Indiana University Athletics
In a Game Of Inches, Tuttle Finding His Way
10/21/2021 1:41:00 PM | Football
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Jack Tuttle is talking inches, fractions of inches, the difference between winning and losing in football, and for just a second, the world blinks.
Suddenly, for those with active imaginations and "Any Given Sunday" movie memories, Tuttle morphs into a bigger, younger version of Al Pacino giving the climactic speech to try to inspire his fictional NFL team to victory.
"Life's this game of inches," Pacino says. "And so is football. In every game, life or football, the margin for error is so small …"
The world blinks again. Here is Tuttle at a media opportunity with Saturday's game with No. 5 Ohio State (5-1) looming at what will be a sold-out Memorial Stadium and …
"In football, in big games, it's this much …" Tuttle gestures with his fingers to illustrate a tiny margin … "it's that much. That's the difference between winning and losing.
"It can be a throw in front where you're getting the yardage to get a first down and we score, or maybe the ball is behind and we don't score.
"It's every minute when you play in big games. Every detail matters."
With Michael Penix Jr. out with a shoulder injury, details rest with Tuttle. He's coming off his first start of the season, and just the third of his career. It's a small sample size and it brings, as you would expect, a mix of good and bad.
"The biggest lesson over the past starts is taking care of the ball, getting positive yards, getting ahead of the sticks," he says.
Easy to say, not to do for Tuttle and the Hoosiers (2-4).
"I've been grinding on it, working on it," he says. "Maybe it's a little adrenaline. When you get in pressurized moments, you have to be calm, take a deep breath, trust your mechanics.
"(Offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan) always talks about what you do in practice shows up in a game. It's little things like your feet being a little too crazy. Looking at the ball instead of the receiver. Little things like that that affect you in the game."
During last Saturday's 20-15 loss to Top-10 Michigan State, Tuttle threw a couple of interceptions, had some errant passes when receivers were breaking clear, and didn't always respond well to pressure.
"It's fundamental things," he says. "My feet. Even when the pocket is breaking down, it's setting my feet, being smart with the ball, even under pressure.
"It's tough sometimes. Guys are open sometimes and you want to be a hero. Can't do it. Got to take care of the ball, some other things as well."
Tuttle started fast against Michigan State, completing seven of his first nine passing attempts, but it didn't last. He finished 28-for-52 for 188 yards and those two interceptions. The first interception was returned 30 yards for a touchdown. The second led to another Spartan TD.
It was wisdom gained through pain.
"I've had three (college) starts and every time I learn something different," he says. "I feel like I've become a better player.
"Losing is not okay, but one thing I gain from it is improvement and things to work on."
Improvement includes making offensive line checks to ensure the protection and blocking gives IU its best chance to succeed.
"It was an improvement from previous starts," Tuttle says, "but there's more I can get better at.
"Especially when pressure moments occur, the communication has to improve so we can finish drives and pick up blitzes. That's where I can step it up more."
Tuttle and Sheridan work closely to develop the game plan. Tuttle says it's more geared to the opponent than to the quarterback. In part, he adds, it's because he and Penix have similar styles.
"All quarterbacks have their strengths," Tuttle says. "We set it to the team we play."
Tuttle adds that his relationship with Sheridan is such that Sheridan, "Can say one word, maybe 'feet,' whatever it may be, and I understand it and move on. His coaching points are in one word now. It's gotten to that point."
For IU to beat the Buckeyes, something they haven't done since the late 1980s, Tuttle has to play big. It starts with ball security, which has been a season-long problem. Hoosier quarterbacks have thrown 10 interceptions against five touchdown passes.
That's a huge reason for the Hoosiers' offensive struggles. They have scored 15-or-fewer points three times in six games.
Why is scoring so difficult?
"A couple main points," Sheridan says. "Number one, our quarterbacks have turned the ball over too much, period. That's pretty evident to everybody, so that can't happen. That's led to us losing games. We've turned the football over too much.
