DiPrimio: Saturday Scrimmage Notebook
4/7/2018 10:31:00 PM | Football
By: Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Ahrod Lloyd ran to punish. He hit when others might have danced.
This was a very good thing.
Yes, it came away from the spotlight. It was part of Indiana's latest spring football practice scrimmage, held inside the Mellencamp Pavilion late Saturday morning.
Head coach Tom Allen noticed.
Offensive coordinator Mike DeBord noticed.
These, too, were very good things.
Lloyd, a redshirt freshman running back, was among the young players to get plenty of reps as Hoosier coaches work toward a big spring finale and, potentially, a fall season to remember.
Lloyd played as if determined to end his walk-on status and earn a scholarship by dinner time.
"Based off today's scrimmage," DeBord said, "I thought he ran extremely hard. He gained a lot of yards after contact. When you're a really good running back, you can be measured by that. He had a lot of extra yards after contact. I was very happy about that."
Allen shared that happiness. IU has a solid group of running backs, led by Morgan Ellison (who had a team-leading 704 rushing yards last season as a true freshman), but given the pounding they take, you can never have enough good ones.
The 5-11, 195-pound Lloyd works to show he can be very good.
"I've really been impressed with Ahrod," Allen said. "He's an awesome kid. He runs hard. He's been very impressive."
Lloyd was a defense destroyer at Indianapolis Park Tudor High School, totaling career numbers of 4,734 rushing yards, 1,006 receiving yards and 47 touchdowns. He set school-rushing records for a game (309 yards) and a season (1,689).
His versatility included earning letters in swimming and lacrosse.
At IU he's thrived behind the scenes. Last year he won scout team player-of-the-week honors four times, but never played in a game.
That could change by September.
"He was really good in the fall on the scout team," Allen said. "His quickness, power and speed have been a pleasant surprise. I'm real proud of him. I love his attitude."
RUNNING BACKS ROCK
Lloyd wasn't the only young running back to impress on Saturday. Connor Thomas, a redshirt sophomore out of Tennessee, also had big scrimmage moments.
The 5-8, 188-pound Thomas played in five games last season and totaled six rushing yards on three attempts. He twice won team scout player of the week.
"I like our running backs a lot," DeBord said. "I thought (Saturday) would be a big day for them, the younger guys. Ahrod and Conner brought it all day, so I was pleased with what I saw. We'll see where we go from there."
Ellison didn't participate in the scrimmage. He's recovering from an injury suffered during last weekend's scrimmage.
"He won't be practicing the rest of the spring," Allen said. "He had a lower leg injury, but he will be back. It was a good prognosis. We feel good about him.
"We're not going to take any chances. We'll get him healthy and ready. He should be full bore by the beginning of the summer."
As for all the extra action for multiple younger players, Allen said, "We have some older guys that we know what they can do. We feel good about them, so we wanted give the young guys reps."
As far as balancing the work load between young and older players, Allen added that, "Once you get to the point where you feel (the veterans) have a good rep base to be polished for the spring, then you want to get them out of the live reps. We've done that with several guys.
"We're trying to protect our depth and develop the younger guys. We have them get reps with live settings. You noticed with a few guys we started to pull them out at the end.
"It's never an exact science. It's more of a gut feel. Sometimes it's wrapped around a guy's health. If he gets nicked up, instead of taking a chance, we pull him out.
"Overall it's been about developing the younger guys and let the older guys sit back and stay healthy."
QUARTERBACK LEARNING CURVE
True freshman quarterback Michael Penix Jr. continues to play well as he competes with redshirt sophomore Peyton Ramsey.
"He grows every day," DeBord said. "He's going to have a few mistakes. He'll have players make mistakes. The one thing about him is he has great composure. He keeps his composure. He doesn't get frustrated. That's part of it. He's learning."
As a high school senior out of Tampa, Fla., Penix threw for 2,165 yards and 30 touchdowns. He also ran for 449 yards and 10 TDs.
YOUNGER ALLEN MAKING HIS MARK
Among the young players seeing plenty of action on Saturday was redshirt freshman linebacker Thomas Allen, the son of the head coach. The 6-3, 237-pound Allen played with the first and second defense.
"He gives us tremendous size at 240 pounds," the elder Allen said. "He has a good knowledge of the defense. He knows what to do.
"He's been really good. He showed up today at times, flashed to me, and made some plays. More than anything it's continued confidence.
"He missed half of spring ball last year with an injury. He didn't get the full benefit of being here. He cares a whole bunch. He does the little things right and is great in the weight room. Our weight staff loves him by seeing the mindset he brings and how hard he works."
SCRIMMAGE CRITIQUE
IU worked on a variety of game-like scenarios during Saturday's scrimmage.
"What I loved about today was we got in a lot of situations," Allen said. "We wanted to put our guys in game-like situations that you don't always get -- whether it was overtime to red zone to high red zone and drives, to some coming-out series. We're learning how they deal with that. A lot of guys got a lot of reps. I feel it was a productive day."
DeBord's scrimmage impression centered, as you would expect, on the offense.
"I thought the first offense moved the ball pretty well. We have to finish drives better. We finished some with touchdowns, but when you get in the red zone, you have to score touchdowns. We talk about that as a four-point play – three compared to seven. We have to finish better down there.
