No Blinking – IU’s Early Enrollees Benefit Despite Shortened Spring
5/26/2020 9:00:00 AM | Football
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - They gambled, and the world changed.
They came early for college opportunity, and life threw a pandemic curve no one saw coming.
Here were Indiana's seven football early enrollees -- Tim Baldwin Jr., Cameron Knight, Damarjhe Lewis, Caleb Murphy, Luke Wiginton, Dexter Williams II and Ty Wise -- passing up the spring semester of their high school senior years to get a jump on college preparation.
They got what they wanted, and they didn't.
They got, in fact, a taste of what life is like beyond the shelter of youth.
The key, of course, is how they handle it.
"They would have to say they're disappointed," IU head coach Tom Allen says, "because they came here with the intent of getting a full spring in, but that did not happen.
"I will say that they will also agree that they did get more than they would have had before. They had a chance to get an eight-week cycle of lifting with our strength staff that they would not have had before. They got four full practices in with our team that they would not have had before. So, it's definitely still an advantageous situation for them compared to those who did not."
All of them had eye-opening moments. Lewis, a 6-3, 291-pound defensive lineman out of Georgia, was especially impressive. He could make a big push for early significant playing this coming season.
"I still feel they would say it was a positive thing," Allen says, "but we were hoping it would be a longer tenure to take advantage of.
"They're thrust into this whole period of unknown future that we all have. I think they would say there were a lot of positives, not as many as they would have hoped, but you can't control it, don't dwell on it, you're not going to blink."
******
IU only held four of its 15 scheduled spring practices. That hurt evaluation, Allen says, but didn't ruin it.
"Everybody listens to different coaches' comment about where they're at, what they're doing. I've talked to a lot of coaches inside and outside of our conference, so it's a universal challenge."
Allen says IU does everything it can within NCAA rules to maintain communication and sustain player development. The goal, he says, is "make it positive for our guys and not make it too much of this or too much of that."
In terms of the spring, he says, "We thoroughly evaluated those four practices and went back and looked at them over and over and over. We wrote notes for different things, all the drills and just everything several different times to get a good feel for where we were at that point.
"The good news is we did get two padded practices in. The last one, practice number four, was full. Practice number three was shells and one and two were helmets only.
"The last two especially, we got a lot of evaluation of where we're at with our guys and used that as a major point of evaluation with our players as a staff."
Still, it will take time to make up for lost spring development time.
"It's the physical part with not being able to practice, not being able to get those reps," Allen says. "You can't replace those. There are 11 practices we did not get to have that we would've had. Those are going to have to be made up eventually, but not necessarily replaced.
"We'll have to find ways to creatively fill in the gaps. We're doing everything we can do and our strength staff is doing a great job of trying, too. We're trying to get guys to stay moving forward and productive."
At some point players and coaches will return to campus. The Hoosiers are doing everything possible to ensure they'll be ready.
"Once we all get back together, whenever that may be, then you have to assess where you're at and move forward from there," Allen says. "That's the part that will probably create the most unknowns is where are your guys right now from a physical perspective.
"I think mentally, I feel good about what we're doing with them. I think that we communicate at a higher level than you maybe would have if you're face-to-face. That might sound unique, but I think that's what's happening because of the situation."
*****
IU is closed to students, ranging from Wells Library to Memorial Stadium.
That doesn't mean players can't live in Bloomington, Allen says, "but we do not encourage that.
"Our whole philosophy from the beginning has been where do you need to be? Where are you the safest and have the highest chance to be healthy? Where are your parents comfortable with you being? That's where we want you to be whether that's home or wherever.
"We do have some players who have chosen to stay in their apartments in Bloomington. We have zero contact with them face-to-face. They can still be in an apartment in Bloomington or home in Florida or California or Texas.
"Whatever workout they do is whatever workout they can do wherever they live. There's no gyms open in most states. That's pretty consistent. Those that chose to stay in Bloomington or those who leave are dealt with the same way."
Internet access was crucial in taking on-online classes and having virtual interaction with coaches and academic support staff. Not every player had that access at home.
"That allows them to be able to communicate with teachers and professors and our academic staff," Allen says. "That's a big priority, so that may force them to want to come back here because that happens easier in this setting, but not because it's face-to-face. There is no face-to-face going on with any of our players."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - They gambled, and the world changed.
