Indiana University Athletics
Graham Notebook: Allen and Miller Visit Huber's Orchard and Winery
5/31/2018 12:51:00 PM | Football
By: Andy Graham
IUHoosiers.com
BORDEN, Ind. – Indiana basketball coach Archie Miller can even more fully relate to Romeo Langford now.
Because the truly prodigious autograph line Miller and football colleague Tom Allen faced Wednesday night following IU Athletics' annual shindig at Huber's Orchard and Winery would've looked familiar to Langford.
The line was astonishingly long. People in it, almost without exception, were adorned in IU apparel. And the coaches, sitting at a table, were set to stay for as long as it took to satisfy fans' requests.
Which was pretty much 2018 Indiana Mr. Basketball Romeo Langford's exact experience after each New Albany High School game the past couple of seasons.
A table would be set up outside the New Albany locker room post-game. Langford would voluntarily sit for fans until all items were signed and all photos taken. His teammates and coaches would patiently wait till he finished before finally making their exit alongside him.
McDonald's All-American Langford's decision to attend IU – announced precisely a month earlier before another partisan Hoosier throng at his high school gym – doubtless enlarged the lines seen Wednesday in and around the banquet hall of Huber's Orchard and Winery facility.
It was a record crowd of over 1,000, nearly bursting the banquet hall seams and helping likewise fill the charity coffers of the IU Alumni Association's Louisville/Southern Indiana chapter.
The event showcases IU hoops and football, but recent Hoosier successes across the spectrum of the program's 24 sports were duly noted and celebrated. And the continuing facility upgrades were all reported to be on schedule and on budget, eliciting more approval from the crowd.
But amid all the overt enthusiasm, everybody present also struck a proper and somber note that Wednesday would have marked Bill Mallory's 83rd birthday had not the legendary IU football coach not passed away last Friday.
When IU Director of Athletics Fred Glass opened the formal program and asked the packed house for a moment in memoriam for Mallory, total silence ensued.
Allen then came to the podium and earned his second standing ovation in as many years at Huber's, with a speech Don Fischer described as "kind of Malloryesque."
It was, indeed, in both content and tone.
Even before addressing the crowd, Allen had told the assembled media how much of an inspiration Mallory will remain, even amid the sorrow of his passing.
"Heavy heart, for Coach Mallory and his family," Allen said. "Special thoughts with (Mallory's wife) Ellie, who has to deal with everything that's going on – and to have his birthday today, that sometimes makes it more difficult.
"So much love and respect for him, and everything he means to our program. When you go back and study everything that he did, and what he inherited when he got here, the way he turned it around is really unbelievable. And the way he handled things at the end (of his career) was unusual, compared to the way a lot of people handle things like that."
The Mallorys stayed in Bloomington after IU truncated his 13-season tenure in 1996, still contributing to both the broader community and to Hoosier athletics – including the new head football coach in 2017.
"He was great from the very beginning," Allen said. "He was really the first one I sat down with. We went and had lunch together and he just kind of went through everything (about coaching football at Indiana). The culture of Indiana. Things he felt that were important, and things we were able to establish and do with respect to recruiting, dealing with media, the coaching staff, the conference …
"He came to practice every single week. He would text me. As a matter of fact, I just got a text from him not long ago after an article in the paper that was very positive about the direction we're going. He said, 'You guys are doing everything the right way. We believe in you. Just keep doing what you're doing.' That's just kind of how he was. He cared about this program. He loved it."
And there was a lot of Hoosier love to go around Wednesday night.
WHERE THERE'S A WILLIS, THERE'S A WAY.
Indiana football also welcomed back a key veteran recently as Dameon Willis Jr. decided to take advantage of his final season of eligibility.
Willis went through Senior Day last fall with the intention of hanging up his cleats and didn't participate in spring practice, but along the way had a change of heart.
"He was kind of beat up and now he's had some time to heal, he's going to be back with us," Allen said of Willis. "I think that's huge. He was our most experienced linebacker coming back.
"We just had some good heart-to-hearts. And I'm just really excited about having him back with us. He'll be joining us for our workouts here in June, and he's anxious to get back at it. His body is healed up and I think he's going to be a big part of our future."
IU graduated starting linebackers Tegray Scales and Chris Covington, but Willis was the primary backup to Covington in the middle and is now – by far – the most veteran linebacker in the Hoosier fold.
Willis has played in 35 games, logging 65 tackles, in his career. He played in 10 games last season, with 27 tackles (including 15 solos and a tackle for loss). He had a career-high 7.5 stops versus Michigan State.
Reakwon Jones and Michael McGinnis all saw snaps at linebacker last season. And IU's incoming recruiting class features at least six players who could end up at linebacker.
But Willis' return lends a lot of experience to a rather inexperienced unit.
IU QB PROTOTYPE? THAT RODGERS GUY.
Allen welcomes former Arizona quarterback Brandon Dawkins into the Hoosier fold as a graduate transfer this summer, joining an IU quarterback room already featuring redshirt sophomore Peyton Ramsey and true freshman Michael Penix Jr. (a January enrollee).
