Media Monday: Minnesota

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana head football coach Tom Allen met with the media on Monday (November 15) inside Memorial Stadium to preview the upcoming contest against Minnesota on Saturday (November 20).

Below is the transcript of the press conference. Video of the full media session can be found on the right sidebar at IUHoosiers.com.

Tom Allen | Head Coach
Opening Statement
TA: Good morning. Appreciate everybody being here. Just following up from the weekend, we continue to have the same tone and emphasis. Very disappointed with the performance. Not happy at all.

It's my responsibility to get our guys ready and when you turn the ball over six times it is a formula for disaster no matter who you play. We put our defense in some tough spots and I didn't like how they responded in those sudden change situations. When we made them have to drive [the length of the field], we forced them to punt nine times. So, that's what you're supposed to do on defense.

Didn't like how we finished at the end offensively, or throughout the game offensively. The end was just kind of negative, completely negative spin at the end of it. That's the bottom line.

Very frustrated with that whole response from our guys and challenged what they had this weekend and expect a different type of performance. Preparation-wise, that's not been the issue, it's about how we're playing.

And, you know, we've got to come together. Senior Day is coming up on Saturday. A special group of guys, a long list of guys that will be recognized. They've earned the right for us to finish strong and play with the level of intensity, toughness, and passion that I know is the standard here and our expectation.

And so that's what I expect our guys to do. We continue to try and get some guys back this week. That will obviously be a focus, to get some guys healthy. We welcome in a team that's a big, physical football team in Minnesota. They are well coached. Coach Fleck has done a good job there. They play hard, they play physical, and thy have a lot of discipline to their team in terms of how they play on both sides of the ball and special teams. So, a lot of respect for them and how hard they play.

I do have some guys we want to recognize for the weak. Defensive scout team player of the week is Nick Grieser, our offensive scout team players of the week are Ricky Tamis and Trey Walker, and the special teams scout team player of the week is Asher King. Those four guys continue to be several of the many guys that are working hard in practice and trying to do everything they can do to help us get prepared.

So ready for questions at this time

On the status of Jack Tuttle…
TA: Yeah. We continue to rehab him. We don't know yet exactly what his status will be for Saturday, but obviously trying to get him back. Obviously he got injured with his lower leg again, but a different foot. So, we are trying to get him back without question.

On if Michael Penix Jr. could come back this season…
TA: We're going to continue to evaluate that. I hope so, but I don't know. Obviously, that window is closing with each passing day. We are going to have a meeting about that this afternoon just to kind of go through and see where we're at with him. Obviously, he practiced last week, and we will see how much more he'll be able to practice this week and see how he's feeling. Want him to feel great about it and want him to be 100 percent ready to go if that's the direction we go.

On if he would re-evaluate his approach to the expectations for his team this season…
TA: You know, no. Now, when you don't get the results you want, you go back, and you evaluate everything. But when I think back because I've thought that through. I've thought that through several times because basically, you know, the whole objective was to elevate the next level and the focus/vision of what you want. Right?

So, the one-game emphasis doesn't change. That's never changed this year. It's always the next game is the most important game. Why? Because it's the next one, you know. And that doesn't change.

I've always felt since I've been here that our guys really didn't even believe we could win the Big Ten. That's why I said I don't want you guys to break it down on 'Big Ten Championship' anymore because those are empty words. I felt that way when I first got here and just watching how everything was being done and the way that the guys prepared. That's during the season, off[season] and all that stuff.

So, we felt like that we had put ourselves in a position -- not just from 2020, but even 2019 – with the changes and the different outcomes on game day and the places that we were able to get victories that we hadn't had in the past, at least the recent past.

So, you talk about, 'okay, what's next in terms of how you see where you are.' You come up with the one word, Chase, which I thought was a great one word for this season to be able to take where we were, to take it to another level because that's what it's about. Right? You don't want to be, 'hey, well, we finished second in the Big Ten East last year.' And, as I've said before, and I'll say it again, you don't break it down on 'runners up on two.' It's about, we want to win the Big Ten. That's been a program goal since I've been here.

