Fitting in -- IU’s Tom Allen Recruits For the Right Stuff
12/20/2019 8:41:00 AM | Football
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Understanding Tom Allen's recruiting success -- and you don't get to an 8-4 record and a January bowl without a lot of it -- means recognizing what Indiana's third-year coach wants in players.
Yes, Allen wants big, strong, fast, athletic guys, but it's more than that. It's the intangibles such as heart, competitiveness and resiliency that make the ultimate difference.
This 18-player class is designed to make a big difference.
"I want high-character guys who want to be developed in leadership and character, in decision-making in life," Allen said.
Beyond that, he added, he wants good fits.
"I've become more probably stringent on just the fit. It's been proven over and again the last few years how critical that is once you get them here. Their chance of success with you goes way up when they fit the kind of guy you're looking for.
"As I explain it to our recruits and their families, the things that you value as a family, the things that you list as the most important things when looking for a school, when those match up with the values of the program, it's a really good fit. That's where it's going to give you lasting power with a young man who comes here.
"I tell them that it's not going to be easy. It's going to be hard. If you don't understand that, you've been misled. Things aren't going to go your way. When things get hard, tough, are you going to stay and fight?
"When you believe that this is home, this is where you're used supposed to be, this is where you want to be, then you fight and you stay, you persevere. You start to develop grit, which is what we think is a critical part of this program.
"If I don't feel good about that, I don't care about how good a player he is, I'm leery to bring him in here.
"You also you try to do a better job of projecting. Once you know the model of a young man who has success here, you feel more comfortable saying this guy reminds us of this guy, you think he has a chance to help us."
*****
IU signed 18 players this week -- six offensive linemen, three defensive backs, two receivers, two defensive linemen, one linebacker, one quarterback, one running back, one tight end and one athlete.
Players came from nine different states, including six from Indiana and two each from Georgia, Michigan, Virginia and Missouri, and one each from California, Mississippi, Ohio and Texas.
"I'm really excited about this group," Allen said. "It was heavy on the offensive line, which it needed to be. It has a little bit of good flavor at each position.
"There's nobody listed under 6-foot. We got some good length at skill positions on both sides of the ball. There's a lot of length on the offensive line, which is important to be able to develop and get these guys ready for where they need to be.
"I really believe in our strength-and-conditioning program, our nutrition program. We've invested in that. That allows us to bring in young men who have the body type you're looking for to plug those guys into the system, develop then as an athlete, which involves being a student first."
IU figures to sign a couple more players in February -- a pass-rushing defensive end ("That's a priority for us") and the best available player on offense.
"That could be a game-changer tight end, a dynamic running back, a dynamic receiver who you have to get the ball in his hands," Allen said.
******
The Hoosiers' offensive line emphasis brings in 6-7, 265-pound Luke Haggard, 6-3, 290-pound Dylan Powell; 6-5, 285-pound Luke Wiginton; 6-7, 350-pound Randy Holtz; 6-3, 260-pound Cameron Knight (the younger brother of former Hoosier and current Dallas Cowboy Brandon Knight); and 6-4, 325-pound Brady Feeney.
Powell is a graduate transfer from Stanford. He has one year of remaining eligibility, but is can apply for a second because he missed this past season with an injury.
Haggard is a junior college transfer with two years of eligibility remaining.
Allen talked briefly about all of them.
"Wiginton has the length. He needs to develop and get stronger.
"Haggard played a lot of defense in high school, then goes to offense when he goes to junior college. He's 6-7, lean and has an athletic skill set.
"(Holtz) is a guy who can play inside or outside. It's nice to have a guy who can do both. At 6-7 and 350-plus pounds, he's a rather large human being.
"Cam Knight came to our summer camp, ran well, good change of direction, strong, tough, a good athlete. We know what we're getting because of his brother, the family, the mindset he'll bring.
"Brady Feeney is a big, old guard, a 320-pound guy. He's got girth in there.
"We said it would nice to have an older guy. That's where Dylan Powell gives us a chance to fill some of those holes you have in the upper part of our class.
"I really like our offensive line class."
