Indiana University Athletics
Graham Notebook: Youth is Serving
10/8/2018 10:07:00 PM | Football
By: Andy Graham
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana coach Tom Allen knows the numbers and the situation, obviously.
But sometimes even he is still surprised by it.
"Sometimes I look out there and am just amazed by the number of young guys we have out there on defense," Allen said after Saturday's game at Ohio State. "They're growing and learning, and that's just part of it.
"We knew we were going to be young this year, but we're not backing down from anybody."
Indiana has already played 38 underclassmen this fall, tied for eighth-most nationally – 13 true freshmen, 12 redshirt freshmen and 13 sophomores.
Linebackers Micah McFadden and Thomas Allen, ends James Head and Alfred Bryant, Husky Cam Jones, defensive backs Jamar Johnson, Juwan Burgess, Bryant Fitzgerald, Devon Matthews and Jaylin Williams were IU frosh who saw significant defensive snaps at OSU.
(Toss in transfer linebacker T.D. Roof, too – technically a sophomore but in his rookie year at Indiana.)
Some of the heavy freshman presence derives from the new NCAA rule this season that allows participation in four games while still retaining redshirt status, but nine true freshmen have already exceeded that allotment of games for Indiana:
Matthews, McFadden, Williams, Johnson, Stevie Scott (RB), Reese Taylor (ATH) and Matt Bjorson (TE) have played in every game during IU's 4-2 start. Head and Jones have played in five games apiece.
Four other true freshmen have played but have yet to reach or exceed the four-game threshold: Ronnie Walker Jr. (RB, 3 games), Michael Penix Jr. (QB, 2 games), Miles Marshall (WR, 1 game) and Shamar Jones (DT, 1 game).
Allen's staff has tried to juggle the four-game context judiciously with the applicable freshmen, and some frosh were doubtless tagged to perhaps play later in the season rather than earlier.
"There are several guys that we're still having a lot of conversations about," Allen acknowledged while meeting with the media Monday. "You get to that window where you say, okay, we've got these four opportunities. Some guys are … starting to physically get to the point now ... to position them to play here in the last part of the season.
"A guy like Michael Penix who has played two, and there have been other guys in similar situations, I think we're going to guard those (available games) carefully. It's very wise … to be able to invest a full year in a guy. I want to make it worth it.
"So I would say at this point the plan would be … unless a guy's going to be playing the majority of the time (during the second) half of the season, you'd like to be able to save a full year of eligibility, if at all possible. Doesn't always work out that way, and you have to make adjustments on the fly, and we will."
Circumstances and plans can always change. But Allen said the coaches try to be both forthright and diplomatic, regardless, when talking playing time with their troops.
"We try to communicate openly and honestly with the guys about the playing time," Allen said. "And I think most guys don't always like everything they hear. But they'll understand it, and they'll be more inclined to accept it, if you communicate clearly to them. I think that's a key thing you have to do, and I think our guys respond to that.
"So it's still an ongoing thing, and we'll keep working our way towards that end. A bowl game is (potentially there as) the 13th game. That counts as one of those four. (Injuries can affect things). Those are all parts of the equation you're trying to get yourself in position for."
Allen remains especially enamored of his freshman class in its entirety.
"Love our class that we brought in here as freshmen," he said. "They're working extremely hard. The ones that aren't getting to play on Saturdays are doing a great job preparing our team, working harder in the weight room, getting bigger, faster, stronger each and every day. And that's a huge part of our future.
"(We will) just continue to allow them to grow and develop, and they're helping us on special teams and helping us on defense. I still go out there and we freeze our film, and we said yesterday, 'Man, we're awfully young out there at times,' and it's just part of it.
"Those guys are growing up and playing a lot of football at this point. I think the assessment is they're a really good class. They proved that on the field, and there are a lot more players that haven't even played yet. I think they're going to be a really, really big part of this program. They may be as soon as next season (for some).
"It's just a really good group of young men, and a lot of really good football players. It's not just a good group athletically, they're really quality young men taking care of business in the classroom, working hard.