So, to be able to help our guys take themselves to stretch that vision another step would be the mindset. If you think about it, the vision is where you want to be. I was asked the question on Big 10 Media Day, what does greatness mean? We talk about chasing greatness. What does greatness look like for this group? I said, without hesitation, winning the Big Ten.

That's the vision. That to me is what greatness is for this program. That's what we [all came here to do]. I came here to eventually one day win the Big Team Championship. And that's the goal.

To me, to be able to take a team that I believe had the infrastructure and the talent to do so, okay, that's what I put out there for our guys to be able to chase after.

And, to me, without a vision, the people perish. You know, you've got to have that -- something that stretches you.

To me, you know, obviously, is that the reason why we didn't perform well? You know what, I don't think so. There are other variables involved. But, at the same time, we didn't perform well. So, you've got to go back and evaluate.

I'll go back in the off season and try to figure out where we maybe missed some things. But I don't think it was that. I just feel like within that, you have individual guys -- everybody had an individual plan how they were going to chase greatness themselves. And, obviously, as a collective group, would we have been satisfied with just being middle of the pack or above middle of the pack?

That's not what I envisioned for this group. I did envision them being able to be at this time of the year competing for and being in the hunt for Big Ten Championship. That was my vision. That was what I believed. And I don't go back to, 'man, I missed it on that,' you know. Have we played to that level? No.

But at the same time, I believed it. I want our guys to see it. I want our guys to be able to understand because, you know, sometimes you don't really know what you can do. And you limit yourself by putting caps [on yourself]. Everybody kind of decides what Indiana can become as a program [now] and in the past. And I get it. I get the past is why people predict things or say things about your future. I understand that.

But how do you break through that? How do you tear down those barriers and those ceilings that people place on you? To me, it's by having a vision, casting that vision, and then doing things in place to help surround yourself with people and players that believe in that vision and want to help you go do that.

You know, I met with a recruit here this weekend on an official visit. I'm sitting there in my office and we're talking about the vision I have for us to win the Big Ten Championship. That's what I want. And I want guys that come here with that belief and guys that want to create that opportunity for themselves. Then, eventually the team will obviously be the beneficiary of that.

So, you know, I know it's a long answer, but I've thought long and hard about some of these things. And, obviously, this has been very difficult, very challenging.

And, you know, we've obviously, you know, lost a lot of guys. And we don't look the same as we did. But at the same time, that's part of it.

And you have sometimes, [like last year] when we didn't have a lot of injuries. We still had some guys, you know, that were in and out because of those circumstances. But you just go through -- and we'll do a complete -- I'll do an absolute introspective look at every little thing we did leading up to this year from fall camp to right before the season to during the season to things in the off season, in the summertime and in the wintertime.

Same with talking to Coach Wellman and everything we're doing to try and [limit those injuries]. We had 30 guys miss because of injuries [this season]. We've had about 18 guys that we've lost for the season, you know. And another 12 that have missed multiple games, a bunch of games and key guys. So, you know, trying to figure out why those 30 guys have been out.

You know, those are things that we've got to look at. We'll look at this whole program from top to bottom and just make those corrections and press on.

On if he sensed that guys took last season for granted in preparing for 2021…
TA: Yeah, you know, I think that's part of the holistic evaluation. I do think one danger of having a lot of guys back can be maybe some of that that's not even observable, you know, at the time. It's maybe subtly.

You know, you don't have the same [drive] and you almost just kind of, 'hey, you know what, this is where we are.' Or you expect it to just be automatic. That's where I felt like or that's what I feared, to be honest with you, because I've worked so hard to be like, 'you know what, guys, just because we got a bunch of guys back, that don't mean jack to how we're going to perform.' I mean, I said that in a lot of different ways and tried to really make it [a point]. That's one thing I do know because I was concerned about that.