******
Could Michigan receiver Rashawn Williams be the highest-rated player IU has ever signed?
Yes, Allen said during his Thursday night radio show.
The 6-2, 200-pound Williams is a four-star prospect rated as the state's No. 3 player. As a senior, he had 34 catches for 465 yards and five touchdowns for Detroit Martin Luther King High School. Martin Luther King was the 2018 state champion, was state runner-up this season and reached the state semifinals in 2017.
In other words, Williams knows all about winning.
"Rashawn is a very talented young man," Allen said. "I love his work ethic. Man, I tell you, he's a worker. He has a chance to really dive into all that we have for him in his development.
"He has strong hands, runs good routes, makes a lot of tough, contested catches. He's a competitor. He's a guy who can really grow and develop."
Williams also was active trying to get other talented players to join the Hoosiers.
"He was a major recruiter for us in getting guys on board," Allen said. "He was really aggressive about wanting to build his class. I love that. It shows a guy who cares, who gets it. He's better when he has better guys around him."
The highest-rated in-state prospect is receiver David Baker out of Indianapolis Scecina Memorial High School. Rivals.com listed Baker as the state's No. 5 prospect.
A two-time all-state performer, the 6-3, 200-pound Baker had 164 catches for 2,263 yards and 31 touchdowns for his career, which are all school records.
******
Allen said as many as nine players in this class could enroll for the second semester, the most he's ever had.
"That gives them a tremendous advantage to help us earlier."
He pointed to current freshman left tackle Matthew Bedford, who came to IU last spring semester and got a jump that enabled him to effectively replace injured senior Coy Cronk this season.
"He came in a mid-year a year ago," Allen said, "and it was the difference in him being ready when called up to play."
******
For Allen, you can never have enough quality quarterbacks.
So even though IU is set to have three on scholarship next season -- Peyton Ramsey, Michael Penix Jr. and Jack Tuttle -- the Hoosiers signed Georgia's Dexter Williams II, a dual-threat standout.
"We've learned that you'd better have several quarterbacks," Allen said. "Guys get hurt. Things happen. We made sure we had that fourth (quarterback) on scholarship."
As a senior at Mount de Sales Academy in Macon, the 6-1, 210-pound Williams threw for 1,524 yards and 15 touchdowns, and rushed for 984 yards and 14 TDs. In his last two years, he totaled 5,088 yards and 61 touchdowns.
"The thing that stuck out to me about him was his arm strength," Allen said. "I've become a strong believer that arm talent is such a big deal.
"He has Big Ten arm talent and the ability to extend plays with his legs. He has the thickness and girth to play in this conference. He's going to be a mid-year guy, so he'll have that extra semester of development.
"He has that special charisma you want from a guy who is the face of your team in the future."
Allen added Williams understood he would have to wait his playing-time turn.
"He understood our roster, where we were, who is in front of him, what he needed to do when he comes here."
With so many young returning players, that's an understanding all the newcomers must have.
"We talk a lot about guys who have a high ceiling, who have the length you can build on, to invest in this program, do all that we ask them to do so that when their time is called, they'll be ready to be a Big Ten player."
*******
If you like athletic versatility, consider Virginia's Javon Swinton. He thrived as a receiver and a cornerback at North Stafford High School. As a senior, he caught 48 passes for 858 yards and 13 touchdowns. He added 46 tackles, two interceptions, seven pass breakups and one forced fumble. He also was a standout basketball player, averaging 27.0 points as a junior.
Allen said 6-2, 170-pound Swinton will begin as a receiver for the Hoosiers, but could switch to defense. He's listed as an "athlete."
"He's an extremely talented basketball player," Allen said. "He brings a lot of skill. He could be a defensive back. He could play receiver. He wants to start (at receiver). I'm fine with that. He may be a receiver the whole time.
"He has good ball skills. He's got good speed. I love the versatility he brings."
*****
IU's quest for a quarterback-sacking defensive lineman has led to Damarjhe Lewis, a 6-3, 295-pound Georgia standout. He earned state defensive-player-of-the-year recognition this past season. He's rated as the nation's No. 42 defensive tackle by ESPN.
