Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Ready to Go Live on Saturday
4/12/2018 8:12:00 PM | Football
By: Andy Graham
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Mike Hart plans to have Brandon Shelby serve him steak.
"Going to have Coach Shelby deliver my steak to me," said Hart, Indiana's running backs mentor and head coach of the Crimson squad, heading into Saturday's 12 p.m. Cream & Crimson Game.
"Definitely."
Shelby, IU cornerbacks tutor and head coach of the Cream, has no such reciprocal intentions.
"At the end of the day, I don't want to look at his mug," Shelby said of Hart. "I'll probably get somebody else (to serve me).
"The good thing about it is that he lives a couple of doors down from me, so he'll have to hear me giving him crap all summer."
Beyond bragging rights, Saturday's outcome will determine who dines on what and who serves whom. The winners get steaks, served by the losers, whose corresponding consumption is confined to beans and weenies.
Tom Allen – Commissioner of the Cream and Crimson and Hoosier Head Honcho – will eat steak, regardless.
"I'll be a non-biased individual, able to root for both sides," Allen said following IU's practice Thursday, "then eat with whoever wins."
Allen patterns his approach to the annual spring game after the NFL. There is a period of veteran free agency, followed by a formal draft of four rounds, then a period where players join squads as undrafted free agents.
"It's always interesting," Allen said. "This has been one of the more intense (drafts) I've been a part of. I kind of figured that, because the two head coaches are pretty feisty. That hasn't disappointed. That kind of theme has continued … it should be good. I think the teams are pretty balanced.
"It's the spring, so you don't have your full roster here. You're not as deep as you will be in the fall. So that creates a lot of the interesting picks, and who decides to go a certain direction. So I'm anxious to see how it all turns out. But when there's a steak dinner on the line, and the pride that comes from receiving it and not having to serve it, I think that's the bigger issue. But it'll be fun."
Hart doesn't subscribe to Allen's "teams are pretty balanced" assessment.
And he certainly isn't waiting till summer to fire verbal salvos at neighbor Shelby.
"We didn't get everybody we really wanted but, for the most part, we felt we kind of ran the draft," Hart said. "We were calling the shots. We were making them choose guys we didn't want, putting them in those kinds of positions. I thought we did a great job on draft day.
"Free agency, obviously, you probably had 20 guys or 30 guys left. And we were going after five or six guys we really wanted. We got five of the six. And the rest of the guys, I think, just signed with us because they knew we were the better team."
Intriguingly, Hart's Crimson club drafted what is at least arguably IU's potential starting defensive backfield for next fall (husky back Marcelino Ball, safeties Jon Crawford and Khalil Bryant and corners A'Shon Riggins and Raheem Layne) which is more naturally Shelby's bailiwick.
And Shelby's Cream team drafted three running backs out of Hart's room (Ahrod Lloyd, Mike Majette, Ricky Brookins) before the Crimson drafted any.
Shelby said he feels coaching colleagues Mark Hagen and Darren Hiller "do a great job" with the defensive and offensive linemen "so that's kind of a wash. And so what we did was go out and get some of the skill guys."
The Cream signed receiver Whop Philyor and linebacker Reakwon Jones before the draft (with the Crimson picking up defensive end Nile Sykes and guard Wes Martin) and the quarterbacks were assigned, freshman Michael Penix Jr. to the Cream and Peyton Ramsey to the Crimson.
"Penix, who can run and throw," Shelby said. "Got Whop, guy can catch it. Got Lloyd, who can run the ball. So that's kind of how I took it, on offense, to get skills, get the ball on the perimeter and (enable) our play-makers to make plays.
"Defensively, because I used so many of the early picks on offensive skill guys, I got some of the guys in the back end that are, at times, 2s. But my thing about it is that I said, 'Hey … if you're going against a guy on the opposite side (ahead of you on the depth chart), put him on notice. Make it known, in this spring game. Out-compete that guy."
Allen noted last year's game was quite competitive. The Crimson needed overtime to top the Cream. And he feels some good competition, among other things, was fostered through the 14 practices this spring has already seen.
"It's been a very productive spring," Allen said. "Lot to work on, ahead of us, but a lot of good work in the books. Very pleased with where we're at.
