Indiana University Athletics
B1G Media Days Kick Off 2016 Season
7/27/2016 10:37:00 AM | Football
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By: Tori Ziege | Twitter
IUHoosiers.com
CHICAGO, Ill. – "Everybody awake? We good to go?"
As the second head coach to take the podium at Big Ten Media Day on Tuesday morning, Kevin Wilson promptly roused the media at 8:15 am CT and welcomed them to the start of the 2016 IU football season.
Wilson, fifth-year seniors Dan Feeney and Dimitric Camiel, and redshirt junior Marcus Oliver represented the Hoosiers in Chicago.
Here are the highlights from their trip to the Windy City.
On the offensive line…
Having begun his prolific offensive coaching career as an offensive line coach, Wilson tends to evaluate an offense by starting up front.
His Magic 8-Ball says "Outlook good" for the 2016 unit, which returns four fifth-year seniors, including 2015 All-American and 2016 Outland Trophy Watch List member Feeney.
Last season, the Hoosiers ran more plays and accumulated more passing yards than any other team in the league, yet had the fewest turnovers and sacks allowed in the Big Ten. This mathematically mindboggling stat has Wilson more encouraged than any other this preseason.
Though Indiana loses second-round draft pick Jason Spriggs, he still sees the experienced O-line as the linchpin to running a successful offense in 2016.
"To me, it's about playing to the strengths of what the lineman can do," he said. "You can have a runaway at quarterback, a throwaway at quarterback, a lot of receivers, two backs, one back, you can be under center, you can be in gun. But if you can't block it, you can't do it. Period."
On new defensive coordinator Tom Allen…
Wilson has been known to name drop a player (or seven) during his press conferences, but no name came up more on Media Day than that of new defensive coordinator Tom Allen.
Each participant in Big Ten Media Day had a different story to share about Allen. Wilson reflected on his first meeting with the Indiana native and former Ben Davis coach, when the pair spent three hours discussing how best to get coaches and players to buy in.
Wilson "had no clue" until he sat down with Allen that he coached a 4-2-5 defensive scheme, and he didn't care. Schemes are overrated, he said. What's most important is that he and Allen complement one another.
And they do.
"I just felt a connection with him right away," Wilson said. "I couldn't believe how positive he was. And I've been more pleased since he's been with me. He has a positive eye, and I have a critical eye. One of my things is always how to be critical but find a more positive way, whereas he would tell you how to be positive but be demanding."
Marcus Oliver's Tom Allen story comes from spring ball, where, from day one, Allen watched him like a hawk, he said, waiting for him to make a mistake.
When he finally did, Allen made an example of him, sending a message to the rest of the team that "no one is too good" to follow the rules.
"Guys are ready to step up," Oliver said. "It's not that we don't have the talent. We have the talent. But I think we're also getting the confidence, and that's thanks to Coach Allen."
On the Big Ten schedule…
You can't have Big Ten Media Day without talking Big Ten. Wilson addressed the new nine-game conference schedule and praised the Big Ten's "formula" for giving its teams the best chance to make the College Football Playoff.
The 2016 Big Ten schedule features no FCS games, one power-five game, nine conference games and the chance to play in the conference championship for all 14 Big Ten teams. Last year, Indiana played eight conference games and one FCS opponent in Southern Illinois University.
Though the ancillary conference game makes Indiana's schedule all the more challenging, Wilson said players are ready to embrace the challenge.
"The kids want to play in great games," he said. "It helps recruiting."
On the season as a whole…
Perhaps the biggest boon to the season happened well before spring ball, when Wilson signed his contract extension in January to secure his position at Indiana through 2021.
The assurance of stability at the head coaching position has enticed a wider and more talented pool of coaches and players than any in Wilson's tenure, most notably Allen, who was one of Wilson's first calls after he signed the dotted line.
Following a 2015 season that included fourth-quarter losses to four ranked opponents and a last-second loss in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl, Wilson insists that his team always had confidence.
"I don't like the moral victory, but I think it gave our team some back-handed confidence that we match up, and that we're not far off," Wilson said. "All we did is show them after the game, 'Look at all the good football, and it's not quite good enough. So let's practice a little harder, let's rest a little bit more, let's have a little bit more positive energy, and let's get over the hump."
Wilson roused the media with his opening statement at Big Ten Media Day. And with his parting words, he ignited a fan base.
"This is by far the deepest our team has been," he said.
"Make sure you keep the TV turned on. It's going to be a lot of fun watching the Hoosiers play."
Players Mentioned
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