you create a bad situation. The earlier you evaluate them, the more inaccurate it is.

HOW OFTEN WILL YOU GO AFTER FIVE-STAR PLAYERS?

It all depends on the fit of that guy. You still have to be true to who you are. I want to get the most talented players who fit us, schematically and philosophically. The things that we value, they value. You’ll get that by proximity.

To think you can go after a guy like that who has no connections to Indiana, who is not from this area, I don’t see us doing that. I can if it’s an in-state guy, or a guy that’s close to the state, or a guy that has connections to Indiana or the Big Ten, or who wants to play in the Big Ten. It allows you to get in on a guy like that you usually aren’t able to get.

To me, that’s not the goal, to get a guy like that. We don’t talk about their stars. It’s more about getting the best players who fit who we are.

IU IS ADDING A $53 MILLION, 100,000 SQUARE-FOOT SOUTH END ZONE FACILITY TO MEMORIAL STADIUM. HOW BIG A RECRUITING BOOST WILL THAT GIVE THE PROGRAM?

It will be big, and it’s not just that. You have the locker room expansion and team room portion as well.

Any time you have a chance to build, expand and grow, it helps. Not only does it look sharp, it has a feel to it.

It’s positive. There’s a lot of momentum. Look at what the North End Zone has done. It will do the same thing.

Dalton26 and RBB89 reacted to this

Share this post

Link to post
Share on other sites

ThompsonHoosier    3,413

ThompsonHoosier
Posted

An ever-changing game – the state of Indiana football, Part 3

By: Pete DiPrimio

Link: http://www.news-sentinel.com/article/20170506/SPORTS/170509861

BLOOMINGTON — Change remains a college football constant. Conferences expand, athletes now get full-cost-of-attendance money and speculation remains on four-team playoff expansion.

Oh, Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh continues to push the business-as-not-usual limits. The latest is the spring trip to Italy to practice, sight-see and learn to fight as gladiators.

So there you go.

Indiana coach Tom Allen talked about that, and more, during a recent wide-ranging discussion with The News-Sentinel from his Memorial Stadium office. This is the final of a three-part series.

PLAYERS ARE STARTING TO SKIP BOWL GAMES BECAUSE THEY WORRY INJURIES COULD HURT THEIR NFL DRAFT STATUS. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT?

To me, it’s about your team. If you want to make a decision that is best for you personally …

If you’re injured, I get that. (Linebacker) Marcus Oliver had an injury. He needed to get it fixed. We tried to get him back in time for the bowl game and it didn’t work out. I want to do what’s best for him and his health.

As far as just sitting out so you don’t get hurt, I have a hard time with that. I don’t want to say this bowl game matters more than that bowl game, which is what I hear when they talk about it. To me, it’s either about the team or it’s not. I’d have a hard time with a guy sitting out, when he’s totally healthy, just to prevent a possible injury. That would be a tough pill to swallow when everything we talk about is it’s not about me, it’s about the team. That would be the opposite of that. It has to be about something bigger than you.

WHEN YOU SEE JIM HARBAUGH AND MICHIGAN GOING TO ITALY, IS THAT A CONCERN? DO WORRY ABOUT FINDING THE MONEY TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT?

No, that’s not something I’m looking to do. I haven’t been at any place that has the resources to do that. There are only a few that do.

I think you need to stay true and consistent. It’s no different than talking about whether to play a spring game against another opponent or have a team scrimmage. We all should do it the same way.

It’s not an even playing field (with Michigan going to Italy). It needs to be something that everybody has a chance to do. It’s not even an option at some places because of the expense. I like everybody to have the opportunity to do that.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO PLAY AN OUTSIDE OPPONENT IN THE SPRING GAME RATHER THAN A SCRIMMAGE?

I think it’s a great idea. It can be controlled. It would increase attendance. Do it, take all the money and donate it to charity. I watch some spring games and it’s two-hand touch.

WHO WOULD BE THE OPPONENT?

You’d have to stay within your Division I level. It would need to be somebody you’d play in the regular season, but somebody neutral that you’re not playing the next season. That makes more sense to enhance spring ball and interest in coming to games. That might have some merit. We’ve talked about it as coaches. It would be a neat way to increase (spring game interest and attendance).

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT MOVING UP THE SIGNING DATE FROM FEBRUARY TO DECEMBER? THE PROPOSAL IS TO MAKE SIGNING DAY DEC. 20.