They came early for college opportunity, and life threw a pandemic curve no one saw coming.
Here were Indiana's seven football early enrollees -- Tim Baldwin Jr., Cameron Knight, Damarjhe Lewis, Caleb Murphy, Luke Wiginton, Dexter Williams II and Ty Wise -- passing up the spring semester of their high school senior years to get a jump on college preparation.
They got what they wanted, and they didn't.
They got, in fact, a taste of what life is like beyond the shelter of youth.
The key, of course, is how they handle it.
"They would have to say they're disappointed," IU head coach Tom Allen says, "because they came here with the intent of getting a full spring in, but that did not happen.
"I will say that they will also agree that they did get more than they would have had before. They had a chance to get an eight-week cycle of lifting with our strength staff that they would not have had before. They got four full practices in with our team that they would not have had before. So, it's definitely still an advantageous situation for them compared to those who did not."
All of them had eye-opening moments. Lewis, a 6-3, 291-pound defensive lineman out of Georgia, was especially impressive. He could make a big push for early significant playing this coming season.
"I still feel they would say it was a positive thing," Allen says, "but we were hoping it would be a longer tenure to take advantage of.
"They're thrust into this whole period of unknown future that we all have. I think they would say there were a lot of positives, not as many as they would have hoped, but you can't control it, don't dwell on it, you're not going to blink."
******
IU only held four of its 15 scheduled spring practices. That hurt evaluation, Allen says, but didn't ruin it.
"Everybody listens to different coaches' comment about where they're at, what they're doing. I've talked to a lot of coaches inside and outside of our conference, so it's a universal challenge."
Allen says IU does everything it can within NCAA rules to maintain communication and sustain player development. The goal, he says, is "make it positive for our guys and not make it too much of this or too much of that."
In terms of the spring, he says, "We thoroughly evaluated those four practices and went back and looked at them over and over and over. We wrote notes for different things, all the drills and just everything several different times to get a good feel for where we were at that point.
"The good news is we did get two padded practices in. The last one, practice number four, was full. Practice number three was shells and one and two were helmets only.
"The last two especially, we got a lot of evaluation of where we're at with our guys and used that as a major point of evaluation with our players as a staff."
Still, it will take time to make up for lost spring development time.
"It's the physical part with not being able to practice, not being able to get those reps," Allen says. "You can't replace those. There are 11 practices we did not get to have that we would've had. Those are going to have to be made up eventually, but not necessarily replaced.
"We'll have to find ways to creatively fill in the gaps. We're doing everything we can do and our strength staff is doing a great job of trying, too. We're trying to get guys to stay moving forward and productive."
At some point players and coaches will return to campus. The Hoosiers are doing everything possible to ensure they'll be ready.
"Once we all get back together, whenever that may be, then you have to assess where you're at and move forward from there," Allen says. "That's the part that will probably create the most unknowns is where are your guys right now from a physical perspective.
"I think mentally, I feel good about what we're doing with them. I think that we communicate at a higher level than you maybe would have if you're face-to-face. That might sound unique, but I think that's what's happening because of the situation."
*****
IU is closed to students, ranging from Wells Library to Memorial Stadium.
That doesn't mean players can't live in Bloomington, Allen says, "but we do not encourage that.
"Our whole philosophy from the beginning has been where do you need to be? Where are you the safest and have the highest chance to be healthy? Where are your parents comfortable with you being? That's where we want you to be whether that's home or wherever.
"We do have some players who have chosen to stay in their apartments in Bloomington. We have zero contact with them face-to-face. They can still be in an apartment in Bloomington or home in Florida or California or Texas.
"Whatever workout they do is whatever workout they can do wherever they live. There's no gyms open in most states. That's pretty consistent. Those that chose to stay in Bloomington or those who leave are dealt with the same way."
Internet access was crucial in taking on-online classes and having virtual interaction with coaches and academic support staff. Not every player had that access at home.
"That allows them to be able to communicate with teachers and professors and our academic staff," Allen says. "That's a big priority, so that may force them to want to come back here because that happens easier in this setting, but not because it's face-to-face. There is no face-to-face going on with any of our players."
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