"Number two, we haven't scored touchdowns in the red zone. And it's really not much more complicated than that. We've had opportunities in the red area, and we haven't scored touchdowns."
It would help if the Hoosiers were busting big plays, but it hasn't happened.
"The explosive plays have not been what we wanted them to be," Sheridan says.
"We've had moments when we've moved the ball. We've gotten first downs. When you're talking about putting points on the board, though, you have to have explosive plays and you have to score and finish drives in the red area. We just have not done that.
"We need to be better there as a staff and as players. We need to find a way to score touchdowns in the red area and not turn the ball over like we have at the quarterback position."
Could true freshman quarterback Donaven McCulley help?
He played for the first time against Michigan State. He ran twice for eight yards, but didn't attempt a forward pass.
That will change, Sheridan says.
"I think he's a talented passer. A little inconsistent, but working on that every day.
"There are a couple layers when you're a young quarterback. Sometimes young quarterbacks can look inaccurate when they're not totally sure what they're doing, or they're not fully confident in what the read is, what the drop is, the timing.
"He's a talented kid. He has a strong arm. He is accurate. It's just making sure that he feels comfortable in those moments on a lot of levels: the protection, the read, the throw, etc.
"He's making progress every day and I think the sky's the limit for him.
"Certainly, moving forward, if he's in the game, he can't just run the ball every time, and he knows that. We have to execute those plays, as well. We expect him to do that, and I know he's just excited to continue to grow, continue to develop, and continue to get better."
Ohio State brings Top-10 status, which is nothing new for the Hoosiers, whose schedule ranks among the nation's toughest.
"(Ohio State plays) hard," Tuttle says. "They have a great defense. They won't throw anything crazy at us, but if they do, we'll adjust and make plays.
"We've played four Top-10 teams. A lot of guys are good. We have to keep making plays. Keep doing us. We've moved the ball. We just have to finish."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Jack Tuttle is talking inches, fractions of inches, the difference between winning and losing in football, and for just a second, the world blinks.
Suddenly, for those with active imaginations and "Any Given Sunday" movie memories, Tuttle morphs into a bigger, younger version of Al Pacino giving the climactic speech to try to inspire his fictional NFL team to victory.
"Life's this game of inches," Pacino says. "And so is football. In every game, life or football, the margin for error is so small …"
The world blinks again. Here is Tuttle at a media opportunity with Saturday's game with No. 5 Ohio State (5-1) looming at what will be a sold-out Memorial Stadium and …
"In football, in big games, it's this much …" Tuttle gestures with his fingers to illustrate a tiny margin … "it's that much. That's the difference between winning and losing.
"It can be a throw in front where you're getting the yardage to get a first down and we score, or maybe the ball is behind and we don't score.
"It's every minute when you play in big games. Every detail matters."
With Michael Penix Jr. out with a shoulder injury, details rest with Tuttle. He's coming off his first start of the season, and just the third of his career. It's a small sample size and it brings, as you would expect, a mix of good and bad.
"The biggest lesson over the past starts is taking care of the ball, getting positive yards, getting ahead of the sticks," he says.
Easy to say, not to do for Tuttle and the Hoosiers (2-4).
"I've been grinding on it, working on it," he says. "Maybe it's a little adrenaline. When you get in pressurized moments, you have to be calm, take a deep breath, trust your mechanics.
"(Offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan) always talks about what you do in practice shows up in a game. It's little things like your feet being a little too crazy. Looking at the ball instead of the receiver. Little things like that that affect you in the game."
During last Saturday's 20-15 loss to Top-10 Michigan State, Tuttle threw a couple of interceptions, had some errant passes when receivers were breaking clear, and didn't always respond well to pressure.
"It's fundamental things," he says. "My feet. Even when the pocket is breaking down, it's setting my feet, being smart with the ball, even under pressure.
"It's tough sometimes. Guys are open sometimes and you want to be a hero. Can't do it. Got to take care of the ball, some other things as well."