"He's athletic, high energy, disruptive," Allen said. "We always talk about twitch, explosiveness, just that pop. He has that. You need 300-pound guys who can run, change direction, be explosive.
"Those guys are hard to find. He's going to bring a lot of juice to that (defensive line) room. He's going to practice hard, play hard. He has a chance to be a special player."
*****
The offense line would get a huge boost if Coy Cronk returns for a final season.
His other option is skipping that last year and enter the NFL Draft. Allen said it all depends on how his rehabilitation from a season-ending injury goes.
"He's working really hard to get back," Allen said. "He'd love to have the opportunity to move on and play in the NFL, if he can get healthy.
"If he's not healthy enough to do that, it seems he would be open and willing to come back and play that last year.
"That's something he'll work through. We're being patient right now. The whole focus is getting healthy. He's working his tail off. We'll see what happens."
*****
Technically, Kalen DeBoer is no longer Indiana's highly successful offensive coordinator. He is officially the new head coach at Fresno State.
"He's such a first-class person, husband and father," Allen said. "He's very worthy of being (a NCAA Division I) head coach."
That doesn't mean DeBoer won't be heavily involved in the offensive planning and execution when IU faces Tennessee in the upcoming TaxSlayer Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla.
Allen said Indiana and Fresno State officials are working to make that happen.
"It's been a special season," Allen said. "He wants to finish that out."
As far as a potential replacement, Allen said he will consider coaches already on his staff as well as those from other schools. He said his phone was "blowing up" from coaches interested in the job.
Indiana has, in fact, become a prime coaching destination. That reflects the program Allen has put into place as well as this season's success.
One thing that won't change, Allen added, was the DeBoer system.
"I believe in what we're doing offensively. We have a system in place that our guys have bought into, have executed at a high level. We got a very young football team. A lot of our offensive guys are going to be back for next year, a vast majority.
"I want to keep the same system. I think that's very important. I don't want to have a new system. It would be the third one in three years for our quarterbacks. I don't think that's in our best interest.
"To stay true to that is going to be the key."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Understanding Tom Allen's recruiting success -- and you don't get to an 8-4 record and a January bowl without a lot of it -- means recognizing what Indiana's third-year coach wants in players.
Yes, Allen wants big, strong, fast, athletic guys, but it's more than that. It's the intangibles such as heart, competitiveness and resiliency that make the ultimate difference.
This 18-player class is designed to make a big difference.
"I want high-character guys who want to be developed in leadership and character, in decision-making in life," Allen said.
Beyond that, he added, he wants good fits.
"I've become more probably stringent on just the fit. It's been proven over and again the last few years how critical that is once you get them here. Their chance of success with you goes way up when they fit the kind of guy you're looking for.
"As I explain it to our recruits and their families, the things that you value as a family, the things that you list as the most important things when looking for a school, when those match up with the values of the program, it's a really good fit. That's where it's going to give you lasting power with a young man who comes here.
"I tell them that it's not going to be easy. It's going to be hard. If you don't understand that, you've been misled. Things aren't going to go your way. When things get hard, tough, are you going to stay and fight?
"When you believe that this is home, this is where you're used supposed to be, this is where you want to be, then you fight and you stay, you persevere. You start to develop grit, which is what we think is a critical part of this program.
"If I don't feel good about that, I don't care about how good a player he is, I'm leery to bring him in here.
"You also you try to do a better job of projecting. Once you know the model of a young man who has success here, you feel more comfortable saying this guy reminds us of this guy, you think he has a chance to help us."
*****
IU signed 18 players this week -- six offensive linemen, three defensive backs, two receivers, two defensive linemen, one linebacker, one quarterback, one running back, one tight end and one athlete.
Players came from nine different states, including six from Indiana and two each from Georgia, Michigan, Virginia and Missouri, and one each from California, Mississippi, Ohio and Texas.
"I'm really excited about this group," Allen said. "It was heavy on the offensive line, which it needed to be. It has a little bit of good flavor at each position.
