Indiana University Athletics
Media Thursday: Michigan State
11/12/2020 1:00:00 PM | Football
Below is a partial transcription of the Zoom press conference with Indiana head coach Tom Allen on Thursday, Nov. 12.
Head Coach Tom Allen
Q: On the physicality of the Michigan State defensive line…
ALLEN: They create some different challenges. They are big, strong and physical. That has been their mantra. That is how we know them. They have been that way for a long time. It is no different this year, they have a lot of talented football players. They play to those strengths as well. The fundamental levels they play with, the pad level, the physicality that we have talked about. To me, you have to adjust in how you prepare in regards to the look you are going to get each day in the ways that we have our scout teams prepare both sides of the football with what they are going to do. We need to be able to adjust accordingly. Even schematically, you have a plan based on that. They have really good skilled guys around them, too. This is definitely a different style. They are a good football team and we know we are going to have to play our very, very best.
Q: On Reese Taylor…
ALLEN: First of all, I think you are starting to see what I saw. I had some people question me on the thought process of him playing corner. We talked in recruiting pretty openly and honestly. He wanted to play corner. He saw that was his opportunity for the future to be able to allow him to play at the highest level moving forward, beyond college. What I saw was a highly competitive young man that was extremely gifted athletically. His change of direction, his short-area quickness was very elite and very special. Even to this day, he is our quickest guy in terms of change of direction on the entire team. That was how he created a lot of those offensive plays with the ball in his hands as a high school quarterback. As you mentioned, he threw the ball accurately. He was not just a guy running the ball a bunch, but he was a true quarterback. The bottom line is that I always saw him as a corner, too. I wanted him to want that. When Stevie Scott III came here, he wanted to play running back, so that is where we started him. When you recruit high school athletes, the quarterback is often the best player on the team. The guy that has the ball in his hand, whether that is the running back or a quarterback in high school, that is often times where the best player is. You try to recruit as many quarterbacks and running backs as you can. The thing that you do not always know about quarterbacks is how they are able to take the hits. Running backs are a little different, because, obviously, they take those hits every snap. That is the thing that he has shown. I thought that he was a tough kid and he has proven to be that. He is a very good tackler, which is probably something that people did not know he could or could not do as a quarterback. That is not something you do in that normal skillset. He is a good football player, highly competitive. I thought that he had the physical stature. I watched him workout. I looked at how his body was composed and whether or not he would be able to handle good weight. That was part of it, as well. The size of his calves, the lower body, the size of his shoulders...the ability to put good weight on and handle playing corner in the Big Ten. We play a lot of man, so we need guys to be able to have that short-area quickness. We need great athletes that can cover in space. This game is played in space. He has a chance to play in space with the ball in his hands in the return game. I am so proud of him. He has battled some injuries a lot last year that got him off to a slow start last year, but as the year ended, he really started to show up and play the way that we thought he could. It is really showing up now. The bottom line is, it is about finding guys that fit with you. You get them on the football team, you get them on the bus, and then you figure out which seat to put them in. I really felt that he had the chance to be an elite corner in the Big Ten.
Q: On importance of staying diligent with COVID-19 protocols…
ALLEN: We are on high alert this week. We made another huge emphasis to our players in our last team meeting about masks, social distancing, taking care of themselves and washing hands. It is really easy to get lulled into some of these things when you do them for a while. You get comfortable and complacent. You let down your guard, but there is no question that what has happened this week is another great reminder that this season is very fragile. I think we all know that. We have no idea what the future holds. We cannot take anything for granted in our preparation, the mitigation of risk. We are trying to keep our guys safe, keep our staff safe. We continue to challenge our coaches to do a great job, their families do a great job with who they are around after the game. It takes discipline, sacrifice with all of the great things that we have going on here. We are not able to enjoy it in a way that we normally would with family and friends in close proximity. That is unfortunate, but it is reality. We want to continue to play, but we know we can only control so much. The things that we can control, we need to do a great, great job.
Q: On how he celebrated the win over Michigan…
ALLEN: Once I finished with all of the media, which took a while, I had no voice left and I was completely exhausted. I had some family members that were able to come to the game, so we stood six feet apart, had my mask on talking to them, did not even get a chance to hug them. I talked to them a little bit outside of the stadium, then my wife and I went home by ourselves and hung out, watched some college football, sat there and thanked the good Lord for an amazing opportunity. I thanked Him for these kids, their effort and all that we have done. We really sat back, relaxed and enjoyed some quiet time together with my wife. We realized how blessed we are with what we are going through right now.
Q: On Michigan State…
ALLEN: I never even thought of that. We have the Michigan State Spartans coming. They have been ranked in the Top 25 13 of the last 14 seasons. They won the Big Ten five years ago. They played in the College Football playoff five years ago. Everything we have to win this game, that is all that I am thinking about.