I've been a part of some teams that have had [that happen]. I remember a particular place I was at, and it was almost identical. I felt like that we had some guys that just assumed [success], you know, and like I say it's not that they don't work hard but maybe it's not quite the same when you're being questioned, doubted, told you can't do this, told you can't do that, and then it just provides that little extra.

It's such a fine line at this level. You just think about the [margin for error] and it's just so minute. And that's where I felt like just try to really [drive that point home], but kids don't understand that. And you can say it. But I try to say it different ways. I remind our coaching staff.

So, yeah, I think you have to -- that might be something that just wasn't quite the same sense of urgency maybe, you know. I'm not saying that there was. I'm just trying to look back. We're going to look at everything, like we said.

But, man, that is definitely a danger of having a group that's a whole bunch of guys back and expectations are a certain place, maybe at a situation hasn't used to that, you know. So, that's where you want to make sure that you fully go through and find out if that's the case, then you've got to make some changes.

On what he has been seeing throughout the season…
TA: Yeah. I think it's clear. I think as you see things. I don't have all the answers for that. No, not at this minute as we stand here.

I think you'll [see more once the season is over]. It's always good to step back, you know. You're still in it. You take a step back and you kind of look at it from a different perspective and evaluate everything.

I wouldn't say I feel...there's the obvious things. You lose 30 guys, I mean, that's significant. That's a lot of people and a lot of different roles. From guys that are getting you ready to how that -- it's just a lot of individuals that we expected to be part of this and are not.

So, we still aren't to the level as a program where we can absorb all those hits depth-wise. We're making progress in that area without question. But to handle that many -- and I don't know if I've been anywhere yet that's had that much depth to handle that many losses.

We're, honestly, just taking the running back room, for example. In this last week's game, you've got the top four guys that started fall camp aren't there. I don't ever remember that happening.

But anyways, I don't want to get into all that. I feel there's definitely some things to go back and evaluate. And we will. Sometimes you see things and you kind of make a little mental note. When things don't go the way you want them to go you're going to. It will be a lot of really deep evaluation, without question.

On how he channels his frustrations on the sideline in a game like Saturday…
TA: I mean, you've just got to stay composed and stay positive. I mean, that's going to be consistent regardless. Yeah, you're frustrated. I was frustrated. I know some players were frustrated. And I don't blame them. I share in that.

But when you're in that -- every position -- to whom much is given, much is required. Everybody that's in those positions, which is all of us, everybody watches. You've got to be able to handle those the right way. And sometimes I get a little animated. And sometimes I'm a little more under control in those situations.

But you try to stay calm in that regard. But at the same time fiery and intense, but in a positive way. If I need to get after them, you get after them. But at the same time, you know, I'm an emotional guy, so you're not going to -- I don't hide things that great, you know. But that's no big secret. But at the same time, you don't want to be out of control.

But I think -- and then you talked about -- for the future and culture, I mean, that's who you are. I mean, there's no question … that's a strong part of this program. We have built that over time. It didn't just happen. Last year wasn't just, you know, out of nowhere. It was a slow build.

And, yeah, we'll lose quite a few guys that have been here for several years. And you've just got to continue. That foundation doesn't change. Some faces are going to change. You bring in guys that continue to fit with what you want.

But that's part of going through and having -- whether we were -- you know, no matter what happened this year, that's going to have to be rebuilt in regard to personnel. At the same time, the outcomes, it creates a whole different form. I have a whole different feel in terms of just how you feel about things. And that's why we say that's got to be separated, you know, because that emotion can't affect you in a negative way, just like it can't affect you in a positive way. You don't make decisions off those things. It's all about these are concrete things that we believe in. This is who we are. You recruit to that. You develop to that. You stay to that. You don't waiver from that.