All three can run. But Allen also wants somebody who can test a defense with accurate passing and stretch it with downfield throws.
Allen's ultimate prototype? Green Bay perennial All-Pro Aaron Rodgers, renowned for both his brilliant passing coupled with his ability to extend and make plays with his legs.
"I have always said – and this will always be the case for me, in terms of what I want – is that I want them to be a passer first," Allen said. "That's a huge part of what we want to be able to do.
"But I also understand, as a defensive coach, the value of their legs. When you have to account for them in terms of extending plays, having 'escapability,' those are big traits for him to have.
It allows you to put stress on the defense."
Allen doesn't have much use for labeling quarterbacks.
"Everybody wants to talk 'dual-threat' or 'pro-style,' " Allen said. "Well, Michael Penix is listed as a pro-style quarterback on the Rivals site. But what does that really mean? To me, he's a guy who can run it and throw it. He (now) throws a lot more than he runs it, than in the past, and that's fine.
"But when you scheme defensively and don't have to worry about that guy's legs, that takes away a component that hinders you. In my mind, that's what I'm looking for. Passer first, but a guy who's got athleticism.
"Aaron Rodgers is the guy who comes to mind. He's not considered a "dual" guy, but he's a great athlete. He throws it with great accuracy but is athletic enough to extend plays and he's hard to sack. And that's what you want."
Whoever quarterbacks IU in 2018 will take snaps behind an offensive line returning its entire two-deep chart intact, in addition to Miami graduate transfer Nick Linder, and with plenty of experienced backs and receivers at their disposal.
And with Indiana having graduated seven defensive starters, Allen is putting an onus on his offense to help the Hoosiers get off to a fast start this fall.
"I've shared my expectations with them, and they feel it, too," Allen said of his personnel on offense. "You want that to be the case. Last year, we kind of had that on the defensive side of the football, with so many guys returning. They played to a high level.
"As young as we're going to be on defense, they're going to need to play at a high level – to provide that leadership off the field, that production on the field early in the season as we bring our young guys along on defense. There are a lot of reasons to be optimistic, offensively, and I expect our guys to rise to the occasion and make it happen."
GRADING OUT WELL
Glass noted that this past academic year, IU athletics set an all-time program record with 256 Academic All-Big Ten selections. The average grade-point-average for the athletic department was 3.15. And last year, the athletic department had 68 Distinguished Scholars, another program record. The Graduation Success Rate for athletes at IU this past year was 90.6 percent. That's up from 70 percent when Glass arrived in 2011.
IUHoosiers.com
BORDEN, Ind. – Indiana basketball coach Archie Miller can even more fully relate to Romeo Langford now.
Because the truly prodigious autograph line Miller and football colleague Tom Allen faced Wednesday night following IU Athletics' annual shindig at Huber's Orchard and Winery would've looked familiar to Langford.
The line was astonishingly long. People in it, almost without exception, were adorned in IU apparel. And the coaches, sitting at a table, were set to stay for as long as it took to satisfy fans' requests.
Which was pretty much 2018 Indiana Mr. Basketball Romeo Langford's exact experience after each New Albany High School game the past couple of seasons.
A table would be set up outside the New Albany locker room post-game. Langford would voluntarily sit for fans until all items were signed and all photos taken. His teammates and coaches would patiently wait till he finished before finally making their exit alongside him.
McDonald's All-American Langford's decision to attend IU – announced precisely a month earlier before another partisan Hoosier throng at his high school gym – doubtless enlarged the lines seen Wednesday in and around the banquet hall of Huber's Orchard and Winery facility.
It was a record crowd of over 1,000, nearly bursting the banquet hall seams and helping likewise fill the charity coffers of the IU Alumni Association's Louisville/Southern Indiana chapter.
The event showcases IU hoops and football, but recent Hoosier successes across the spectrum of the program's 24 sports were duly noted and celebrated. And the continuing facility upgrades were all reported to be on schedule and on budget, eliciting more approval from the crowd.
But amid all the overt enthusiasm, everybody present also struck a proper and somber note that Wednesday would have marked Bill Mallory's 83rd birthday had not the legendary IU football coach not passed away last Friday.
When IU Director of Athletics Fred Glass opened the formal program and asked the packed house for a moment in memoriam for Mallory, total silence ensued.
Allen then came to the podium and earned his second standing ovation in as many years at Huber's, with a speech Don Fischer described as "kind of Malloryesque."
It was, indeed, in both content and tone.
Even before addressing the crowd, Allen had told the assembled media how much of an inspiration Mallory will remain, even amid the sorrow of his passing.
"Heavy heart, for Coach Mallory and his family," Allen said. "Special thoughts with (Mallory's wife) Ellie, who has to deal with everything that's going on – and to have his birthday today, that sometimes makes it more difficult.
"So much love and respect for him, and everything he means to our program. When you go back and study everything that he did, and what he inherited when he got here, the way he turned it around is really unbelievable. And the way he handled things at the end (of his career) was unusual, compared to the way a lot of people handle things like that."