"We were so young on defense (this spring), that kind of created a little bit of a modified approach in that we kept it real simple, just trying to really make sure we got a great foundation.
"Offensively, it was just get better, bring our quarterbacks along and improve our run game. That's been a major focus for us. That's been something that we've invested a lot of time into. So, bottom line, I think both sides (of the ball), with what we needed to get accomplished and the goals we set, I feel good about where we're at."
QBs WITH GIDDY UP
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Ramsey, who started four games last fall, and true freshman counterpart Penix have shown they can complement their passing by running the ball out of the backfield.
Brandon Dawkins – the graduate transfer quarterback from Arizona who selected IU as the place he'll play his final season of eligibility this fall – showcased the same capacity while starting nine games in 2016 and five more last fall for the Wildcats before being injured.
It's no accident all three share that in their skill-set.
"That's one of those things that – as we evolve and we move forward as a program and you get a chance to kind of pick the guys you want for certain positions – I'm a big believer in the value of the quarterback's ability to run," Allen said. "Balancing that with you have to throw well. That, to me, is something I always want to have as a mainstay, the ability to throw the football.
"But his ability to run, extend plays, make something out of nothing – and even more so as we get into a certain kind of quarterback, being able to design the runs for them – (is key). The ability to create, as you drop back, is something I always have wanted. That, to me, is something you have to recruit. Some guys have that skill-set and some guys don't. But I don't want that skill-set at the expense of being able to throw the football."
As a guy who still handles IU's defensive coordination while serving as head coach, Allen fully appreciates the extra strain on the defense that a running quarterback creates.
"Anytime that guy can run, from the schematic perspective, you now have to involve a safety to account for him," Allen said. "And so that's the extra guy that the defense has to commit to stopping that scheme. So, to me, that's where it puts the defense in conflict. The (goal) to all of that is having enough to keep them off balance and to keep that (quarterback) healthy.
"There's no question we would like to be able to become an offense that utilizes the legs of the quarterback. And I think that's something that I'm going to be open about, and you can see that's the direction we're going."
Indiana quarterbacks coach Nick Sheridan played at Michigan for coach Rich Rodriguez, who more recently mentored Dawkins at Arizona. And offensive coordinator Mike DeBord featured running quarterbacks successfully during his tenure at Tennessee.
Schematic familiarity should help the Hoosiers get Dawkins into the mix of a quarterback competition that will remain open into fall camp.
"Anytime you bring anybody in, you want to find the best way to mesh them in with what you do," Allen said, "and maximize his skill set."
And all three of the primary competitors for the QB job can motor.
"I feel confident all three of those guys in the mix there have the ability to run," Allen said. "Within that, there are different modes of that, but at the same time that's a variable we don't have to modify when you look at who might be at that position.
"It's going to be an open competition going into the summer and into fall camp. And those guys will compete and make each other better. But that's something that we've utilized in the past and will be part of what we do."
Ramsey and Penix won't run all that much Saturday. The Cream and Crimson contest will simulate a game for the most part, but a big exception is that the QBs will still wear blue jerseys rendering them off limits for contact and tackling.
"In this game, the way it's going to be played Saturday, their legs aren't going to be a real big factor," Allen acknowledged. "Which is fine. That's just the nature of it. I don't want them to get hit."
PROTECTING THOSE QBs
Allen relishes the fact IU returns every offensive lineman who took a snap last fall, with 14 veterans back. That, among other things, should help IU's quarterbacks run more successfully and stay upright more often when passing.
"I think that any time one of the strengths of your team is the offensive line, that's a really good thing." Allen said. "It's big. It's big for protecting our quarterback in the run game, running the football, protecting him in the pass game. Big men lead the way. We say that all the time on both sides of the ball.
"It's great to have so many of those guys back, and we just have to keep working. They've got work to do. They've got to keep getting better, but it's been a really good spring for them to mesh and gel and continue to progress."
One area in which Allen has already discerned clear progress among the linemen is in the weight room, now orchestrated by new strength and conditioning coach David Ballou.
"Even though, experience-wise, they were already one of our strengths, in the weight room, they've really maximized it even more so with Coach Ballou and his staff," Allen said. "If you had to say there was one group of guys our strength staff would highlight (they'll say), 'Man, these (offensive line) guys are the epitome of what you want in terms of the work ethic, the focus, the toughness and how they work as a unit.' They love those guys."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Mike Hart plans to have Brandon Shelby serve him steak.
