Indiana University Athletics
DIPRIMIO COLUMN: Senior Salute
11/21/2019 8:30:00 AM | Football
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Logan Justus shouldn't be in this position, when you think about it, a field goal kicking machine unlike anything Indiana has ever seen.
The guy doesn't miss. Long kicks, short kicks, pressure kicks, bad-weather kicks, poor-snap kicks.
It doesn't matter.
This former walk-on is "money" in the manner of Adam Vinatieri in his prime.
Justus has company in this return-to-glory Hoosier season. Fellow seniors Justin Berry, Andre Brown Jr., Khalil Bryant, Coy Cronk, Gavin Everett, Donavan Hale, Reakwon Jones, Hunter Littlejohn, DaVondre Love, A-Shon Riggins, Jared Smolar, Allen Stallings IV, Simon Stepaniak, Connor Thomas and Nick Westbrook have all elevated the program to bowl-qualifying status.
They brace for the final home game of their careers in what looms as an epic opportunity -- a Saturday shot at No. 12 Michigan, a chance to further enhance their program-changing success.
"Those seniors have been a huge part of what we're doing," head coach Tom Allen says. "They will continue to be in the way that we finish. That's the constant challenge.
"You set your goals; you attack those goals; you don't relax until you reach them. We haven't reached any of them yet. We're hungry and starving to get what we want."
Starvation finds Justus in potential record-breaking territory. He is 14-for-14 on field goals this season, one off Austin Starr's school record. That includes one field goal from 50 yards and two others longer than 40.
For his career, he's 29-for-32 on field goals, 69-for-71 on extra points.
Not bad for a guy who spent three years waiting for his shot.
"He's shown the ability to be adaptable," Allen says. "Some guys, if everything is not right, they freak out. He's not one of those guys. That's a good thing. Those guys drive me nuts because it's very rarely perfect, whether it's the wind or whatever conditions, the snap. He's able to get good lift, which is important."
Justus persevered when others played (can you say school-career-record-holder Griffin Oakes?), enduring all the grind of practices and hot August camps without the playing reward, and if he won't overwhelm you with words, overlook him at your own risk.
"Some guys are clutch and some guys are not," Allen says. "He's been able to prove it. We're going to need him these last few games. I guarantee you he's going to have to come up and win a game for us."
For the second-straight year, Justus is up for the Lou Groza Award, which goes annually to the nation's best kicker.
"It's a privilege to be on that two times," he says. "It was a stepping stone on my personal goals."
Justus was also a nominee for the Burlsworth Trophy, given to the nation's best player who began as a walk-on.
"Being a nominee means a lot to me," he says. "It shows that if you work hard, you can do anything. I'm blessed to earn a scholarship."
A scholarship wasn't guaranteed. Justus came to Bloomington as a walk-on and redshirted. The next year, he didn't play. The year after that, he didn't play.
Then IU signed Tennessee all-state kicker Charles Campbell to a scholarship, which suggested Justus would be out of luck, again.
A lot of players would have said, the heck with this, and moved on to, say, intramural stardom or whatever it is college guys do when they're not in class or studying.
Justus stuck it out, believing in himself and what Allen was building at Indiana.
And then he won the starting kicking job.
"I knew the path (as a walk-on) would be a lot more work," he says. "A lot of kickers don't get scholarships out of high school. I knew I had to put in the work."
Justus thrived with work. He lettered in football, hockey and soccer at Mt. Vernon (Ind.) High School. In football, he was a receiver and defensive back as well as a kicker. He had to wait until after practice to spend an hour working on his kicking.
It was worth the wait then. It is now.
"Certain guys have that ability to be really good when the pressure is on," Allen says. "He's shown the last two years here to have the ability to really lock in and focus and do a great job of hitting those clutch field goals.
"There's a consistency in how he prepares. He trains really hard. He's improved so much. When I first got here, the ball hooked quite a bit. We worked hard to get him to get more of a vertical launch as well as extension to stay through, be more accurate. I think these last couple years, he's obviously kicked his very best. It was just through a lot of hard work, training."
Hale also has put in a ton of work. He converted from quarterback to become one of the Big Ten's top receivers. He's caught 21 passes for 367 yards and three touchdowns this season after catching 42 for 508 and six last year.
But the bigger achievement has been helping IU achieve its first winning record since 2007.
"We came here to change the program around," he says. "We're happy, but not satisfied. We want to be Top-5 in the country. We're going to do what it takes to get to that point."
That includes breaking into the Top-25 for the first time since 1994.
"It took me five years to get to this point," Hale says. "It feels good, but we're not satisfied.
"It started before us. We had to carry on the tradition and trust in Coach Allen and what he's doing."
Trust has produced a 7-3 record. With a trip to rival Purdue, and then a bowl game still ahead along with Michigan, IU has a chance to match or surpass the school single-season record of nine victories achieved twice before – 1945 (9-0-1) and 1967 (9-2).
"Our senior year we're making history," Justus says. "We have to keep it going. We keep working, and now we have to work harder. We set high expectations."
There's no reason not to set them high given IU has the best facilities it's ever had, is recruiting better than it ever has, and has more talent and resources than ever before. The staff includes two of the nation's top assistant coaches (running backs coach Mike Hart, offensive coordinator Kalen DeBoer) and a highly regarded strength and conditioning staff led by David Ballou and Dr. Matt Rhea.
That it's taken a couple of years to reach this point reflects the challenge of building a winner the right way.
"This is something we live for," Hale says. "This is why we came to Indiana.
"Coach Allen has done a fantastic job. We have players who are super hungry and who want to create change.
"We want to win a Big Ten championship, a national championship. Everything."
For fifth-year seniors such as Hale and Justus, this is the culmination of plenty of work and, at times, disappointment.
IU was 6-7 in their first two seasons, making and then losing a bowl game. Then came consecutive 5-7 records under Allen with plenty of frustrating near misses.
Another one came last Saturday in a 34-27 loss at No. 9 Penn State.
Still, the Hoosiers are poised for big things, and the seniors know they set the foundation.
"They have been here long enough to experience some things, go to a bowl," Allen says. "They've not won a bowl game. That was the big driving force.
"In the beginning of the season, one of our three goals was to win the bowl game, not just get to the bowl game. That still remains one of our goals. Those guys were very quick to want that to be one of them.
"They've really set the tone for the sense of urgency that I think this team started developing over the off-season, the work ethic, the mindset that they brought every single day that we did what we do, whether it was in the weight room, practice field in the spring, whatever we did over the summertime with our guys, what they did in the player practices, all those things that we've had a lot of elevation of, intensity, just way better leadership since I've been here.
"That's been reflective of the way we've played, how they've handled the situation, and continue to get better every week, which is what you have to do at this level, any level."
The seniors have led Indiana to the cusp of sustained success. Their mission and that of those players who follow is clear:
Finish the job.