I know people were pushing to sign before your senior year, like June or July. That hasn’t happened yet. The progression is sliding that way. I don’t know that anybody likes it, but that seems to be something that people above us like.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THE PLAYOFFS EXPANDED FROM THE CURRENT FOUR TEAMS?

I’m a little leery to expand it. I like the four teams. You’ll always have issues with deciding who makes it. You ought to be able to figure out who the top four teams are, within reason. The playoff has been a very positive addition. (An expansion) might happen.

IF YOU HAD THE POWER, WHAT CHANGE WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL?

I do feel, even though I want to see us take advantage of tempo, it should be more controlled.

Make it so you can’t snap the ball until after a set number of seconds. Say you can’t snap it in less than 15 seconds. That way you give everybody a chance to get set.

Since the rules are what they are, we’ll take advantage of it. It makes it really hard on a defense to get set at times. At times, you feel you’re going so fast, it’s crazy. You can’t even get a guy off the field.

From a defensive perspective, the way it is now gives the offense an advantage. I think the game is slanted to the offense. The things we do help the offense. I know they want to score points, but I like it 7-6 personally. I’m good with that. I know nobody else is.

I would like to do things to help the defense get set and communicate properly. I don’t think it will happen. Everybody loves tempo and loves to score.

If I was in charge, I would do whatever I could do to control the tempo.

Share this post

Link to post
Share on other sites

ThompsonHoosier    3,413

ThompsonHoosier
Posted

Bill Connelly of SB Nation came out with a projected 130-team ranking for the upcoming season using only each team's previous years recruiting ranking, returning offensive and defensive production, and previous year's S&P+ ratings. IU comes in at 39 nationally and 6th in the Big Ten; ahead of Nebraska, MSU, Minnesota, and Iowa.

https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2017/2/3/14496224/2017-college-football-rankings-projections

ALASKA HOOSIER, ccgeneral, Class of '66 Old Fart and 3 others reacted to this

Share this post

Link to post
Share on other sites

ThompsonHoosier    3,413

ThompsonHoosier
Posted

In their QB rankings going into spring practice, Athlon ranked Lagow at 66 (Ahead of fellow Big Ten member: Rutgers, Minnesota, Maryland, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, MSU). This is what they had to say:

"In his first season with the Hoosiers, Lagow ranked second among Big Ten quarterbacks by averaging 258.6 passing yards per game. The junior college recruit (and former Oklahoma State signal-caller) threw for 3,362 yards and 19 scores but also tossed 17 picks. Helping Lagow reduce the interceptions will be a key offseason goal for new offensive coordinator Mike DeBord."

 

https://athlonsports.com/college-football/college-footballs-spring-1-130-starting-quarterback-rankings-2017

 

Sent from my Pixel using BtownBanners mobile app

 

 

 

 

ALASKA HOOSIER, Dalton26, Class of '66 Old Fart and 2 others reacted to this

Share this post

Link to post
Share on other sites

RBB89    3,497

RBB89
Posted
4 hours ago, ThompsonHoosier said:

According to someone on twitter, Coach Allen received a standing ovation from the crowd at Huber Winery last night. You can see the change starting to occur and I truly hope more people start showing up to games.

It's easy to see why he got a standing ovation: 

http://www.hoosiersportsreport.com/video/?video=864f3bb2e97e97ec4406c0062b45396996730075

ThompsonHoosier and HoosierAloha reacted to this

Share this post

Link to post
Share on other sites

ThompsonHoosier    3,413

ThompsonHoosier
Posted

Well with 87 days before our opening game against OSU, let's hear how you guys think Tom Allen and staff will do in his first full year at the helm? Do you guys think we'll make another bowl game? Maybe our first winning record in 20 years? I think we can finish with 7 wins, probably upset (if you can call it that) MSU and lose one we shouldn't (probably Maryland).

08/31 OSU – L
09/09 @Virginia – W
09/16 FIU – W
09/23 GA Southern – W
09/30 @PSU – L
10/14 Michigan – L
10/21 @MSU – W
10/28 @Maryland – L
11/04 Wisconsin – L
11/11 @Illinois – W
11/18 Rutgers – W
11/25 @Purdue – W

 

Share this post

Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Go To Topic Listing Indiana Hoosiers Football


×