Indiana University Athletics
Leading the Way - IU Football Players Take Charge as Never Before
6/3/2019 10:13:00 AM | Football
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
Summer has arrived, and for Indiana football players, the time to follow coaching instruction is over.
Sort of.
Coach Tom Allen and his staff want better player leadership, which means giving players more opportunity to develop it.
That won't come by doing what you're told to do as much as figuring out how to do what's necessary.
The plan is simple – over the next two months, the Hoosiers will have more player-led workouts, and more player-led meetings, than ever before.
"We want to grow leaders," Allen said during last week's annual Huber's Orchard and Winery alumni gathering.
Growth comes from this reality -- consecutive 5-7 seasons, each full of just-missed opportunities, have Allen looking for that final edge to make the program a winner for the next decade plus.
Positive signs are everywhere you look.
Recruiting has improved. A new offensive coordinator (Kalen DeBoer) has installed a more flexible, versatile attack. Allen has given his defensive coordinator duties to Kane Wommack so he can focus more on head coaching responsibility. A second year under an upgraded strength and conditioning program has boosted speed, strength and endurance.
It's all designed to put enough good players in position to make game-deciding plays
Ultimately, it's up to the players to get the job done. Much of that starts with leadership strong enough to overcome adversity, because that's coming. Big Ten teams are too good, the conference schedule is too daunting.
Allen has upped the leadership stakes to deal with it.
"We've always had a portion of (summer workouts) that are player led," he said. "We're having more of it player led. Now meetings are player led."
In the 21st Century, with human interaction diminished as social media has flourished, strong leadership rarely arrives fully formed.
Allen aims to address that.
"We have a challenge with the way young men are raised, the way social media is. People are isolated. They do not verbally communicate like we were forced to do in the past.
"We have to be more assertive in our preparation. This will be a chance for our players to run some of these meetings. We're expanding our player practices. As coaches, we're not allowed to be out there at all (during those summer sessions). You have to have a strong group of senior leadership to do that."
With only 12 seniors, IU has no room for leadership slackers.
The good news -- Allen doesn't see any.
"They are highly vested. They've seen the negatives of us not having enough verbal leadership. That's causing these guys to rise up and say it's time to take over and run this the right way."
Allen touched on others topics during the Huber's event. Here are a few more:
*****
The quarterback competition figures to be as strong as it's ever been under Allen.
Michael Penix Jr. is well on his way to a full recovery from ACL surgery. Last year, as a true freshman, he played in three game and completed 61.8 percent of his passes for 219 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. He has four years of eligibility remaining.
"We feel really good about his progress and how hard he's worked in the weight room," Allen said. "He's right where we expect him to be. His movement in May was really big. He needs to have a huge June and July. He'll be 100 percent by fall. He's close now."
A big reason for that progress, Allen added, was the effort Penix put into his rehabilitation.
"I'm encouraged by the way he's handled that -- the ability of these guys to dive into the rehab, handle it the proper way, determines the recovery. You can't take anything for granted with that. Even though we've gotten better with ACL surgeries, the effort they put in the rehab is the key to how quickly they can come back."
Returning starter Peyton Ramsey looks to add to a redshirt sophomore season in which he completed 66.0 percent of his passes for 2,875 yards, 19 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
Plus, Utah transfer Jack Tuttle is back after missing the spring game for health reasons. He was rated as the nation's No. 4 pro-style quarterback coming out of high school in California in 2018. He didn't play in his one season at Utah, and is immediately eligible.
"The whole quarterback room is as healthy as it's been since I've been around this place," Allen said. "We have three guys with an opportunity to compete.
"Peyton is the returning starter. They're going to have to beat him out. I know that's his mindset. He's continued to work extremely hard.
"Jack has gotten back 100 percent. He's had a good month of May. All three guys are ready to have an effective June and July, and be ready for camp."
*****
IU's continues to make major recruiting strides.
Its freshman group rates No. 37 nationally according to 247Sports, a national Internet recruiting service. The group includes three four-star players and 18 with three stars.
The 2018 class was rated No. 46 with 27 three-star prospects. The 2017 class was No. 62 with 22 three-star players.
As far as recruiting, Allen emphasizes the state of Indiana, and then the surrounding regions while targeting other areas, including Florida and the southeast.
A big part of that recruiting effort comes through summer camps, which began last weekend. It gives recruits and coaches a chance to get know each other under football conditions, and beyond.
"We want to make (recruiting the state of) Indiana a huge priority," Allen said. "We want to make sure we are very thorough and find all the guys we need to get to camp. It's a huge opportunity to get guys on campus and watch them compete."
IU also has made a big recruiting push into southwestern Ohio.
"We've done a much better job recruiting in the Cincinnati area," Allen said. "We put more resources there this season because of the number of great players in that region."
*****
Players begin classes and team weight lifting sessions this week.
Allen said most of the players are in Bloomington, with "the final four to five guys" arriving in the next few weeks.
"As usual, a couple of guys have to do some final (academic) work. We'll know for sure on them in a couple of weeks."
*****
Beyond coaching the Hoosier program, Allen takes advantage of everything the state of Indiana offers, including the Indianapolis 500 and the Indianapolis Colts.
Allen and his staff were at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for Carb Day last month as well as the race.
"It was awesome," he said. "I love what the race represents for our whole state. It draws that type of attention to Indiana. The race was exciting, start to finish."
Allen and his staff also spent a couple of days with the Colts attending practice thanks to a good relationship with coach Frank Reich and general manager Chris Ballard.
"I'm impressed with what Coach Reich is doing there," Allen said. "He and Chris Ballard have been first class with our program. They've welcomed us with open arms to allow us to have access, watching practice and eating with the coaches. We take full advantage of that."
