Media Thursday: Penn State Week

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The No. 24 Indiana Hoosiers will head to University Park, Pa., to face No. 9 Penn State on Saturday, Nov. 16, at noon EST. The game will be televised on ABC.

Head coach Tom Allen met with the media on Thursday. Below is a partial transcript:

Opening Statement…
"Thought we had a really good week this week. Guys, coming off our bye, with some good energy and focus. Thought we prepared well this week for a great opportunity and great challenge in Penn State. Going to have to be at our very, very best. Without question.

"Couple things to announce. Did say it last night, but Haydon Whitehead has been granted his additional year from the NCAA. Huge news for us. We were expecting that, but you never know until you get the official word. That's very important for us to have him. The year he's having, not just a great job as a punter – from a technical perspective and execution – but just his leadership and his work ethic, the way he does everything everyday is just a huge part of the culture that we're building.

"Also, really after the Maryland game, started having these discussions with our staff and then going into the weeks that followed, just really felt like Peyton Ramsey deserved to be one of our captains. With Coy (Cronk) going down, we really kind of lost that fourth guy on the field, so we already had that in the works. I actually met with him before we even found out that Michael (Penix Jr.) was going to be out, but just felt like he's earned it. We go through and vote and he was the next guy on the list of votes. Felt like the way he's handled everything and the way he responded, especially that first time at Maryland, he had to come in at a critical time and play at a very high level without even knowing he'd be out there and it's just continued. He's proven himself over and over in this program and I just think that's something he's earned and very worthy of. Excited for him and that opportunity. Just feel like, those kind of guys, the buy-in, all the things he does off the field, the way he trains, the way he prepares, the way he works in the weight room in the offseason is infectious to this program. Haydon's the exact same way. I don't know if I've ever had a specialist work at his level. (Nathanael) Snyder is probably a close second. Two guys who have physically worked in that weight room and it affects everyone in that weight room. Just those two guys, Peyton and Haydon, continue to be part of what we're building here."

On practicing outdoors…
"We were able to spend two days outdoors and two days indoors. Those two days that were 10 degrees with snow and ice made it difficult to get out there. I feel like we got two really good days outside with the temperatures that we are going to see on game day, if the weather man is correct, which we know is not always the case. We feel good about that. We have been out in it before, but yes, two out of the four were outside."

On informing Peyton Ramsey on being named captain…
"I pulled him in, sat him down, and just talked him through it. I told him that I thought that he had earned it and told him all of the reasons and some other things. I do a lot of one-on-ones with our guys, as much as possible. That is how I handled it. The very next team meeting we had with the team, I actually announced it to the team. And I told him, when I announce this, they are going to give you a standing ovation. And sure enough, I never said a word to the team, but as soon as I announced it everybody was up. I know what they think of him. It was pretty awesome."

On the label of captain…
"To me, it is just a chance to be put out in that position, officially. Leaders are leaders and that is what we always tell the team. If you are a leader, you have influence, whether you are in position or not, or named or not. Sometimes that can work in the other direction. If you see guys that are influencing the team and it is not what you want, you have to address it as well. But leadership is influence and he has it whether or not he wears that title. It is just indicative of what he continues to mean to our program and the way he has lived out the core values of our program has been pretty awesome."

On the recruitment of DB Tiawan Mullen…
"First of all, we recruit that area heavily. I was down in there when I was at South Florida and got to know the coaches at that time. Coach Shelby went down as that is one of his schools. Like I have told you guys before, we have areas in Florida and we treat it as a very important part of our recruiting. We just work on building those relationships. So you have a guy down there that is at one of the schools that we go to every year, you start identifying those guys when they are young, start building relationships with them, and then at that point you have to figure out what kind of response you get from them, what kind of interest do they have in us. We can want them all we want but if they do not have any interest in us, it eventually dies out. With him, it became very mutual. As we reached out to him in all the ways we were allowed to, as that grows through the process, and once they become juniors you can message them. He can call us, even as a junior, as he wants. He was big into that. He is a FaceTime guy. He FaceTimed me, and I am not exaggerating, I think every single day through that whole process. It was not super long talks, but it was constant. He would talk to my wife, he got to know our family, he would ask about my kids, and he got to know Thomas and the rest of our players. There was no question that he loved what we were doing. He loved the way that we were talking to him about what we were building and the way that we were building it. He embraced it. Like I said, he just kind of came to the conclusion that he wanted to be one of the game-changers for this place. He started that phrase and called it the 'New Wave' and that has been something that has kind of stuck. He has that infectious type of personality. The other thing too, because he was such a big name down there, you talk to other high school coaches and other players and mention his name, immediate name recognition to the type of player he was and they knew we were getting a pretty special guy as well. You never really know how your relationships will take off with certain guys, but there is no doubt that is was a pretty special one early on."

On offensive coordinator Kalen DeBoer being named a Broyles Award nominee…
"It has been a really, really good relationship between us. There is always a transition part where you get to know each other and to me to gain more and more confidence in him. I was impressed from the beginning, which is why I wanted him here, but just the ability to communicate with coaches, how he handles the room of coaches when they game plan, but more importantly, how he gets it to the players and is able to articulate the reads, the keys, and teaching the quarterbacks. As the season has progressed, you gain a bunch of confidence in those guys and how they go about game planning and figuring things out, and so you learn to trust that. I have tried to empower him and that was the plan from the beginning. I believe in that as a leader, you hire great people and let them do their job. There is accountability and we meet once a week once the gameplan is completely squared away, and talk through every single thing and how he feels about certain things. We talk throughout the week, obviously. But just to be able to create a lot of trust. I shared some stories with our players about things that happened like in the Nebraska game when the clock was running down and it became a matter of trust. I do trust him and give him that freedom to be able to make decisions. I feel that he has done a tremendous job of building the confidence of our guys and that has to continue. There is no question that we have an important three-game stretch here that will define our season and how this group is remembered. He continues to create an environment where guys believe, and now they are executing at a high level."

Indiana University Athletics

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