Indiana University Athletics
Allen: Players are Buying into Each Other
11/22/2016 6:25:00 PM | Football
By: Nick Reith
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Tom Allen has flipped the script on Indiana's defense this season.
In just his first year and 11 games through his first season, the defensive coordinator has overseen a considerable culture change on his side of the ball. But what's the secret to Allen's success with the Hoosiers, who have stood their ground in college football's toughest conference this year?
It's simple: Allen's players are buying into not only his system, but each other as well.
"I don't know if that's been the biggest improvement, but they're a close group that enjoys being with each other and spending time together off the field," Allen said. "Learning to make it 'not about me' is the key concept to me, and that's what they've bought into. They understand it's about L.E.O. and being a part of something bigger than themselves."
The shift, Allen continued, is rooted in their trust in one another. It seems trivial on the surface, but it plays heavily in a sport like football where team play is paramount. The trust leads a unit to shift in tandem, working together at every level of the play.
"It draws so much more strength from you when you know the other guys have your back and you don't want to let them down, either," said Allen. "That in turn allows our fits and our resiliency to be better."
The Hoosiers' change in mindset only shows a part of the picture, because the defense has taken strides on the field this season. The one-on-one and team tackling has improved; players are in position to make the plays, and they're doing well to account for every player on the other side of the line.
"When you talk to other coaches who go against us, those are the common themes that rise up, they talk about how hard we play," said Allen. "We talk about tackling, takeaways, and effort—those are our three mantras of what we want to become on the field, and you see that in our guys consistently."
The progress Indiana's defense has achieved this season makes last weekend's loss at No. 3 Michigan a tough pill to swallow. The unit held the Wolverines to just 59 yards through the air, the lowest by any IU defense since 2012, and kept the Hoosiers in the lead until late in the third quarter.
Allen believes the Hoosiers are growing closer toward being able to close out a top 10 win, as the game against Michigan came down to three plays in his mind: John O'Korn's 30-yard scramble after escaping a sack on third-and-8, the touchdown run on the next play, and the Wolverines' big touchdown run two drives later.
"It felt like those lack of finishes fell on us failing to execute the defense, failing to finish the tackle," Allen said. "In the week before we kind of wore down, where this week we played well enough in the first half that fatigue didn't come into play. That's frustrating because we can control that, even though the opponent works hard and tries to make their plays. It goes back to expectation, the core confidence that we'll find a way to win this game."
The defense faces its final test of the regular season this weekend, a senior day Old Oaken Bucket game against Purdue. Allen hopes this game will serve as a culmination of Indiana's growth on defense this season, because they face a tough one-two combination with Purdue quarterback David Blough and his main target, receiver DeAngelo Yancey.
"When you watch them, especially in the last four or five games, they've connected consistently against everybody," Allen said. "He's a big receiver with great ball skills; the quarterback is very talented, he's got an NFL arm. They started so well and played everybody tough, especially in the first half. They'll stress us on defense and get a lot of snaps. When you face a receiver of that caliber and that skill set, and the quarterback has such a quick release with a strong arm and deep ball accuracy, it'll be a tough challenge for our secondary. We'll have to be at our best."