The Mallorys stayed in Bloomington after IU truncated his 13-season tenure in 1996, still contributing to both the broader community and to Hoosier athletics – including the new head football coach in 2017.
"He was great from the very beginning," Allen said. "He was really the first one I sat down with. We went and had lunch together and he just kind of went through everything (about coaching football at Indiana). The culture of Indiana. Things he felt that were important, and things we were able to establish and do with respect to recruiting, dealing with media, the coaching staff, the conference …
"He came to practice every single week. He would text me. As a matter of fact, I just got a text from him not long ago after an article in the paper that was very positive about the direction we're going. He said, 'You guys are doing everything the right way. We believe in you. Just keep doing what you're doing.' That's just kind of how he was. He cared about this program. He loved it."
And there was a lot of Hoosier love to go around Wednesday night.
WHERE THERE'S A WILLIS, THERE'S A WAY.
Indiana football also welcomed back a key veteran recently as Dameon Willis Jr. decided to take advantage of his final season of eligibility.
Willis went through Senior Day last fall with the intention of hanging up his cleats and didn't participate in spring practice, but along the way had a change of heart.
"He was kind of beat up and now he's had some time to heal, he's going to be back with us," Allen said of Willis. "I think that's huge. He was our most experienced linebacker coming back.
"We just had some good heart-to-hearts. And I'm just really excited about having him back with us. He'll be joining us for our workouts here in June, and he's anxious to get back at it. His body is healed up and I think he's going to be a big part of our future."
IU graduated starting linebackers Tegray Scales and Chris Covington, but Willis was the primary backup to Covington in the middle and is now – by far – the most veteran linebacker in the Hoosier fold.
Willis has played in 35 games, logging 65 tackles, in his career. He played in 10 games last season, with 27 tackles (including 15 solos and a tackle for loss). He had a career-high 7.5 stops versus Michigan State.
Reakwon Jones and Michael McGinnis all saw snaps at linebacker last season. And IU's incoming recruiting class features at least six players who could end up at linebacker.
But Willis' return lends a lot of experience to a rather inexperienced unit.
IU QB PROTOTYPE? THAT RODGERS GUY.
Allen welcomes former Arizona quarterback Brandon Dawkins into the Hoosier fold as a graduate transfer this summer, joining an IU quarterback room already featuring redshirt sophomore Peyton Ramsey and true freshman Michael Penix Jr. (a January enrollee).
All three can run. But Allen also wants somebody who can test a defense with accurate passing and stretch it with downfield throws.
Allen's ultimate prototype? Green Bay perennial All-Pro Aaron Rodgers, renowned for both his brilliant passing coupled with his ability to extend and make plays with his legs.
"I have always said – and this will always be the case for me, in terms of what I want – is that I want them to be a passer first," Allen said. "That's a huge part of what we want to be able to do.
"But I also understand, as a defensive coach, the value of their legs. When you have to account for them in terms of extending plays, having 'escapability,' those are big traits for him to have.
It allows you to put stress on the defense."
Allen doesn't have much use for labeling quarterbacks.
"Everybody wants to talk 'dual-threat' or 'pro-style,' " Allen said. "Well, Michael Penix is listed as a pro-style quarterback on the Rivals site. But what does that really mean? To me, he's a guy who can run it and throw it. He (now) throws a lot more than he runs it, than in the past, and that's fine.
"But when you scheme defensively and don't have to worry about that guy's legs, that takes away a component that hinders you. In my mind, that's what I'm looking for. Passer first, but a guy who's got athleticism.
"Aaron Rodgers is the guy who comes to mind. He's not considered a "dual" guy, but he's a great athlete. He throws it with great accuracy but is athletic enough to extend plays and he's hard to sack. And that's what you want."
Whoever quarterbacks IU in 2018 will take snaps behind an offensive line returning its entire two-deep chart intact, in addition to Miami graduate transfer Nick Linder, and with plenty of experienced backs and receivers at their disposal.
And with Indiana having graduated seven defensive starters, Allen is putting an onus on his offense to help the Hoosiers get off to a fast start this fall.
"I've shared my expectations with them, and they feel it, too," Allen said of his personnel on offense. "You want that to be the case. Last year, we kind of had that on the defensive side of the football, with so many guys returning. They played to a high level.
"As young as we're going to be on defense, they're going to need to play at a high level – to provide that leadership off the field, that production on the field early in the season as we bring our young guys along on defense. There are a lot of reasons to be optimistic, offensively, and I expect our guys to rise to the occasion and make it happen."
GRADING OUT WELL
Glass noted that this past academic year, IU athletics set an all-time program record with 256 Academic All-Big Ten selections. The average grade-point-average for the athletic department was 3.15. And last year, the athletic department had 68 Distinguished Scholars, another program record. The Graduation Success Rate for athletes at IU this past year was 90.6 percent. That's up from 70 percent when Glass arrived in 2011.
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