Indiana University Athletics
Media Thursday: Wisconsin
12/3/2020 12:30:00 PM | Football
Below is a partial transcription of the Zoom press conference with Indiana head coach Tom Allen on Thursday, Dec. 3.
Head Coach Tom Allen
Q: On conversations with Jack Tuttle…
ALLEN: It is critical that you are open and honest. It is critical that you sit down and talk man-to-man and go through where he is at, what his goals are and where we see him. You have to have those times together. That builds trust. That is when the relationship is formed. Jack is a consistent young man that has grown and matured so much since he has been here. He has had a chance to get a great education here. He loves the track that he is on from a business perspective. He is a very bright, young man. He loves Indiana. He would be the first person to tell you that he loves being here. He loves the culture and the environment that he is in. Obviously, he wants to play, like everyone does. There is a level of patience that you have to have. There is also a level of perseverance and persistence when you never know when you might get that opportunity. When it does come, you have to seize it. In this day and age, you see a lot of quarterbacks that transfer if they do not get a chance to play within a year or so. It is a tribute to him and a testament to his perseverance and his character. He wanted to stay here, develop here, and he wanted to be able to help this team in anyway possible. That has been his attitude. He has been very open and honest about that. I am excited for him because of the position that he has put himself in and the way that he has been so consistent in his preparation.
Q: On cornerbacks coach Brandon Shelby…
ALLEN: His perspective. He is the longest tenured on-field coach on our staff. He has seen a lot. We will talk about what it was like when he first got here. He has seen the changes from the time that he first got here with Kevin Wilson to the time when I first got here, which was coming off a Pinstripe Bowl opportunity. I was hired that offseason after that game. It was a good season that year in a lot of ways, especially on the offensive side. We had some challenges on defense. His big-picture perspective of where we have come from and his appreciation for what it has taken to get here. I think he gives us a lot of insight and wisdom for our players and coaches in that area. I respect him for staying the course. Other opportunities come. He wants to be able to see this thing through and be a part of the complete change and the turnaround. To see us go from where we were back then to being a Top-10 team right now has been awesome for him to be a part of. I love him, respect him and appreciate him. He holds his players accountable and does a great job of building relationships with these guys. He coaches them in a way that is helping them develop from the inside out and helping them become the men that we want them to be and the way they want to be. We tease him at times for being here for so long, but he is a guy that stayed the course. I have a lot of respect for him.
Q: On practicing outside in the colder weather…
ALLEN: The way that I always approach it is, my philosophy is, we are going to practice in the situation that we are going to play in. Last time that I checked, there was not a dome in Madison, Wisconsin, so we have been outside every single day. I played my college football up in the state of Wisconsin, so I know how cold it is this time of year up there. Yes, we have been outside every single day. That is the plan. If we have to play in it, we are going to prepare in it. That is the approach. You project what the weather might be, obviously it can change. This is different this year. Usually, our last regular season game is Thanksgiving weekend, but now that has come and gone and we are still rolling. We are going to have to adjust. Our guys have done a great job of doing that this week. We have actually had very cold weather, which is good. We have had some sunshine without much wind. Our guys are still getting used to it. It is just part of it, we do not blink.
Q: On the identity of Wisconsin…
ALLEN: I think that their identity is a culture of toughness. They have big, strong players. They have big, strong linemen; big, strong defensive players, and they are very disciplined. They run the football and play-action off of those runs. They have played really good defense for a really long time. On special teams, they are always in the right position. They are very disciplined. I think that their identity is toughness, running the ball, fullbacks and tight ends. You do not see much of that style any more, but that is who they are. They have been very, very successful for a very long time. You look back to when Barry Alvarez went there many years ago. When he got there, they were not having very much success at all. The way that has changed and the way that has become the expectation. I have a lot of respect for their program, the way they have built it, and the way they play the game. I have a ton of respect for Paul Chryst and the entire staff. That is Wisconsin football. That is neat to see that they have been there for a long time. That is a result of that continuity.
Q: On getting the wide receivers open against tight coverage…
ALLEN: There is no question that has been a priority this week. I am not going to give away our game plan. You can look at the things that happened the week before and people are going to copy those things. That is how it works. They will utilize the things they feel like they can do to be successful on that side of the ball. There are schematic things that we have to adjust, techniques to work on, and things you have to be able to do to create those openings to get our receivers open and to get them the ball. Maryland did a really good job in coverage. That has definitely been a priority for us to address this week.
