Indiana University Athletics
Tom Allen Quotes - Northwestern
10/18/2016 8:11:00 PM | Football
Tom Allen Quotes
October 18, 2016
On facing Northwestern QB Clayton Thorson…
"As you go through the film and watch those first few games, and then you watch the last couple, the biggest thing that got to me was the play of the quarterback. He's really way more comfortable than he was early on, and you can tell with his feet, where his eyes are going, and how he's releasing the football. Even the velocity on the ball seems to be with a lot more confidence, and that's huge. The play of your quarterback is instrumental to your success on offense, and the last couple of weeks we've seen some really good quarterbacks who made their teams go. This young man is no different; as his play has continued to improve, everything around him has improved as well. The tailback, Justin Jackson, is pretty special. They've gotten him more carries in the last few games and he's getting into a niche in their offensive system. Those are the two key things that stick out."
On receiver Austin Carr…
"We were watching him a lot yesterday and he catches everything. He dives for the ball and it's really impressive. That would be the third thing I noticed on tape: they dropped a lot of balls early in the season, and that has ceased. He has that swagger about him, you can tell, he's very confident in the way he carries himself. He believes that he's the man, and that's what you want. They've got it going on with those three players, they've done a great job."
On shutting Nebraska out for 40 minutes, until that 72-yard touchdown. What was different about that last drive?
"As it was happening, I was frustrated at the time because they weren't doing anything differently. We were using some similar calls per the personnel they were using, but I knew it was the fits. You go back and watch the film, and it's even more frustrating because it confirmed that suspicion. It was small things we weren't doing, and I was able to use that when talking to the guys. I told them, 'We played really well the majority of the time, but when we had to have it in that final drive, that one extra takeaway or stop, but the little things cost us.' It was a guy not fitting the run right, a guy not scraping or spilling. A couple of guys might have played too many snaps, and fatigue began to set in. That was my challenge to the twos, to step up so we can get some rest for the key guys earlier in the game. That allows us to be at our best at the end of the game, and it challenges the first group to raise their level. I saw one play with 6:12 left in the game, where we had five guys not on the first team in the play, and I pointed to them and said, 'You have to take ownership when you're in the game to win the game and beat a top-10 team in the country.' They have to do that throughout the week, in practices and walk-throughs, to be at their best. It's a culmination of those things along with our depth, just getting us to a position where we're not content with playing good; we want to be great. It's hard to go from being good to great, that's why there are a lot of books written about that because it takes mental discipline and a lot of things other people aren't willing to do to become great. That's what we need to be to beat a top-10 team, and we fell short."
On A'Shon Riggins and Rashard Fant defending deep balls…
"You saw evidence on Saturday that their confidence is really growing. They did a good job against some talented receivers, and they did a great job of squeezing routes and getting their heads around and their hands on the ball. The one play with Marcelino was a fluke of sorts; you couldn't ask him to play it any better. The 72-yarder at the end was actually underthrown, which makes it harder on the corner when he turns his head around and the receiver has the ball on the inside. I froze that frame, and we had three guys heading in a triangle two yards away from the receiver before he caught it. He catches it, those guys hit each other, and he was off. It's little things like that. You've seen progress in playing those deep balls, and they're a critical part of playing defense because teams are going to take those shots. Their confidence has grown, they've made plays, and we're not going to beat ourselves up over one play that we wish we had back. The great thing about that game was we had a chance to flush it, our offense responded and scored to bring it within two. That was a teachable moment to our young team. We have a lot of young guys that have to keep growing and pressing on, getting a little better every day."
On Tegray Scales and his role in Allen's scheme…
"I believe that, per our system, that position requires a young man that can finish those plays. I challenged him about some former players who have played at that spot in this system, and how productive they were, but obviously it's on him to make those plays. Ultimately, he's the one who has to rise up and he gets credit for making those plays. You can be in that position and, even though you may schematically be there to make the play, you have to finish it against elite players every week. I'm so proud of him, but that's a guy I think we're getting too many snaps out of early and fatigue set in, and I challenged him on that. I love Tegray, and he played his tail off, but he made some mistakes on that final drive that he hadn't done earlier in the game. He had a great game, but I wanted him to finish and I want his back-up to be trusted so he can be in there making plays as well. Tegray has responded and played how I thought he would after spending time with him this spring. I knew he was a special player that we had to get his mind and preparation in the right place, and he's responded.
"Chris Covington is one that has really come on, I'd like to see him playing more. We challenged him about that and we talked through that as coaches. He's doing a great job on special teams. Chase Dutra is another one who has gotten healthier each week, and I see him playing more each week as well. We'll use him at both safety positions to get him more reps. He's healthy and hungry, and he wants to be out there, which you want. We have three high-quality guys for those positions, and he's going to be one of them. You saw the rise of A'Shon and how he was able to prove it, and he's done a great job on the field. Robert McCray III is another one who has a different skillset than some of our other guys at that position. We have to get him to the point where he plays the rush as well as he rushes the passer, and the discipline of playing with those techniques. We have several twos we've challenged, that they need to rise up. The defense needs them, and the team needs them, and we have to see that growth this week."