"Weight room staff loves them, loves their mindset, loves their work ethic, loves the way they handle themselves … how they handle themselves with the media, just being sharp guys. That's what you want to recruit. We tell our team, we tell our coaches, it's always about recruiting … it's about building relationships and selling the vision of what we're building."
Allen waxed eloquent a bit in describing that vision Monday.
"They can trust the kind of men that they're going to be around – that they're going to be developed first and foremost as a man," Allen said. "And (trust) the way that they're going to be modeled and mentored and loved and cared for, and yet challenged and held accountable and held to a high standard. That combination, that blend, is really what makes it unique and special.
"The facilities we're building, and the things that we're investing in our program … the ability for us to get guys on campus and invest in them and grow those relationships … for me to be able to continue to expand on the relationships I have in state here. I know a lot of these (high school) coaches extremely well, and they believe in what we're building here and the way we're building it.
"And then the chance to get a world class education at Indiana is big-time here. Then the chance to play in the best conference in college football, on the national stage, (it) is all a kid could ask for. A guy could come here and reach all of his dreams. So that's the message we're sending."
Allen knows evidence of all that has to show on the field, too.
"That has to be backed up by how you perform and how you show progress, and that's what we're doing, and that's what they're seeing," Allen said. "On the field, you want them to see it. I think guys watch games too and they see. They see the progress.
"They see how hard our kids play. They see how we compete. They see how much we play hard for each other. It's hard not to notice that. They see where we are against the best of the best. We've just got to keep building, keep moving, keep focusing on the task at hand, and don't look to the left or right, but look straight ahead."
Straight ahead is a Homecoming matchup with Iowa for a noon kickoff Saturday. The Hawkeyes (4-1) are coming in off a 48-31 road romp at Minnesota.
IU will still sport the nation's 19th-youngest team in terms of overall roster age heading into Saturday's fray. But young guys on other teams' rosters aren't necessarily playing significant roles as of yet.
Indiana's are.
TAKE IT AWAY, BOYS
IU got a fumble recovery from Cam Jones and an interception from Devon Matthews among the true freshmen who played Saturday at Ohio State, along with an interception from redshirt freshman Bryant Fitzgerald.
That marked the third three-takeaway game for the Hoosiers and upped Indiana to a share of seventh nationally with 13 takeaways so far this fall.
Indiana shares first in the conference and 13th in the country with six fumble recoveries and share third in the league and 20th in the nation with seven interceptions. Eight different IU defenders have forced a fumble, seven have an interception and six have a fumble recovery.
Allen's defenses have reached three takeaways in nine of the 31 games he's coached since arriving in Bloomington.
Last year was, by contrast, a takeaway drought by Allen standards, despite his continuing emphasis on the topic.
"We didn't emphasize it any different in the past, but I do think this fall camp I got back to really attacking the ball in practice," Allen said. "When you try to emphasize those, especially when you're going against your own team as fall camp is unfolding, you don't want it to injure your offensive guys as you're raking at the ball, punching at the ball …
"But we just said, 'We've got to get back to doing that.' So we were much more aggressive with that in fall camp with our guys because we just feel like we didn't get enough takeaways the year before. So I know the first takeaway we got of the year was Jonathan Crawford down there at (Florida International, in the season-opening victory) raking at the football. So to me it was just a direct reflection of that emphasis."
The players certainly picked up on the message.
"All through fall camp, we preached turnovers, turnovers," Jones said a couple of days following his second fumble recovery of the young season. "Every single day, our defense had to have at least three or more turnovers or we had to run.
"Those runs after fall camp practices were something serious … we'd run until coach said stop … when we do gassers, our whole defensive coaching staff runs with us. When they get tired, that's when we stop. And they don't get tired. They're in shape."
If there were consequences of not getting three takeaways in practice, was there any rewards for getting three at OSU?
"(It was) 'Congratulations and get back to work. We have work to do,'" Jones said with a laugh. "(But) we take pride in that. To be a good defense, you got get turnovers and you got to score as a defense.
