Indiana University Athletics
Media Tuesday: TaxSlayer Gator Bowl
12/31/2019 12:19:00 PM | Football
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Indiana will face Tennessee in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Fla., on Thursday, Jan. 2, with a 7 p.m. ET kick on ESPN.
On Tuesday, head coach Tom Allen, linebacker Micah McFadden and tight end Peyton Hendershot all met with the media. Below are partial transcripts of all three interviews.
Head Coach Tom Allen
On reflecting on his coaching career…
"You know, I have. We played some high school games in Jacksonville back in the early 90's. It feels like such a long time ago, but it seems like yesterday. Just cutting my teeth in the coaching profession in this state right out of college. We went from the state of Wisconsin, where I went to school, and went straight down to Florida with my wife. We got married that summer in 1992 and started coaching high school football. She was a high school math teacher, head volleyball coach and assistant softball coach. My first year I was the head wrestling coach and an assistant football coach before I became the head coach in year two. I did not know what I was doing with the schematic part of it, really. I was just kind of following my heart and led with a lot of passion and energy, but yeah, a lot of great memories thinking about the stadiums we played in, the places we played. It is pretty cool to come back to the place that it all started."
On message to linebacker Reakwon Jones two years ago…
"Life, and the struggles of life, really help you appreciate what you have. The message is just to make the most of every moment, hug your family, love your family and do not take any of it for granted. We are never promised tomorrow. He has been one of those guys that has really lived that out. He has been so consistent with his choices and the way that he has worked. He cares about his family so much and they have had a hard time. My challenge to him is to keep to doing what he is doing so you can help your family the most and get his degree. If he is blessed enough to play professionally, then that is awesome. If not, he has a great degree that he can provide for his family, take care of them, and give them the things that he knows he wants them to have. His mom is proud of him and she should be. He is a special kid."
On recruiting the state of Florida…
"Relationships. We've been very strategic in the way that we attack this state recruiting-wise and we kind of treat it like an in-state area when we assign guys to areas, which isn't always the case. A lot of times, with an area that's this far your location, you might send position recruiters, spot recruit it, but we heavily recruit it, which is different for us. We have guys assigned to areas and they build relationships over time and I think that's a big key to our success here. I've obviously have had a history here both collegiately and high school-wise, so I think that's another variable. The plan of attack is to just build relationships, know who these guys are from a young age, know the coaches well enough that you can trust what they are going to tell you so that you get the right guys that fit with us. That's what we try to do."
On the linebackers, Micah McFadden and Reakwon Jones…
"Well, you think about that room and there are a lot of southern guys on the roster in those positions, raised in SEC country for those guys, raised watching the Florida Gators play in this state and the Tennessee kids that you mentioned at linebacker. It's the Big Ten versus the SEC, which I think are the two best conferences in all of college football right now. Everybody can have their own opinions about that, but at the same time, they embrace that. They know it's a physical brand of football that both conferences play. Leagues known for their size and athleticism, just really good teams and good players that produce at the next level as well. Our guys have embraced that and they know they are going to have to play our best football defensively. The linebackers run the defense. That's what that position demands. It demands production and leadership. Those guys have risen up. They are the leaders of our defense and that's what that position has to be. I'm just really proud of them. Both Reakwon and Micah being Florida kids, they've both really come into their own as players and as leaders. It never stops. Just yesterday I was challenging Micah about being more verbal. Being louder and just talking with more confidence. He's really a quiet guy, too, but he plays with so much effort. I just love how hard he plays. He gives us so much. He's just growing and getting better every week it seems like. But those guys are both a really big part of our defense and they need to play their best football on Thursday night for us to have success. I expect them to do that and today's the next chance for us to get better."
LB Micah McFadden
On the team's experience in Florida so far…
"It's been a great experience. The whole team has been having fun, we've had a lot of good activities that they've set up for us. We've all just been enjoying the time that we spend together."
On the mentality of the team headed in to the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl…
"It's a culmination of our season, but it's also the beginning of the next one. We're just excited to get that rolling and build energy for this program."
TE Peyton Hendershot
On the team's two practices in Florida…
"The first one is was storming bad, but got through the adversity. That's what Coach (Allen) said, on game day in Florida, you never know if it will rain, so we got used to it. Yesterday, we had a good, solid practice and today we're going to finish up with our last full-speed practice."