Tuttle started fast against Michigan State, completing seven of his first nine passing attempts, but it didn't last. He finished 28-for-52 for 188 yards and those two interceptions. The first interception was returned 30 yards for a touchdown. The second led to another Spartan TD.
It was wisdom gained through pain.
"I've had three (college) starts and every time I learn something different," he says. "I feel like I've become a better player.
"Losing is not okay, but one thing I gain from it is improvement and things to work on."
Improvement includes making offensive line checks to ensure the protection and blocking gives IU its best chance to succeed.
"It was an improvement from previous starts," Tuttle says, "but there's more I can get better at.
"Especially when pressure moments occur, the communication has to improve so we can finish drives and pick up blitzes. That's where I can step it up more."
Tuttle and Sheridan work closely to develop the game plan. Tuttle says it's more geared to the opponent than to the quarterback. In part, he adds, it's because he and Penix have similar styles.
"All quarterbacks have their strengths," Tuttle says. "We set it to the team we play."
Tuttle adds that his relationship with Sheridan is such that Sheridan, "Can say one word, maybe 'feet,' whatever it may be, and I understand it and move on. His coaching points are in one word now. It's gotten to that point."
For IU to beat the Buckeyes, something they haven't done since the late 1980s, Tuttle has to play big. It starts with ball security, which has been a season-long problem. Hoosier quarterbacks have thrown 10 interceptions against five touchdown passes.
That's a huge reason for the Hoosiers' offensive struggles. They have scored 15-or-fewer points three times in six games.
Why is scoring so difficult?
"A couple main points," Sheridan says. "Number one, our quarterbacks have turned the ball over too much, period. That's pretty evident to everybody, so that can't happen. That's led to us losing games. We've turned the football over too much.
"Number two, we haven't scored touchdowns in the red zone. And it's really not much more complicated than that. We've had opportunities in the red area, and we haven't scored touchdowns."
It would help if the Hoosiers were busting big plays, but it hasn't happened.
"The explosive plays have not been what we wanted them to be," Sheridan says.
"We've had moments when we've moved the ball. We've gotten first downs. When you're talking about putting points on the board, though, you have to have explosive plays and you have to score and finish drives in the red area. We just have not done that.
"We need to be better there as a staff and as players. We need to find a way to score touchdowns in the red area and not turn the ball over like we have at the quarterback position."
Could true freshman quarterback Donaven McCulley help?
He played for the first time against Michigan State. He ran twice for eight yards, but didn't attempt a forward pass.
That will change, Sheridan says.
"I think he's a talented passer. A little inconsistent, but working on that every day.
"There are a couple layers when you're a young quarterback. Sometimes young quarterbacks can look inaccurate when they're not totally sure what they're doing, or they're not fully confident in what the read is, what the drop is, the timing.
"He's a talented kid. He has a strong arm. He is accurate. It's just making sure that he feels comfortable in those moments on a lot of levels: the protection, the read, the throw, etc.
"He's making progress every day and I think the sky's the limit for him.
"Certainly, moving forward, if he's in the game, he can't just run the ball every time, and he knows that. We have to execute those plays, as well. We expect him to do that, and I know he's just excited to continue to grow, continue to develop, and continue to get better."
Ohio State brings Top-10 status, which is nothing new for the Hoosiers, whose schedule ranks among the nation's toughest.
"(Ohio State plays) hard," Tuttle says. "They have a great defense. They won't throw anything crazy at us, but if they do, we'll adjust and make plays.
"We've played four Top-10 teams. A lot of guys are good. We have to keep making plays. Keep doing us. We've moved the ball. We just have to finish."
Players Mentioned
FB: Fernando Mendoza - Heisman Trophy Press Conference (12/15/25)
Monday, December 15
FB: Curt Cignetti - Pre-Heisman Press Conference
Wednesday, December 10
FB: Fernando Mendoza - Pre-Heisman Press Conference
Tuesday, December 09
FB: CFP Quarterfinals (Rose Bowl) - Student-Athlete Press Conference
Monday, December 08