Head Coach Tom Allen
Q: On conversations with Jack Tuttle…
ALLEN: It is critical that you are open and honest. It is critical that you sit down and talk man-to-man and go through where he is at, what his goals are and where we see him. You have to have those times together. That builds trust. That is when the relationship is formed. Jack is a consistent young man that has grown and matured so much since he has been here. He has had a chance to get a great education here. He loves the track that he is on from a business perspective. He is a very bright, young man. He loves Indiana. He would be the first person to tell you that he loves being here. He loves the culture and the environment that he is in. Obviously, he wants to play, like everyone does. There is a level of patience that you have to have. There is also a level of perseverance and persistence when you never know when you might get that opportunity. When it does come, you have to seize it. In this day and age, you see a lot of quarterbacks that transfer if they do not get a chance to play within a year or so. It is a tribute to him and a testament to his perseverance and his character. He wanted to stay here, develop here, and he wanted to be able to help this team in anyway possible. That has been his attitude. He has been very open and honest about that. I am excited for him because of the position that he has put himself in and the way that he has been so consistent in his preparation.
Q: On cornerbacks coach Brandon Shelby…
ALLEN: His perspective. He is the longest tenured on-field coach on our staff. He has seen a lot. We will talk about what it was like when he first got here. He has seen the changes from the time that he first got here with Kevin Wilson to the time when I first got here, which was coming off a Pinstripe Bowl opportunity. I was hired that offseason after that game. It was a good season that year in a lot of ways, especially on the offensive side. We had some challenges on defense. His big-picture perspective of where we have come from and his appreciation for what it has taken to get here. I think he gives us a lot of insight and wisdom for our players and coaches in that area. I respect him for staying the course. Other opportunities come. He wants to be able to see this thing through and be a part of the complete change and the turnaround. To see us go from where we were back then to being a Top-10 team right now has been awesome for him to be a part of. I love him, respect him and appreciate him. He holds his players accountable and does a great job of building relationships with these guys. He coaches them in a way that is helping them develop from the inside out and helping them become the men that we want them to be and the way they want to be. We tease him at times for being here for so long, but he is a guy that stayed the course. I have a lot of respect for him.
Q: On practicing outside in the colder weather…
ALLEN: The way that I always approach it is, my philosophy is, we are going to practice in the situation that we are going to play in. Last time that I checked, there was not a dome in Madison, Wisconsin, so we have been outside every single day. I played my college football up in the state of Wisconsin, so I know how cold it is this time of year up there. Yes, we have been outside every single day. That is the plan. If we have to play in it, we are going to prepare in it. That is the approach. You project what the weather might be, obviously it can change. This is different this year. Usually, our last regular season game is Thanksgiving weekend, but now that has come and gone and we are still rolling. We are going to have to adjust. Our guys have done a great job of doing that this week. We have actually had very cold weather, which is good. We have had some sunshine without much wind. Our guys are still getting used to it. It is just part of it, we do not blink.
Q: On the identity of Wisconsin…
ALLEN: I think that their identity is a culture of toughness. They have big, strong players. They have big, strong linemen; big, strong defensive players, and they are very disciplined. They run the football and play-action off of those runs. They have played really good defense for a really long time. On special teams, they are always in the right position. They are very disciplined. I think that their identity is toughness, running the ball, fullbacks and tight ends. You do not see much of that style any more, but that is who they are. They have been very, very successful for a very long time. You look back to when Barry Alvarez went there many years ago. When he got there, they were not having very much success at all. The way that has changed and the way that has become the expectation. I have a lot of respect for their program, the way they have built it, and the way they play the game. I have a ton of respect for Paul Chryst and the entire staff. That is Wisconsin football. That is neat to see that they have been there for a long time. That is a result of that continuity.
Q: On getting the wide receivers open against tight coverage…
ALLEN: There is no question that has been a priority this week. I am not going to give away our game plan. You can look at the things that happened the week before and people are going to copy those things. That is how it works. They will utilize the things they feel like they can do to be successful on that side of the ball. There are schematic things that we have to adjust, techniques to work on, and things you have to be able to do to create those openings to get our receivers open and to get them the ball. Maryland did a really good job in coverage. That has definitely been a priority for us to address this week.
Players Mentioned
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