"The goal is we want the ball. No matter how we get it, we want the ball. We're going to take the ball."
Once the season began, the punitive runs for lack of takeaways gave way to normal conditioning.
"During the season, they're trying to take care of us," Crawford noted. "But I'm sure that if he could run us, he'd run us."
Is there any penalty meted out at all if takeaways aren't forthcoming?
"Nah," Crawford said with a grin. "But you'll definitely hear about it."
Coaches talk all the time about "putting it on film," in reference to how players perform in games and practices.
Allen extends that to documenting takeaways.
"We make videos about it, and we talk about it," Allen said. "We made a whole video from fall camp, and all the takeaway attempts we've had, and all the takeaways that we created. So we've got to keep doing it.
"It's a big part of being a young defense, and trying to create field position for our offense and those kind of things. And we've got to take advantage of it as a team, and that's what we do as a program."
TATER TOUTED
Among IU's Players of the Week honorees for Ohio State week was Tater.
More on him forthcoming.
Nick Westbrook, who had five catches for 109 yards and a TD, was named Offensive Player of the Game. Linebacker Dameon Willis Jr. was Defensive Player of the Game after leading IU with nine tackles.
The coaches named the "gunners," the corner coverage guys for punts and kickoffs – specifically Isaac James, Raheem Layne and Jaylin Williams – as the Special Teams Players of the Game.
James Miller and Jeremy Boyd were defensive Scout Team Players of the Week. For scout Special Teams, it was Aaron Casey. And the corresponding offensive awards went to Ryan Smith and Dominic "Tater" Altimari.
"Yes, Dominic Altimari, a.k.a., Tater," Allen said. "As a matter of fact, when I announced him today to the team, I just said Tater. I said you've got to be a special guy when you have a one-name nickname and that's all that has to be said.
"I don't even have a one name nickname that they know me as. I got two names. But Tater's just got one. He's from St. Xavier in Cincinnati."
Allen was asked what his "two names" were. He smiled and replied:
"Coach Allen."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana coach Tom Allen knows the numbers and the situation, obviously.
But sometimes even he is still surprised by it.
"Sometimes I look out there and am just amazed by the number of young guys we have out there on defense," Allen said after Saturday's game at Ohio State. "They're growing and learning, and that's just part of it.
"We knew we were going to be young this year, but we're not backing down from anybody."
Indiana has already played 38 underclassmen this fall, tied for eighth-most nationally – 13 true freshmen, 12 redshirt freshmen and 13 sophomores.
Linebackers Micah McFadden and Thomas Allen, ends James Head and Alfred Bryant, Husky Cam Jones, defensive backs Jamar Johnson, Juwan Burgess, Bryant Fitzgerald, Devon Matthews and Jaylin Williams were IU frosh who saw significant defensive snaps at OSU.
(Toss in transfer linebacker T.D. Roof, too – technically a sophomore but in his rookie year at Indiana.)
Some of the heavy freshman presence derives from the new NCAA rule this season that allows participation in four games while still retaining redshirt status, but nine true freshmen have already exceeded that allotment of games for Indiana:
Matthews, McFadden, Williams, Johnson, Stevie Scott (RB), Reese Taylor (ATH) and Matt Bjorson (TE) have played in every game during IU's 4-2 start. Head and Jones have played in five games apiece.
Four other true freshmen have played but have yet to reach or exceed the four-game threshold: Ronnie Walker Jr. (RB, 3 games), Michael Penix Jr. (QB, 2 games), Miles Marshall (WR, 1 game) and Shamar Jones (DT, 1 game).
Allen's staff has tried to juggle the four-game context judiciously with the applicable freshmen, and some frosh were doubtless tagged to perhaps play later in the season rather than earlier.
"There are several guys that we're still having a lot of conversations about," Allen acknowledged while meeting with the media Monday. "You get to that window where you say, okay, we've got these four opportunities. Some guys are … starting to physically get to the point now ... to position them to play here in the last part of the season.
