Indiana University Athletics
Postgame Quotes: Indiana vs. Ball State
8/31/2019 6:05:00 PM | Football
Indiana Head Coach Tom Allen
Opening statement...
"It's always good to get a win. The first one is a tough one. A lot of unknowns. You play as a team that hasn't played together before. There are no preseason games. We started a new quarterback which creates some unknowns as well, but more than anything we found a way to win and finished the game off. Really encouraged with our special teams. We had those two kicks out of bounds which pretty much stink, but other than that it was a great special teams performance. Defensively we did not tackle very well. That really sticks out to me, and it was terrible. We will get that fixed. That's not who we are, but at the same time we got some key stops and a key takeaway at the end that was big. Our offense throughout the game did a great job. We only punted twice."
On the play of QB Michael Penix Jr....
"The two picks (stick out). One was a bad throw. The other was the that the receiver fell down and threw the timing off. It happens, but at the same time he has a lot poise. He missed some reads, but those are some of the things we are trying to work on to key at him. That did not surprise me. You are going to have some growing pains. He has never been a starter before in college, and they did good job of disguising some stuff. We knew sometimes as the ball was about to snap that it wasn't the best situation, but he made something out of nothing a few times which he is able to do with his legs, and he showed how valuable those can be, and his zip on the football is elite. He has some real talent. He just has a poise about him. When the pressure comes, he just shrugs it off and keeps it on the backside. He just has a lot of instinctive things that I see in him."
QB Michael Penix Jr.
On whether he was nervous...
"Not too nervous, no. Mostly anxious and ready. I've been preparing. The whole team had been preparing in the film room, so we were mentally prepared and ready to go out and execute."
On his scrambling...
"I was just going through my reads. If I had to pull a read, I could pull it and I could go. It felt great. It helped keep drives alive and just keep pushing and help the team get points."
WR Nick Westbrook
On Michael Penix Jr.'s performance...
"It was good, man. He is a young guy, his first start. Of course, he is going to be nervous. He was saying that before the game. I said, dude there is one way to get through it and that is to play your game. Mistakes happen and you just have to bounce back, and that's exactly what he did. He showed up when we really needed him."
Opening statement...
"It's always good to get a win. The first one is a tough one. A lot of unknowns. You play as a team that hasn't played together before. There are no preseason games. We started a new quarterback which creates some unknowns as well, but more than anything we found a way to win and finished the game off. Really encouraged with our special teams. We had those two kicks out of bounds which pretty much stink, but other than that it was a great special teams performance. Defensively we did not tackle very well. That really sticks out to me, and it was terrible. We will get that fixed. That's not who we are, but at the same time we got some key stops and a key takeaway at the end that was big. Our offense throughout the game did a great job. We only punted twice."
On the play of QB Michael Penix Jr....
"The two picks (stick out). One was a bad throw. The other was the that the receiver fell down and threw the timing off. It happens, but at the same time he has a lot poise. He missed some reads, but those are some of the things we are trying to work on to key at him. That did not surprise me. You are going to have some growing pains. He has never been a starter before in college, and they did good job of disguising some stuff. We knew sometimes as the ball was about to snap that it wasn't the best situation, but he made something out of nothing a few times which he is able to do with his legs, and he showed how valuable those can be, and his zip on the football is elite. He has some real talent. He just has a poise about him. When the pressure comes, he just shrugs it off and keeps it on the backside. He just has a lot of instinctive things that I see in him."
QB Michael Penix Jr.
On whether he was nervous...
"Not too nervous, no. Mostly anxious and ready. I've been preparing. The whole team had been preparing in the film room, so we were mentally prepared and ready to go out and execute."
On his scrambling...
"I was just going through my reads. If I had to pull a read, I could pull it and I could go. It felt great. It helped keep drives alive and just keep pushing and help the team get points."
WR Nick Westbrook
On Michael Penix Jr.'s performance...
"It was good, man. He is a young guy, his first start. Of course, he is going to be nervous. He was saying that before the game. I said, dude there is one way to get through it and that is to play your game. Mistakes happen and you just have to bounce back, and that's exactly what he did. He showed up when we really needed him."
Players Mentioned
FB: Week 10 (at Maryland) - Curt Cignetti Postgame Press Conference
Saturday, November 01
FB: Inside IU Football with Curt Cignetti - Week 10 (at Maryland)
Thursday, October 30
FB: Under the Hood with Indiana Football - Week 10 (at Maryland)
Wednesday, October 29
FB: Kaelon Black Media Availability (10/28/25)
Tuesday, October 28