"Going to have Coach Shelby deliver my steak to me," said Hart, Indiana's running backs mentor and head coach of the Crimson squad, heading into Saturday's 12 p.m. Cream & Crimson Game.
"Definitely."
Shelby, IU cornerbacks tutor and head coach of the Cream, has no such reciprocal intentions.
"At the end of the day, I don't want to look at his mug," Shelby said of Hart. "I'll probably get somebody else (to serve me).
"The good thing about it is that he lives a couple of doors down from me, so he'll have to hear me giving him crap all summer."
Beyond bragging rights, Saturday's outcome will determine who dines on what and who serves whom. The winners get steaks, served by the losers, whose corresponding consumption is confined to beans and weenies.
Tom Allen – Commissioner of the Cream and Crimson and Hoosier Head Honcho – will eat steak, regardless.
"I'll be a non-biased individual, able to root for both sides," Allen said following IU's practice Thursday, "then eat with whoever wins."
Allen patterns his approach to the annual spring game after the NFL. There is a period of veteran free agency, followed by a formal draft of four rounds, then a period where players join squads as undrafted free agents.
"It's always interesting," Allen said. "This has been one of the more intense (drafts) I've been a part of. I kind of figured that, because the two head coaches are pretty feisty. That hasn't disappointed. That kind of theme has continued … it should be good. I think the teams are pretty balanced.
"It's the spring, so you don't have your full roster here. You're not as deep as you will be in the fall. So that creates a lot of the interesting picks, and who decides to go a certain direction. So I'm anxious to see how it all turns out. But when there's a steak dinner on the line, and the pride that comes from receiving it and not having to serve it, I think that's the bigger issue. But it'll be fun."
Hart doesn't subscribe to Allen's "teams are pretty balanced" assessment.
And he certainly isn't waiting till summer to fire verbal salvos at neighbor Shelby.
"We didn't get everybody we really wanted but, for the most part, we felt we kind of ran the draft," Hart said. "We were calling the shots. We were making them choose guys we didn't want, putting them in those kinds of positions. I thought we did a great job on draft day.
"Free agency, obviously, you probably had 20 guys or 30 guys left. And we were going after five or six guys we really wanted. We got five of the six. And the rest of the guys, I think, just signed with us because they knew we were the better team."
Intriguingly, Hart's Crimson club drafted what is at least arguably IU's potential starting defensive backfield for next fall (husky back Marcelino Ball, safeties Jon Crawford and Khalil Bryant and corners A'Shon Riggins and Raheem Layne) which is more naturally Shelby's bailiwick.
And Shelby's Cream team drafted three running backs out of Hart's room (Ahrod Lloyd, Mike Majette, Ricky Brookins) before the Crimson drafted any.
Shelby said he feels coaching colleagues Mark Hagen and Darren Hiller "do a great job" with the defensive and offensive linemen "so that's kind of a wash. And so what we did was go out and get some of the skill guys."
The Cream signed receiver Whop Philyor and linebacker Reakwon Jones before the draft (with the Crimson picking up defensive end Nile Sykes and guard Wes Martin) and the quarterbacks were assigned, freshman Michael Penix Jr. to the Cream and Peyton Ramsey to the Crimson.
"Penix, who can run and throw," Shelby said. "Got Whop, guy can catch it. Got Lloyd, who can run the ball. So that's kind of how I took it, on offense, to get skills, get the ball on the perimeter and (enable) our play-makers to make plays.
"Defensively, because I used so many of the early picks on offensive skill guys, I got some of the guys in the back end that are, at times, 2s. But my thing about it is that I said, 'Hey … if you're going against a guy on the opposite side (ahead of you on the depth chart), put him on notice. Make it known, in this spring game. Out-compete that guy."
Allen noted last year's game was quite competitive. The Crimson needed overtime to top the Cream. And he feels some good competition, among other things, was fostered through the 14 practices this spring has already seen.
"It's been a very productive spring," Allen said. "Lot to work on, ahead of us, but a lot of good work in the books. Very pleased with where we're at.
"We were so young on defense (this spring), that kind of created a little bit of a modified approach in that we kept it real simple, just trying to really make sure we got a great foundation.