"A guy like Michael Penix who has played two, and there have been other guys in similar situations, I think we're going to guard those (available games) carefully. It's very wise … to be able to invest a full year in a guy. I want to make it worth it.
"So I would say at this point the plan would be … unless a guy's going to be playing the majority of the time (during the second) half of the season, you'd like to be able to save a full year of eligibility, if at all possible. Doesn't always work out that way, and you have to make adjustments on the fly, and we will."
Circumstances and plans can always change. But Allen said the coaches try to be both forthright and diplomatic, regardless, when talking playing time with their troops.
"We try to communicate openly and honestly with the guys about the playing time," Allen said. "And I think most guys don't always like everything they hear. But they'll understand it, and they'll be more inclined to accept it, if you communicate clearly to them. I think that's a key thing you have to do, and I think our guys respond to that.
"So it's still an ongoing thing, and we'll keep working our way towards that end. A bowl game is (potentially there as) the 13th game. That counts as one of those four. (Injuries can affect things). Those are all parts of the equation you're trying to get yourself in position for."
Allen remains especially enamored of his freshman class in its entirety.
"Love our class that we brought in here as freshmen," he said. "They're working extremely hard. The ones that aren't getting to play on Saturdays are doing a great job preparing our team, working harder in the weight room, getting bigger, faster, stronger each and every day. And that's a huge part of our future.
"(We will) just continue to allow them to grow and develop, and they're helping us on special teams and helping us on defense. I still go out there and we freeze our film, and we said yesterday, 'Man, we're awfully young out there at times,' and it's just part of it.
"Those guys are growing up and playing a lot of football at this point. I think the assessment is they're a really good class. They proved that on the field, and there are a lot more players that haven't even played yet. I think they're going to be a really, really big part of this program. They may be as soon as next season (for some).
"It's just a really good group of young men, and a lot of really good football players. It's not just a good group athletically, they're really quality young men taking care of business in the classroom, working hard.
"Weight room staff loves them, loves their mindset, loves their work ethic, loves the way they handle themselves … how they handle themselves with the media, just being sharp guys. That's what you want to recruit. We tell our team, we tell our coaches, it's always about recruiting … it's about building relationships and selling the vision of what we're building."
Allen waxed eloquent a bit in describing that vision Monday.
"They can trust the kind of men that they're going to be around – that they're going to be developed first and foremost as a man," Allen said. "And (trust) the way that they're going to be modeled and mentored and loved and cared for, and yet challenged and held accountable and held to a high standard. That combination, that blend, is really what makes it unique and special.
"The facilities we're building, and the things that we're investing in our program … the ability for us to get guys on campus and invest in them and grow those relationships … for me to be able to continue to expand on the relationships I have in state here. I know a lot of these (high school) coaches extremely well, and they believe in what we're building here and the way we're building it.
"And then the chance to get a world class education at Indiana is big-time here. Then the chance to play in the best conference in college football, on the national stage, (it) is all a kid could ask for. A guy could come here and reach all of his dreams. So that's the message we're sending."
Allen knows evidence of all that has to show on the field, too.
"That has to be backed up by how you perform and how you show progress, and that's what we're doing, and that's what they're seeing," Allen said. "On the field, you want them to see it. I think guys watch games too and they see. They see the progress.
"They see how hard our kids play. They see how we compete. They see how much we play hard for each other. It's hard not to notice that. They see where we are against the best of the best. We've just got to keep building, keep moving, keep focusing on the task at hand, and don't look to the left or right, but look straight ahead."
Straight ahead is a Homecoming matchup with Iowa for a noon kickoff Saturday. The Hawkeyes (4-1) are coming in off a 48-31 road romp at Minnesota.
IU will still sport the nation's 19th-youngest team in terms of overall roster age heading into Saturday's fray. But young guys on other teams' rosters aren't necessarily playing significant roles as of yet.
Indiana's are.