"There's nobody listed under 6-foot. We got some good length at skill positions on both sides of the ball. There's a lot of length on the offensive line, which is important to be able to develop and get these guys ready for where they need to be.
"I really believe in our strength-and-conditioning program, our nutrition program. We've invested in that. That allows us to bring in young men who have the body type you're looking for to plug those guys into the system, develop then as an athlete, which involves being a student first."
IU figures to sign a couple more players in February -- a pass-rushing defensive end ("That's a priority for us") and the best available player on offense.
"That could be a game-changer tight end, a dynamic running back, a dynamic receiver who you have to get the ball in his hands," Allen said.
******
The Hoosiers' offensive line emphasis brings in 6-7, 265-pound Luke Haggard, 6-3, 290-pound Dylan Powell; 6-5, 285-pound Luke Wiginton; 6-7, 350-pound Randy Holtz; 6-3, 260-pound Cameron Knight (the younger brother of former Hoosier and current Dallas Cowboy Brandon Knight); and 6-4, 325-pound Brady Feeney.
Powell is a graduate transfer from Stanford. He has one year of remaining eligibility, but is can apply for a second because he missed this past season with an injury.
Haggard is a junior college transfer with two years of eligibility remaining.
Allen talked briefly about all of them.
"Wiginton has the length. He needs to develop and get stronger.
"Haggard played a lot of defense in high school, then goes to offense when he goes to junior college. He's 6-7, lean and has an athletic skill set.
"(Holtz) is a guy who can play inside or outside. It's nice to have a guy who can do both. At 6-7 and 350-plus pounds, he's a rather large human being.
"Cam Knight came to our summer camp, ran well, good change of direction, strong, tough, a good athlete. We know what we're getting because of his brother, the family, the mindset he'll bring.
"Brady Feeney is a big, old guard, a 320-pound guy. He's got girth in there.
"We said it would nice to have an older guy. That's where Dylan Powell gives us a chance to fill some of those holes you have in the upper part of our class.
"I really like our offensive line class."
******
Could Michigan receiver Rashawn Williams be the highest-rated player IU has ever signed?
Yes, Allen said during his Thursday night radio show.
The 6-2, 200-pound Williams is a four-star prospect rated as the state's No. 3 player. As a senior, he had 34 catches for 465 yards and five touchdowns for Detroit Martin Luther King High School. Martin Luther King was the 2018 state champion, was state runner-up this season and reached the state semifinals in 2017.
In other words, Williams knows all about winning.
"Rashawn is a very talented young man," Allen said. "I love his work ethic. Man, I tell you, he's a worker. He has a chance to really dive into all that we have for him in his development.
"He has strong hands, runs good routes, makes a lot of tough, contested catches. He's a competitor. He's a guy who can really grow and develop."
Williams also was active trying to get other talented players to join the Hoosiers.
"He was a major recruiter for us in getting guys on board," Allen said. "He was really aggressive about wanting to build his class. I love that. It shows a guy who cares, who gets it. He's better when he has better guys around him."
The highest-rated in-state prospect is receiver David Baker out of Indianapolis Scecina Memorial High School. Rivals.com listed Baker as the state's No. 5 prospect.
A two-time all-state performer, the 6-3, 200-pound Baker had 164 catches for 2,263 yards and 31 touchdowns for his career, which are all school records.
******
Allen said as many as nine players in this class could enroll for the second semester, the most he's ever had.
"That gives them a tremendous advantage to help us earlier."
He pointed to current freshman left tackle Matthew Bedford, who came to IU last spring semester and got a jump that enabled him to effectively replace injured senior Coy Cronk this season.
"He came in a mid-year a year ago," Allen said, "and it was the difference in him being ready when called up to play."
******
For Allen, you can never have enough quality quarterbacks.
So even though IU is set to have three on scholarship next season -- Peyton Ramsey, Michael Penix Jr. and Jack Tuttle -- the Hoosiers signed Georgia's Dexter Williams II, a dual-threat standout.
"We've learned that you'd better have several quarterbacks," Allen said. "Guys get hurt. Things happen. We made sure we had that fourth (quarterback) on scholarship."
