Indiana University Athletics
Feel The Heat -- High-Level Demands Paying Off
8/12/2019 9:37:00 AM | Football
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
Tom Allen paces the practice field, bull horn in hand, seeking fire under a hot August sun.
"Snap to whistle, full speed," Indiana's football coach shouts as a play is run.
The Hoosiers are padded from the waist up. This is full-speed work without full-contact implications, although the demands are the same:
Execute.
Do your best.
Full throttle.
Repeat.
"We've got to finish!" Allen shouts.
This is a passing drill for offensive and defensive skill players. On an adjoining field offensive and defensive linemen have a skill-building session under defensive line coach Mark Hagen and offensive line coach Darren Hiller.
Allen focuses on the passing, catching and defending action, striving to motivate between snaps. His LEO (Love Each Other) approach isn't for those who settle.
"We've got to finish!" he shouts again.
Quarterback Peyton Ramsey checks down to a short completion over the middle.
"Expect it! Demand it! Do it!" Allen shouts.
Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. comes in and completes a sideline pass.
"First to the ball," Allen tells the defense, then switches attention to the offense. "Know the call. Know what's going on. Hold teammates accountable."
We are just over a week into fall camp, three weeks from the season opener against Ball State at Lucas Oil Stadium, and while much work remains to be done, the potential is obvious.
Take the cornerbacks.
At one time IU ranked among the worst pass defending teams in America, a combination of lack of talent and too many breakdowns.
But the talent has improved, the schemes have been modified and, in some cases under first-year defensive coordinator Kane Wommack, simplified.
Pass defense has gone from disaster to strength with veterans such as Andre Brown Jr., Raheem Layne, A'Shon Riggins and Jaylin Williams combining with sophomore Reese Taylor and talented freshmen Tiawan Mullen and Larry Tracy III.
Mullen, for instance, the younger brother of Oakland Raiders cornerback Trayvon Mullen, has impressed to the point cornerbacks coach Brandon Shelby says he has elite potential.
Mullen has plenty of company.
"We've got a lot of guys who are just enjoying the time being together, they compete," Shelby says. "The things that they've learned in the classroom and bringing it out to the field, and the communication, I'm really excited about that. For the first time in a long time, they really have a grasp on the playbook. That's the one thing I'm excited about."
Excitement comes as the veterans have shown high-level leadership Shelby has rarely seen in his eight previous years on staff.
"I'm starting to see what it's supposed to be -- older guys bringing up the younger guys. Not only just the playbook, but how we carry ourselves on and off the field, how you come prepared, bring your playbook and taking notes. Little things like that.
"In high school, you really didn't have to do that. It was all memorization. Well, you can't do it here. You have to take notes because there could be something said in a meeting that might not happen, and then two days later, you see a formation, you see an adjustment that note is applicable to."
Shelby says the veteran leadership has been so good, he sometimes can let them coach one side of the field while he handles the other.
"They can coach them up," he says. "In the past, I didn't have that."
Layne embraces that teaching opportunity.
"The defense has slowed down; the game has slowed down," he says. "From the leadership standpoint, I feel like I'm just becoming more vocal. That's what my coach and the head coach all want us to do, so it's more like a teaching thing now.
"When I was a freshman, the things the upperclassmen were trying to teach me, now I see it's really the little things that matter, so I try to coach up the young kids."
Adds Riggins: "I think the most impressive thing is everybody is really good with the playbook. In the past years, we've had guys that have taken more time to get the playbook down, but this year, especially freshmen like Tiawan and Larry, they're really good with the plays. Credit to Coach Wommack, because he made the playbook simpler this year."
Then there's the defensive line. It's a mixture of veterans such as Allen Stallings IV, Gavin Everett and Jerome Johnson with talented freshmen C.J. Person, Jeramy Passmore, Beau Robbins and Sio Nofoagatoto'a.
Development is a high priority and Hagen gives attention to everything.
"Hot feet," he shouts during one practice moment to emphasize the important of quick footwork.
Hot or not, Wommack likes what he sees.