Head Coach Tom Allen
Q: On the physicality of the Michigan State defensive line…
ALLEN: They create some different challenges. They are big, strong and physical. That has been their mantra. That is how we know them. They have been that way for a long time. It is no different this year, they have a lot of talented football players. They play to those strengths as well. The fundamental levels they play with, the pad level, the physicality that we have talked about. To me, you have to adjust in how you prepare in regards to the look you are going to get each day in the ways that we have our scout teams prepare both sides of the football with what they are going to do. We need to be able to adjust accordingly. Even schematically, you have a plan based on that. They have really good skilled guys around them, too. This is definitely a different style. They are a good football team and we know we are going to have to play our very, very best.
Q: On Reese Taylor…
ALLEN: First of all, I think you are starting to see what I saw. I had some people question me on the thought process of him playing corner. We talked in recruiting pretty openly and honestly. He wanted to play corner. He saw that was his opportunity for the future to be able to allow him to play at the highest level moving forward, beyond college. What I saw was a highly competitive young man that was extremely gifted athletically. His change of direction, his short-area quickness was very elite and very special. Even to this day, he is our quickest guy in terms of change of direction on the entire team. That was how he created a lot of those offensive plays with the ball in his hands as a high school quarterback. As you mentioned, he threw the ball accurately. He was not just a guy running the ball a bunch, but he was a true quarterback. The bottom line is that I always saw him as a corner, too. I wanted him to want that. When Stevie Scott III came here, he wanted to play running back, so that is where we started him. When you recruit high school athletes, the quarterback is often the best player on the team. The guy that has the ball in his hand, whether that is the running back or a quarterback in high school, that is often times where the best player is. You try to recruit as many quarterbacks and running backs as you can. The thing that you do not always know about quarterbacks is how they are able to take the hits. Running backs are a little different, because, obviously, they take those hits every snap. That is the thing that he has shown. I thought that he was a tough kid and he has proven to be that. He is a very good tackler, which is probably something that people did not know he could or could not do as a quarterback. That is not something you do in that normal skillset. He is a good football player, highly competitive. I thought that he had the physical stature. I watched him workout. I looked at how his body was composed and whether or not he would be able to handle good weight. That was part of it, as well. The size of his calves, the lower body, the size of his shoulders...the ability to put good weight on and handle playing corner in the Big Ten. We play a lot of man, so we need guys to be able to have that short-area quickness. We need great athletes that can cover in space. This game is played in space. He has a chance to play in space with the ball in his hands in the return game. I am so proud of him. He has battled some injuries a lot last year that got him off to a slow start last year, but as the year ended, he really started to show up and play the way that we thought he could. It is really showing up now. The bottom line is, it is about finding guys that fit with you. You get them on the football team, you get them on the bus, and then you figure out which seat to put them in. I really felt that he had the chance to be an elite corner in the Big Ten.
Q: On importance of staying diligent with COVID-19 protocols…
ALLEN: We are on high alert this week. We made another huge emphasis to our players in our last team meeting about masks, social distancing, taking care of themselves and washing hands. It is really easy to get lulled into some of these things when you do them for a while. You get comfortable and complacent. You let down your guard, but there is no question that what has happened this week is another great reminder that this season is very fragile. I think we all know that. We have no idea what the future holds. We cannot take anything for granted in our preparation, the mitigation of risk. We are trying to keep our guys safe, keep our staff safe. We continue to challenge our coaches to do a great job, their families do a great job with who they are around after the game. It takes discipline, sacrifice with all of the great things that we have going on here. We are not able to enjoy it in a way that we normally would with family and friends in close proximity. That is unfortunate, but it is reality. We want to continue to play, but we know we can only control so much. The things that we can control, we need to do a great, great job.
Q: On how he celebrated the win over Michigan…
ALLEN: Once I finished with all of the media, which took a while, I had no voice left and I was completely exhausted. I had some family members that were able to come to the game, so we stood six feet apart, had my mask on talking to them, did not even get a chance to hug them. I talked to them a little bit outside of the stadium, then my wife and I went home by ourselves and hung out, watched some college football, sat there and thanked the good Lord for an amazing opportunity. I thanked Him for these kids, their effort and all that we have done. We really sat back, relaxed and enjoyed some quiet time together with my wife. We realized how blessed we are with what we are going through right now.
Q: On Michigan State…
ALLEN: I never even thought of that. We have the Michigan State Spartans coming. They have been ranked in the Top 25 13 of the last 14 seasons. They won the Big Ten five years ago. They played in the College Football playoff five years ago. Everything we have to win this game, that is all that I am thinking about.
Players Mentioned
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