As a senior at Mount de Sales Academy in Macon, the 6-1, 210-pound Williams threw for 1,524 yards and 15 touchdowns, and rushed for 984 yards and 14 TDs. In his last two years, he totaled 5,088 yards and 61 touchdowns.
"The thing that stuck out to me about him was his arm strength," Allen said. "I've become a strong believer that arm talent is such a big deal.
"He has Big Ten arm talent and the ability to extend plays with his legs. He has the thickness and girth to play in this conference. He's going to be a mid-year guy, so he'll have that extra semester of development.
"He has that special charisma you want from a guy who is the face of your team in the future."
Allen added Williams understood he would have to wait his playing-time turn.
"He understood our roster, where we were, who is in front of him, what he needed to do when he comes here."
With so many young returning players, that's an understanding all the newcomers must have.
"We talk a lot about guys who have a high ceiling, who have the length you can build on, to invest in this program, do all that we ask them to do so that when their time is called, they'll be ready to be a Big Ten player."
*******
If you like athletic versatility, consider Virginia's Javon Swinton. He thrived as a receiver and a cornerback at North Stafford High School. As a senior, he caught 48 passes for 858 yards and 13 touchdowns. He added 46 tackles, two interceptions, seven pass breakups and one forced fumble. He also was a standout basketball player, averaging 27.0 points as a junior.
Allen said 6-2, 170-pound Swinton will begin as a receiver for the Hoosiers, but could switch to defense. He's listed as an "athlete."
"He's an extremely talented basketball player," Allen said. "He brings a lot of skill. He could be a defensive back. He could play receiver. He wants to start (at receiver). I'm fine with that. He may be a receiver the whole time.
"He has good ball skills. He's got good speed. I love the versatility he brings."
*****
IU's quest for a quarterback-sacking defensive lineman has led to Damarjhe Lewis, a 6-3, 295-pound Georgia standout. He earned state defensive-player-of-the-year recognition this past season. He's rated as the nation's No. 42 defensive tackle by ESPN.
"He's athletic, high energy, disruptive," Allen said. "We always talk about twitch, explosiveness, just that pop. He has that. You need 300-pound guys who can run, change direction, be explosive.
"Those guys are hard to find. He's going to bring a lot of juice to that (defensive line) room. He's going to practice hard, play hard. He has a chance to be a special player."
*****
The offense line would get a huge boost if Coy Cronk returns for a final season.
His other option is skipping that last year and enter the NFL Draft. Allen said it all depends on how his rehabilitation from a season-ending injury goes.
"He's working really hard to get back," Allen said. "He'd love to have the opportunity to move on and play in the NFL, if he can get healthy.
"If he's not healthy enough to do that, it seems he would be open and willing to come back and play that last year.
"That's something he'll work through. We're being patient right now. The whole focus is getting healthy. He's working his tail off. We'll see what happens."
*****
Technically, Kalen DeBoer is no longer Indiana's highly successful offensive coordinator. He is officially the new head coach at Fresno State.
"He's such a first-class person, husband and father," Allen said. "He's very worthy of being (a NCAA Division I) head coach."
That doesn't mean DeBoer won't be heavily involved in the offensive planning and execution when IU faces Tennessee in the upcoming TaxSlayer Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla.
Allen said Indiana and Fresno State officials are working to make that happen.
"It's been a special season," Allen said. "He wants to finish that out."
As far as a potential replacement, Allen said he will consider coaches already on his staff as well as those from other schools. He said his phone was "blowing up" from coaches interested in the job.
Indiana has, in fact, become a prime coaching destination. That reflects the program Allen has put into place as well as this season's success.
One thing that won't change, Allen added, was the DeBoer system.
"I believe in what we're doing offensively. We have a system in place that our guys have bought into, have executed at a high level. We got a very young football team. A lot of our offensive guys are going to be back for next year, a vast majority.
"I want to keep the same system. I think that's very important. I don't want to have a new system. It would be the third one in three years for our quarterbacks. I don't think that's in our best interest.
"To stay true to that is going to be the key."
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