On the team's mindset…
"Good, I think as we are closing in, everybody's getting more focused in, getting on the top-edge like here comes game day, getting ready for that."
On Tuesday, head coach Tom Allen, linebacker Micah McFadden and tight end Peyton Hendershot all met with the media. Below are partial transcripts of all three interviews.
Head Coach Tom Allen
On reflecting on his coaching career…
"You know, I have. We played some high school games in Jacksonville back in the early 90's. It feels like such a long time ago, but it seems like yesterday. Just cutting my teeth in the coaching profession in this state right out of college. We went from the state of Wisconsin, where I went to school, and went straight down to Florida with my wife. We got married that summer in 1992 and started coaching high school football. She was a high school math teacher, head volleyball coach and assistant softball coach. My first year I was the head wrestling coach and an assistant football coach before I became the head coach in year two. I did not know what I was doing with the schematic part of it, really. I was just kind of following my heart and led with a lot of passion and energy, but yeah, a lot of great memories thinking about the stadiums we played in, the places we played. It is pretty cool to come back to the place that it all started."
On message to linebacker Reakwon Jones two years ago…
"Life, and the struggles of life, really help you appreciate what you have. The message is just to make the most of every moment, hug your family, love your family and do not take any of it for granted. We are never promised tomorrow. He has been one of those guys that has really lived that out. He has been so consistent with his choices and the way that he has worked. He cares about his family so much and they have had a hard time. My challenge to him is to keep to doing what he is doing so you can help your family the most and get his degree. If he is blessed enough to play professionally, then that is awesome. If not, he has a great degree that he can provide for his family, take care of them, and give them the things that he knows he wants them to have. His mom is proud of him and she should be. He is a special kid."
On recruiting the state of Florida…
"Relationships. We've been very strategic in the way that we attack this state recruiting-wise and we kind of treat it like an in-state area when we assign guys to areas, which isn't always the case. A lot of times, with an area that's this far your location, you might send position recruiters, spot recruit it, but we heavily recruit it, which is different for us. We have guys assigned to areas and they build relationships over time and I think that's a big key to our success here. I've obviously have had a history here both collegiately and high school-wise, so I think that's another variable. The plan of attack is to just build relationships, know who these guys are from a young age, know the coaches well enough that you can trust what they are going to tell you so that you get the right guys that fit with us. That's what we try to do."
On the linebackers, Micah McFadden and Reakwon Jones…
"Well, you think about that room and there are a lot of southern guys on the roster in those positions, raised in SEC country for those guys, raised watching the Florida Gators play in this state and the Tennessee kids that you mentioned at linebacker. It's the Big Ten versus the SEC, which I think are the two best conferences in all of college football right now. Everybody can have their own opinions about that, but at the same time, they embrace that. They know it's a physical brand of football that both conferences play. Leagues known for their size and athleticism, just really good teams and good players that produce at the next level as well. Our guys have embraced that and they know they are going to have to play our best football defensively. The linebackers run the defense. That's what that position demands. It demands production and leadership. Those guys have risen up. They are the leaders of our defense and that's what that position has to be. I'm just really proud of them. Both Reakwon and Micah being Florida kids, they've both really come into their own as players and as leaders. It never stops. Just yesterday I was challenging Micah about being more verbal. Being louder and just talking with more confidence. He's really a quiet guy, too, but he plays with so much effort. I just love how hard he plays. He gives us so much. He's just growing and getting better every week it seems like. But those guys are both a really big part of our defense and they need to play their best football on Thursday night for us to have success. I expect them to do that and today's the next chance for us to get better."
LB Micah McFadden
On the team's experience in Florida so far…
"It's been a great experience. The whole team has been having fun, we've had a lot of good activities that they've set up for us. We've all just been enjoying the time that we spend together."
On the mentality of the team headed in to the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl…
"It's a culmination of our season, but it's also the beginning of the next one. We're just excited to get that rolling and build energy for this program."
TE Peyton Hendershot
On the team's two practices in Florida…
"The first one is was storming bad, but got through the adversity. That's what Coach (Allen) said, on game day in Florida, you never know if it will rain, so we got used to it. Yesterday, we had a good, solid practice and today we're going to finish up with our last full-speed practice."
On the team's mindset…
"Good, I think as we are closing in, everybody's getting more focused in, getting on the top-edge like here comes game day, getting ready for that."
Players Mentioned
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