Indiana University Athletics
Coordinators Want Early Energy
3/8/2016 2:53:00 PM | Football
By: Sam Beishuizen | Twitter
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Offensive coordinator Kevin Johns and defensive coordinator Tom Allen are at a consensus in saying the schemes and the sharpness isn't what's important the first week of spring practice.
It's the energy.
"I'm seeing great effort, which is important to us," Johns said. "That's what we're trying to coach more than anything else, but I'm also seeing a lot of young players just thinking too much. We're still putting in base plays, base concepts, but to us attitude is more important than any schemes."
Said Allen: "I was encouraged. We had good energy all three days. My big goal for these guys we talked about (was) we want to practice with great energy and great effort."
Indiana's agenda on both sides of the ball parallel in the sense that the coaches want to see players eager to work, but that's about where they start to stray away from one another.
Allen is focused on implementing his new defensive schemes and philosophies with not only new players but a new coaching staff. He's working to line the right players up in the right spots all while installing his 4-2-5 base defense in place of the 3-4 IU used the last two seasons.
Johns is more concerned with personnel at this point. Indiana's offense is mostly set in place already, but the players—particularly at quarterback and running back—still need to sort themselves out on the depth chart.
"We're trying to get just about everybody as many reps as we can," Johns said of IU's inexperienced group of quarterbacks. "I'm seeing good kids that are working hard. That just means tons and tons of reps. They're just behind, so we're trying to facilitate that as best we can."
Johns said he's looking forward to taking the better part of two weeks away from the field over spring break to debrief with the position coaches about the progress particular players have made. Just three practices in, he said he hasn't had enough time to analyze much of anything up until this point other than what he sees at the surface level of what's in front of him as it's happening.
"For us coaches, the meetings that we're going to have with these kids tomorrow is going to be the most important thing that we're going to get all week," he said. "On the field, things happen so fast we don't really feel like we can coach them on the field. We're just trying to get plays and get reps and play with that full speed look that we want. Then in the off days is when we can sit in the film room and just digest and eat everything up."
Like Johns, Allen is also looking forward to the break so he can study what he's seen on the field up to this point. He's primarily still trying to determine what players to put at which positions as soon as he can so they can get as many reps as possible in new spots.
"There might be some position changes," Allen said. "I won't say major ones, but it's about getting guys in the right spot. A lot of times you don't know until you get out here and start doing it, and you really won't know until you go live."
Tuesday's practice—Indiana's third of the spring—was the first time players went onto the field wearing full pads. It gave Allen the opportunity to further examine his players' tackling technique at this point in the process.
Tackling and creating takeaways are at the top of Allen's list of things he wants his defense to do better this season. Takeaways in particular are important to him because he wants his defense playing with the mindset that the ball is rightfully theirs for the taking.
He won't call a fumble recovery or interception a turnover because that implies it was the opposing offense's fault. He wants his players thinking in terms of taking the ball away from the opponent, and anyone who calls it a turnover owes Allen pushups.
"We call them takeaways for a reason. We don't call them turnovers," Allen said. "As a matter of act, you get 25 pushups if you say the word turnover on defense, coaches included. We're going to take the ball away from you. It's an active aggression. That's why we use that word. You'll notice that in practice every day, we're going to assault the football. We believe it's our ball. We're going to go get it."
In the time they've been back at practice, fifth-year senior wide receiver Mitchell Paige and junior linebacker Tegray Scales said they've enjoyed the changes the coaching staff has implemented so far. Being on the field together again was a welcome change after weeks in the weight room waiting for spring to come, Scales said.
And it's only just beginning.
"We're all ready, this whole team," he said. "It's time to get after it, so we're getting after it."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Offensive coordinator Kevin Johns and defensive coordinator Tom Allen are at a consensus in saying the schemes and the sharpness isn't what's important the first week of spring practice.
It's the energy.
"I'm seeing great effort, which is important to us," Johns said. "That's what we're trying to coach more than anything else, but I'm also seeing a lot of young players just thinking too much. We're still putting in base plays, base concepts, but to us attitude is more important than any schemes."
Said Allen: "I was encouraged. We had good energy all three days. My big goal for these guys we talked about (was) we want to practice with great energy and great effort."
Indiana's agenda on both sides of the ball parallel in the sense that the coaches want to see players eager to work, but that's about where they start to stray away from one another.
Allen is focused on implementing his new defensive schemes and philosophies with not only new players but a new coaching staff. He's working to line the right players up in the right spots all while installing his 4-2-5 base defense in place of the 3-4 IU used the last two seasons.
Johns is more concerned with personnel at this point. Indiana's offense is mostly set in place already, but the players—particularly at quarterback and running back—still need to sort themselves out on the depth chart.
"We're trying to get just about everybody as many reps as we can," Johns said of IU's inexperienced group of quarterbacks. "I'm seeing good kids that are working hard. That just means tons and tons of reps. They're just behind, so we're trying to facilitate that as best we can."
Johns said he's looking forward to taking the better part of two weeks away from the field over spring break to debrief with the position coaches about the progress particular players have made. Just three practices in, he said he hasn't had enough time to analyze much of anything up until this point other than what he sees at the surface level of what's in front of him as it's happening.
"For us coaches, the meetings that we're going to have with these kids tomorrow is going to be the most important thing that we're going to get all week," he said. "On the field, things happen so fast we don't really feel like we can coach them on the field. We're just trying to get plays and get reps and play with that full speed look that we want. Then in the off days is when we can sit in the film room and just digest and eat everything up."
Like Johns, Allen is also looking forward to the break so he can study what he's seen on the field up to this point. He's primarily still trying to determine what players to put at which positions as soon as he can so they can get as many reps as possible in new spots.
"There might be some position changes," Allen said. "I won't say major ones, but it's about getting guys in the right spot. A lot of times you don't know until you get out here and start doing it, and you really won't know until you go live."
Tuesday's practice—Indiana's third of the spring—was the first time players went onto the field wearing full pads. It gave Allen the opportunity to further examine his players' tackling technique at this point in the process.
Tackling and creating takeaways are at the top of Allen's list of things he wants his defense to do better this season. Takeaways in particular are important to him because he wants his defense playing with the mindset that the ball is rightfully theirs for the taking.
He won't call a fumble recovery or interception a turnover because that implies it was the opposing offense's fault. He wants his players thinking in terms of taking the ball away from the opponent, and anyone who calls it a turnover owes Allen pushups.
"We call them takeaways for a reason. We don't call them turnovers," Allen said. "As a matter of act, you get 25 pushups if you say the word turnover on defense, coaches included. We're going to take the ball away from you. It's an active aggression. That's why we use that word. You'll notice that in practice every day, we're going to assault the football. We believe it's our ball. We're going to go get it."
In the time they've been back at practice, fifth-year senior wide receiver Mitchell Paige and junior linebacker Tegray Scales said they've enjoyed the changes the coaching staff has implemented so far. Being on the field together again was a welcome change after weeks in the weight room waiting for spring to come, Scales said.
And it's only just beginning.
"We're all ready, this whole team," he said. "It's time to get after it, so we're getting after it."
Players Mentioned
LB
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Thursday, April 23
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Tuesday, April 21
FB: Drew Evans - Spring Practice No. 11
Tuesday, April 21
FB: Nico Radicic - Spring Practice No. 11
Tuesday, April 21