October 18, 2016
On facing Northwestern QB Clayton Thorson…
"As you go through the film and watch those first few games, and then you watch the last couple, the biggest thing that got to me was the play of the quarterback. He's really way more comfortable than he was early on, and you can tell with his feet, where his eyes are going, and how he's releasing the football. Even the velocity on the ball seems to be with a lot more confidence, and that's huge. The play of your quarterback is instrumental to your success on offense, and the last couple of weeks we've seen some really good quarterbacks who made their teams go. This young man is no different; as his play has continued to improve, everything around him has improved as well. The tailback, Justin Jackson, is pretty special. They've gotten him more carries in the last few games and he's getting into a niche in their offensive system. Those are the two key things that stick out."
On receiver Austin Carr…
"We were watching him a lot yesterday and he catches everything. He dives for the ball and it's really impressive. That would be the third thing I noticed on tape: they dropped a lot of balls early in the season, and that has ceased. He has that swagger about him, you can tell, he's very confident in the way he carries himself. He believes that he's the man, and that's what you want. They've got it going on with those three players, they've done a great job."
On shutting Nebraska out for 40 minutes, until that 72-yard touchdown. What was different about that last drive?
"As it was happening, I was frustrated at the time because they weren't doing anything differently. We were using some similar calls per the personnel they were using, but I knew it was the fits. You go back and watch the film, and it's even more frustrating because it confirmed that suspicion. It was small things we weren't doing, and I was able to use that when talking to the guys. I told them, 'We played really well the majority of the time, but when we had to have it in that final drive, that one extra takeaway or stop, but the little things cost us.' It was a guy not fitting the run right, a guy not scraping or spilling. A couple of guys might have played too many snaps, and fatigue began to set in. That was my challenge to the twos, to step up so we can get some rest for the key guys earlier in the game. That allows us to be at our best at the end of the game, and it challenges the first group to raise their level. I saw one play with 6:12 left in the game, where we had five guys not on the first team in the play, and I pointed to them and said, 'You have to take ownership when you're in the game to win the game and beat a top-10 team in the country.' They have to do that throughout the week, in practices and walk-throughs, to be at their best. It's a culmination of those things along with our depth, just getting us to a position where we're not content with playing good; we want to be great. It's hard to go from being good to great, that's why there are a lot of books written about that because it takes mental discipline and a lot of things other people aren't willing to do to become great. That's what we need to be to beat a top-10 team, and we fell short."
On A'Shon Riggins and Rashard Fant defending deep balls…
"You saw evidence on Saturday that their confidence is really growing. They did a good job against some talented receivers, and they did a great job of squeezing routes and getting their heads around and their hands on the ball. The one play with Marcelino was a fluke of sorts; you couldn't ask him to play it any better. The 72-yarder at the end was actually underthrown, which makes it harder on the corner when he turns his head around and the receiver has the ball on the inside. I froze that frame, and we had three guys heading in a triangle two yards away from the receiver before he caught it. He catches it, those guys hit each other, and he was off. It's little things like that. You've seen progress in playing those deep balls, and they're a critical part of playing defense because teams are going to take those shots. Their confidence has grown, they've made plays, and we're not going to beat ourselves up over one play that we wish we had back. The great thing about that game was we had a chance to flush it, our offense responded and scored to bring it within two. That was a teachable moment to our young team. We have a lot of young guys that have to keep growing and pressing on, getting a little better every day."
On Tegray Scales and his role in Allen's scheme…
"I believe that, per our system, that position requires a young man that can finish those plays. I challenged him about some former players who have played at that spot in this system, and how productive they were, but obviously it's on him to make those plays. Ultimately, he's the one who has to rise up and he gets credit for making those plays. You can be in that position and, even though you may schematically be there to make the play, you have to finish it against elite players every week. I'm so proud of him, but that's a guy I think we're getting too many snaps out of early and fatigue set in, and I challenged him on that. I love Tegray, and he played his tail off, but he made some mistakes on that final drive that he hadn't done earlier in the game. He had a great game, but I wanted him to finish and I want his back-up to be trusted so he can be in there making plays as well. Tegray has responded and played how I thought he would after spending time with him this spring. I knew he was a special player that we had to get his mind and preparation in the right place, and he's responded.
"Chris Covington is one that has really come on, I'd like to see him playing more. We challenged him about that and we talked through that as coaches. He's doing a great job on special teams. Chase Dutra is another one who has gotten healthier each week, and I see him playing more each week as well. We'll use him at both safety positions to get him more reps. He's healthy and hungry, and he wants to be out there, which you want. We have three high-quality guys for those positions, and he's going to be one of them. You saw the rise of A'Shon and how he was able to prove it, and he's done a great job on the field. Robert McCray III is another one who has a different skillset than some of our other guys at that position. We have to get him to the point where he plays the rush as well as he rushes the passer, and the discipline of playing with those techniques. We have several twos we've challenged, that they need to rise up. The defense needs them, and the team needs them, and we have to see that growth this week."
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