"Offensively, it was just get better, bring our quarterbacks along and improve our run game. That's been a major focus for us. That's been something that we've invested a lot of time into. So, bottom line, I think both sides (of the ball), with what we needed to get accomplished and the goals we set, I feel good about where we're at."
QBs WITH GIDDY UP
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Ramsey, who started four games last fall, and true freshman counterpart Penix have shown they can complement their passing by running the ball out of the backfield.
Brandon Dawkins – the graduate transfer quarterback from Arizona who selected IU as the place he'll play his final season of eligibility this fall – showcased the same capacity while starting nine games in 2016 and five more last fall for the Wildcats before being injured.
It's no accident all three share that in their skill-set.
"That's one of those things that – as we evolve and we move forward as a program and you get a chance to kind of pick the guys you want for certain positions – I'm a big believer in the value of the quarterback's ability to run," Allen said. "Balancing that with you have to throw well. That, to me, is something I always want to have as a mainstay, the ability to throw the football.
"But his ability to run, extend plays, make something out of nothing – and even more so as we get into a certain kind of quarterback, being able to design the runs for them – (is key). The ability to create, as you drop back, is something I always have wanted. That, to me, is something you have to recruit. Some guys have that skill-set and some guys don't. But I don't want that skill-set at the expense of being able to throw the football."
As a guy who still handles IU's defensive coordination while serving as head coach, Allen fully appreciates the extra strain on the defense that a running quarterback creates.
"Anytime that guy can run, from the schematic perspective, you now have to involve a safety to account for him," Allen said. "And so that's the extra guy that the defense has to commit to stopping that scheme. So, to me, that's where it puts the defense in conflict. The (goal) to all of that is having enough to keep them off balance and to keep that (quarterback) healthy.
"There's no question we would like to be able to become an offense that utilizes the legs of the quarterback. And I think that's something that I'm going to be open about, and you can see that's the direction we're going."
Indiana quarterbacks coach Nick Sheridan played at Michigan for coach Rich Rodriguez, who more recently mentored Dawkins at Arizona. And offensive coordinator Mike DeBord featured running quarterbacks successfully during his tenure at Tennessee.
Schematic familiarity should help the Hoosiers get Dawkins into the mix of a quarterback competition that will remain open into fall camp.
"Anytime you bring anybody in, you want to find the best way to mesh them in with what you do," Allen said, "and maximize his skill set."
And all three of the primary competitors for the QB job can motor.
"I feel confident all three of those guys in the mix there have the ability to run," Allen said. "Within that, there are different modes of that, but at the same time that's a variable we don't have to modify when you look at who might be at that position.
"It's going to be an open competition going into the summer and into fall camp. And those guys will compete and make each other better. But that's something that we've utilized in the past and will be part of what we do."
Ramsey and Penix won't run all that much Saturday. The Cream and Crimson contest will simulate a game for the most part, but a big exception is that the QBs will still wear blue jerseys rendering them off limits for contact and tackling.
"In this game, the way it's going to be played Saturday, their legs aren't going to be a real big factor," Allen acknowledged. "Which is fine. That's just the nature of it. I don't want them to get hit."
PROTECTING THOSE QBs
Allen relishes the fact IU returns every offensive lineman who took a snap last fall, with 14 veterans back. That, among other things, should help IU's quarterbacks run more successfully and stay upright more often when passing.
"I think that any time one of the strengths of your team is the offensive line, that's a really good thing." Allen said. "It's big. It's big for protecting our quarterback in the run game, running the football, protecting him in the pass game. Big men lead the way. We say that all the time on both sides of the ball.
"It's great to have so many of those guys back, and we just have to keep working. They've got work to do. They've got to keep getting better, but it's been a really good spring for them to mesh and gel and continue to progress."
One area in which Allen has already discerned clear progress among the linemen is in the weight room, now orchestrated by new strength and conditioning coach David Ballou.
"Even though, experience-wise, they were already one of our strengths, in the weight room, they've really maximized it even more so with Coach Ballou and his staff," Allen said. "If you had to say there was one group of guys our strength staff would highlight (they'll say), 'Man, these (offensive line) guys are the epitome of what you want in terms of the work ethic, the focus, the toughness and how they work as a unit.' They love those guys."
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