TAKE IT AWAY, BOYS
IU got a fumble recovery from Cam Jones and an interception from Devon Matthews among the true freshmen who played Saturday at Ohio State, along with an interception from redshirt freshman Bryant Fitzgerald.
That marked the third three-takeaway game for the Hoosiers and upped Indiana to a share of seventh nationally with 13 takeaways so far this fall.
Indiana shares first in the conference and 13th in the country with six fumble recoveries and share third in the league and 20th in the nation with seven interceptions. Eight different IU defenders have forced a fumble, seven have an interception and six have a fumble recovery.
Allen's defenses have reached three takeaways in nine of the 31 games he's coached since arriving in Bloomington.
Last year was, by contrast, a takeaway drought by Allen standards, despite his continuing emphasis on the topic.
"We didn't emphasize it any different in the past, but I do think this fall camp I got back to really attacking the ball in practice," Allen said. "When you try to emphasize those, especially when you're going against your own team as fall camp is unfolding, you don't want it to injure your offensive guys as you're raking at the ball, punching at the ball …
"But we just said, 'We've got to get back to doing that.' So we were much more aggressive with that in fall camp with our guys because we just feel like we didn't get enough takeaways the year before. So I know the first takeaway we got of the year was Jonathan Crawford down there at (Florida International, in the season-opening victory) raking at the football. So to me it was just a direct reflection of that emphasis."
The players certainly picked up on the message.
"All through fall camp, we preached turnovers, turnovers," Jones said a couple of days following his second fumble recovery of the young season. "Every single day, our defense had to have at least three or more turnovers or we had to run.
"Those runs after fall camp practices were something serious … we'd run until coach said stop … when we do gassers, our whole defensive coaching staff runs with us. When they get tired, that's when we stop. And they don't get tired. They're in shape."
If there were consequences of not getting three takeaways in practice, was there any rewards for getting three at OSU?
"(It was) 'Congratulations and get back to work. We have work to do,'" Jones said with a laugh. "(But) we take pride in that. To be a good defense, you got get turnovers and you got to score as a defense.
"The goal is we want the ball. No matter how we get it, we want the ball. We're going to take the ball."
Once the season began, the punitive runs for lack of takeaways gave way to normal conditioning.
"During the season, they're trying to take care of us," Crawford noted. "But I'm sure that if he could run us, he'd run us."
Is there any penalty meted out at all if takeaways aren't forthcoming?
"Nah," Crawford said with a grin. "But you'll definitely hear about it."
Coaches talk all the time about "putting it on film," in reference to how players perform in games and practices.
Allen extends that to documenting takeaways.
"We make videos about it, and we talk about it," Allen said. "We made a whole video from fall camp, and all the takeaway attempts we've had, and all the takeaways that we created. So we've got to keep doing it.
"It's a big part of being a young defense, and trying to create field position for our offense and those kind of things. And we've got to take advantage of it as a team, and that's what we do as a program."
TATER TOUTED
Among IU's Players of the Week honorees for Ohio State week was Tater.
More on him forthcoming.
Nick Westbrook, who had five catches for 109 yards and a TD, was named Offensive Player of the Game. Linebacker Dameon Willis Jr. was Defensive Player of the Game after leading IU with nine tackles.
The coaches named the "gunners," the corner coverage guys for punts and kickoffs – specifically Isaac James, Raheem Layne and Jaylin Williams – as the Special Teams Players of the Game.
James Miller and Jeremy Boyd were defensive Scout Team Players of the Week. For scout Special Teams, it was Aaron Casey. And the corresponding offensive awards went to Ryan Smith and Dominic "Tater" Altimari.
"Yes, Dominic Altimari, a.k.a., Tater," Allen said. "As a matter of fact, when I announced him today to the team, I just said Tater. I said you've got to be a special guy when you have a one-name nickname and that's all that has to be said.
"I don't even have a one name nickname that they know me as. I got two names. But Tater's just got one. He's from St. Xavier in Cincinnati."
Allen was asked what his "two names" were. He smiled and replied:
"Coach Allen."
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