WATCH: Tom Allen Previews Virginia

On the Virginia Cavaliers:
"Great challenge for our program. Very well coached football team. Coach (Bronco) Mendenhall does a great job with his football team, his staff. They are very physical and they have an identity of what they do and he's in year three there establishing that. Their kids play extremely hard, great on defense, very, very good on special teams and their offense is extremely explosive. It's going to be a great opportunity for our young team and a chance for us to grow as a team from week one to week two, which is what you want to see. I thought our preparation this week has been pretty strong and it has to show out on game day."

On the keys for the defensive line:
"A lot of it is fundamentals. Being able to beat blocks, fit your gaps, be disciplined. The eyes of the backers in those fits and understanding where they are supposed to be. You make a mistake against one of these guys and it will be a long touchdown run or a big play and that's what you can't do. That's the key part of that and I think we emphasized just back to basics. Sometimes you get so many new faces in there you have to realize that when you have that many new guys there's going to be some challenges with that. We've been trying to go back and get those fundamentals corrected."

On the variety of the wide receivers:
"The bottom line is you want to be productive as a unit. Whether 10 guys catch the ball or three guys catch balls, obviously from a defensive perspective it makes it harder on the defense when you can't key on a certain guy. We have the ability to get the ball to a lot of different individuals that can make plays. We want to put that kind of pressure on the defense. We basically take what they're giving us, so you never know who is going to rise up that particular game but several guys did awesome things and the quarterbacks did a great job of getting those balls to them."

On the excitement of the team for the home opener with the Excellence Academy:
"Beautiful, beautiful place. We just so appreciate those who have supported us in creating these opportunities in the south end zone and how awesome that looks. Then, the renovated Team Room that we opened this week, the guys really appreciate that. It makes us a first class program in how we look when people come to watch us and see our facility. Those things are important and our players do understand that and it's great to be home. We are excited to have a great crowd here cheering those guys on and we feed off of that, we need you. We need the support and we want our guys to play with unbelievable passion, whether it is home or away, but it's really special when it's home."

On the Team Room:
"We do (spend a lot of time there). We want our guys to understand that they are important and the facilities that they have are first class. Also, recruiting. Recruits come through here and we do a lot of things out of that room on their visits. It sends a message that this place is first class. Obviously, our school understands that and is invested in that direction. It's a recruiting piece, it's a pride in your program piece and it just allows you to take that next step as a program."

Indiana University Athletics

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