"That first group moved the ball well all day. The second group was very inconsistent. There were too many mistakes. We have to clean that up."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Ahrod Lloyd ran to punish. He hit when others might have danced.
This was a very good thing.
Yes, it came away from the spotlight. It was part of Indiana's latest spring football practice scrimmage, held inside the Mellencamp Pavilion late Saturday morning.
Head coach Tom Allen noticed.
Offensive coordinator Mike DeBord noticed.
These, too, were very good things.
Lloyd, a redshirt freshman running back, was among the young players to get plenty of reps as Hoosier coaches work toward a big spring finale and, potentially, a fall season to remember.
Lloyd played as if determined to end his walk-on status and earn a scholarship by dinner time.
"Based off today's scrimmage," DeBord said, "I thought he ran extremely hard. He gained a lot of yards after contact. When you're a really good running back, you can be measured by that. He had a lot of extra yards after contact. I was very happy about that."
Allen shared that happiness. IU has a solid group of running backs, led by Morgan Ellison (who had a team-leading 704 rushing yards last season as a true freshman), but given the pounding they take, you can never have enough good ones.
The 5-11, 195-pound Lloyd works to show he can be very good.
"I've really been impressed with Ahrod," Allen said. "He's an awesome kid. He runs hard. He's been very impressive."
Lloyd was a defense destroyer at Indianapolis Park Tudor High School, totaling career numbers of 4,734 rushing yards, 1,006 receiving yards and 47 touchdowns. He set school-rushing records for a game (309 yards) and a season (1,689).
His versatility included earning letters in swimming and lacrosse.
At IU he's thrived behind the scenes. Last year he won scout team player-of-the-week honors four times, but never played in a game.
That could change by September.
"He was really good in the fall on the scout team," Allen said. "His quickness, power and speed have been a pleasant surprise. I'm real proud of him. I love his attitude."
RUNNING BACKS ROCK
Lloyd wasn't the only young running back to impress on Saturday. Connor Thomas, a redshirt sophomore out of Tennessee, also had big scrimmage moments.
The 5-8, 188-pound Thomas played in five games last season and totaled six rushing yards on three attempts. He twice won team scout player of the week.
"I like our running backs a lot," DeBord said. "I thought (Saturday) would be a big day for them, the younger guys. Ahrod and Conner brought it all day, so I was pleased with what I saw. We'll see where we go from there."
Ellison didn't participate in the scrimmage. He's recovering from an injury suffered during last weekend's scrimmage.
"He won't be practicing the rest of the spring," Allen said. "He had a lower leg injury, but he will be back. It was a good prognosis. We feel good about him.
"We're not going to take any chances. We'll get him healthy and ready. He should be full bore by the beginning of the summer."
As for all the extra action for multiple younger players, Allen said, "We have some older guys that we know what they can do. We feel good about them, so we wanted give the young guys reps."
As far as balancing the work load between young and older players, Allen added that, "Once you get to the point where you feel (the veterans) have a good rep base to be polished for the spring, then you want to get them out of the live reps. We've done that with several guys.
"We're trying to protect our depth and develop the younger guys. We have them get reps with live settings. You noticed with a few guys we started to pull them out at the end.
"It's never an exact science. It's more of a gut feel. Sometimes it's wrapped around a guy's health. If he gets nicked up, instead of taking a chance, we pull him out.
"Overall it's been about developing the younger guys and let the older guys sit back and stay healthy."
QUARTERBACK LEARNING CURVE
True freshman quarterback Michael Penix Jr. continues to play well as he competes with redshirt sophomore Peyton Ramsey.
"He grows every day," DeBord said. "He's going to have a few mistakes. He'll have players make mistakes. The one thing about him is he has great composure. He keeps his composure. He doesn't get frustrated. That's part of it. He's learning."
As a high school senior out of Tampa, Fla., Penix threw for 2,165 yards and 30 touchdowns. He also ran for 449 yards and 10 TDs.
YOUNGER ALLEN MAKING HIS MARK
Among the young players seeing plenty of action on Saturday was redshirt freshman linebacker Thomas Allen, the son of the head coach. The 6-3, 237-pound Allen played with the first and second defense.
"He gives us tremendous size at 240 pounds," the elder Allen said. "He has a good knowledge of the defense. He knows what to do.
"He's been really good. He showed up today at times, flashed to me, and made some plays. More than anything it's continued confidence.
"He missed half of spring ball last year with an injury. He didn't get the full benefit of being here. He cares a whole bunch. He does the little things right and is great in the weight room. Our weight staff loves him by seeing the mindset he brings and how hard he works."
SCRIMMAGE CRITIQUE
IU worked on a variety of game-like scenarios during Saturday's scrimmage.
"What I loved about today was we got in a lot of situations," Allen said. "We wanted to put our guys in game-like situations that you don't always get -- whether it was overtime to red zone to high red zone and drives, to some coming-out series. We're learning how they deal with that. A lot of guys got a lot of reps. I feel it was a productive day."
DeBord's scrimmage impression centered, as you would expect, on the offense.
"I thought the first offense moved the ball pretty well. We have to finish drives better. We finished some with touchdowns, but when you get in the red zone, you have to score touchdowns. We talk about that as a four-point play – three compared to seven. We have to finish better down there.
"That first group moved the ball well all day. The second group was very inconsistent. There were too many mistakes. We have to clean that up."
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