"All these young defensive linemen are going to be special. Some of these young players are really stepping up. That's exciting to see."
IUHoosiers.com
Tom Allen paces the practice field, bull horn in hand, seeking fire under a hot August sun.
"Snap to whistle, full speed," Indiana's football coach shouts as a play is run.
The Hoosiers are padded from the waist up. This is full-speed work without full-contact implications, although the demands are the same:
Execute.
Do your best.
Full throttle.
Repeat.
"We've got to finish!" Allen shouts.
This is a passing drill for offensive and defensive skill players. On an adjoining field offensive and defensive linemen have a skill-building session under defensive line coach Mark Hagen and offensive line coach Darren Hiller.
Allen focuses on the passing, catching and defending action, striving to motivate between snaps. His LEO (Love Each Other) approach isn't for those who settle.
"We've got to finish!" he shouts again.
Quarterback Peyton Ramsey checks down to a short completion over the middle.
"Expect it! Demand it! Do it!" Allen shouts.
Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. comes in and completes a sideline pass.
"First to the ball," Allen tells the defense, then switches attention to the offense. "Know the call. Know what's going on. Hold teammates accountable."
We are just over a week into fall camp, three weeks from the season opener against Ball State at Lucas Oil Stadium, and while much work remains to be done, the potential is obvious.
Take the cornerbacks.
At one time IU ranked among the worst pass defending teams in America, a combination of lack of talent and too many breakdowns.
But the talent has improved, the schemes have been modified and, in some cases under first-year defensive coordinator Kane Wommack, simplified.
Pass defense has gone from disaster to strength with veterans such as Andre Brown Jr., Raheem Layne, A'Shon Riggins and Jaylin Williams combining with sophomore Reese Taylor and talented freshmen Tiawan Mullen and Larry Tracy III.
Mullen, for instance, the younger brother of Oakland Raiders cornerback Trayvon Mullen, has impressed to the point cornerbacks coach Brandon Shelby says he has elite potential.
Mullen has plenty of company.
"We've got a lot of guys who are just enjoying the time being together, they compete," Shelby says. "The things that they've learned in the classroom and bringing it out to the field, and the communication, I'm really excited about that. For the first time in a long time, they really have a grasp on the playbook. That's the one thing I'm excited about."
Excitement comes as the veterans have shown high-level leadership Shelby has rarely seen in his eight previous years on staff.
"I'm starting to see what it's supposed to be -- older guys bringing up the younger guys. Not only just the playbook, but how we carry ourselves on and off the field, how you come prepared, bring your playbook and taking notes. Little things like that.
"In high school, you really didn't have to do that. It was all memorization. Well, you can't do it here. You have to take notes because there could be something said in a meeting that might not happen, and then two days later, you see a formation, you see an adjustment that note is applicable to."
Shelby says the veteran leadership has been so good, he sometimes can let them coach one side of the field while he handles the other.
"They can coach them up," he says. "In the past, I didn't have that."
Layne embraces that teaching opportunity.
"The defense has slowed down; the game has slowed down," he says. "From the leadership standpoint, I feel like I'm just becoming more vocal. That's what my coach and the head coach all want us to do, so it's more like a teaching thing now.
"When I was a freshman, the things the upperclassmen were trying to teach me, now I see it's really the little things that matter, so I try to coach up the young kids."
Adds Riggins: "I think the most impressive thing is everybody is really good with the playbook. In the past years, we've had guys that have taken more time to get the playbook down, but this year, especially freshmen like Tiawan and Larry, they're really good with the plays. Credit to Coach Wommack, because he made the playbook simpler this year."
Then there's the defensive line. It's a mixture of veterans such as Allen Stallings IV, Gavin Everett and Jerome Johnson with talented freshmen C.J. Person, Jeramy Passmore, Beau Robbins and Sio Nofoagatoto'a.
Development is a high priority and Hagen gives attention to everything.
"Hot feet," he shouts during one practice moment to emphasize the important of quick footwork.
Hot or not, Wommack likes what he sees.
"All these young defensive linemen are going to be special. Some of these young players are really stepping up. That's exciting to see."
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