And that, to me, is going to be -- is it tested? Sure, it is. That's why, you know, when you talk about -- you can't have a testimony, which is a verbal way to articulate it … man, this is how we were able to do this and I can talk about it, you know, testimonial. Well, you have to have a test to create that opportunity for those testimonies that people can say about your program.

We're going through that right now. It's been very difficult and challenging. But from my experience, the places that have great foundations, they get stronger because of these types of opportunities to grow and to learn. I expect this program to continue to grow and learn and be stronger in the future because of it. And that's what I expect.

And, as a leader, I am the one that has to be the person out front and being the catalyst for that type of future growth and improvement.

On how he will get the team prepared to play this week with Purdue looming next weekend…
TA: Yeah. The goal is this week to be able to come together. We understand that this is a special week. This is a senior class that's a unique senior class because you've got super seniors from the previous year. It's a really large group of guys. So, you have guys in there that have used up their eligibility. You've got guys that have maybe one year left and they're trying to decide what to do and everything in between, you know.

But it is for the seniors. No matter how you slice it, it's our senior day. So, to me, it's a special group of guys. There's a lot of people in that group that have sacrificed a lot, given a lot to this program and helped us be where we are today and built what we've built to this point.

And so, to me, it's about preparing for [the seniors], playing for them, coming together for them. And that's been the charge and the challenge in talking with our leadership guys last night about this. And it's going to be the focus.

To me, that's really what this is about, is how we finish the right way. The last home game for this special group of guys.

And so that is the challenge, you know, to be able to put aside and to block out and to get all of the negativity of the past few weeks and come together to play our best football. That's what we expect to do, expect them to come in tomorrow morning and have a focus and energy and intensity led by our coaching staff and myself at the front to be able to create that.

And that, to me, that's the expectation. And that's what we're going to have to be able to do. And is that easy? No. Sure it's not. But that's where you, once again, fall back on the guys here. We've just got to be able to do a great job of blocking out things and focusing on one objective, which is to be able to have our best week of preparation so we can play our best football on Saturday against a really good Minnesota football team. When you finish that, you go do it again one last time with this group.

On if there is a deadline for guys to decide on using their COVID year…
TA: Yes. I would say we're kind of taking more the approach of just take everybody through it and then you kind of [look at it at the end of the year], because there will be quite a few guys that I believe will go ahead and go through the ceremony and then still probably come back and play another year. Because you just don't [want to rush them]. Sometimes you're not ready to have those conversations when the season is not over.

But it is unique. I mean, there's always a little bit of that in some ways with a guy if he's going to decide to come back or not. But we've never in the history of our game have we had this number because of the COVID situation that we all went through. And everybody got an additional year. Obviously, those guys were all on the team last year. So, therefore, they would all get that additional year.

So that's kind of where it's unique. Then you do have the super senior group that they are done. They've exhausted their years and there are several of those. So, yeah, there will be more of those than normal without question.

We just kind of approach it individually. We talk to every single guy and give them a chance to go through and make that decision. Regardless, like I said, it's a special group of guys, whether this is officially their last time or not. They're all part of a group that came here, believed in what we were building before we actually did it. So always will be a very, very special group to me.

On how they will approach recruiting with the large group of seniors…
TA: Well, the primary group will be the high school group. We've got 14 of those guys committed right now. And we expect those 14 guys to sign with us on December 15 and may add to that between now and then.

Then we'll utilize the transfer portal or whatever you want to call it, the guys that choose to go somewhere else and that gives you a chance to be able to give you some experienced guys that come in that have already played college football. That would be the case with most of those guys. You could technically have a freshman that didn't play much this year but that comes in from another place.

But, yeah, the core will be high school class. And then we'll continue to evaluate, meet needs and find guys that fit with us and want to come here and help us keep building this program.

Awesome. Have a great day. LEO.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
_{114809-1-1822 2021-11-15 19:23:00 GMT}

Players Mentioned

Asher King

Michael Penix Jr.

Ricky Tamis

Jack Tuttle

Trey Walker

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