Quoted: at Purdue - Tom Allen
11/24/2021 1:00:00 PM | Football
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana head football coach Tom Allen addressed the media on Wednesday (Nov. 24) in front of the Hoosiers regular season finale at Purdue this Saturday (Nov. 27) at 3:30 p.m. on FS1.
Below is a partial transcript of the press conferences, while video of the full media session can be found on the right sidebar at IUHoosiers.com.
Tom Allen | Head Coach
On the injury situation…
TA: They are progressing and have been working out there. A combination of both extra rehab sessions, as well as practice, and just trying to get them ready to roll. We don't know for sure yet, obviously it being Wednesday, but we do feel like we are making progress. Josh Sanguinetti is in that group. James Miller, Tiawan Mullen, and Stephen Carr. Those four guys haven't played here in the last few weeks, and we are trying to get them ready.
On Devon Matthews' status…
TA: Devon continues to progress. He had everything looked at [after the game]. He had the X-rays done and the MRIs done postgame, so we had the information from that. He is definitely questionable and in that group of guys we are working through and trying to get squared away. Bottom line is, we don't know yet, but if at all possible, he definitely wants to play.
On the importance of playing complementary football…
TA: That is definitely the plan, trying to do a great job of playing winning football, which means trying to help both sides work together. Being able to, as you said, stay on the field [as an offense] is critical, being able to make manageable third downs, being able to drive the football and convert third downs, whatever those might be. Obviously, the more manageable the better. There is no doubt that is the objective, just trying to be able to do that and help the football team. Then, special teams is going to have to play a big role. Field position and trying the expedite those things and trying to steal some positions.
That is critical for us to be able to have that mindset as a whole group. In some ways it is not a lot different than every single [week], but obviously more critical when you have less guys you have at your disposal to play.
On whom he likes to bring in to talk about the Bucket Game…
TA: Mark Deal, I am not sure there is a more passionate Indiana Hoosier on this planet. It runs deep in the Deal family. He is understandably very proud of his family and his father playing here, and his brother and himself being part of Buckets that they have been able to win and all of the I's on the chain that they have inside that Bucket is a powerful thing.
Our guys were fired up when he got done [talking to the team]. He does a great job of making sure they understand how big a game this is to us, our fan base and to our university. We have other alumni that we utilize, even having Anthony Thompson here on campus on a daily basis. He is another guy that has talked to our guys, and we will have some others. We do video each week with alumni to be able to share and we got another one coming up this week. We have some former players [going to talk to the team]. Nate Sudfeld is going to share with our guys. We just try to take advantage of all of them that have a stake in this big game and have had an amazing experience playing in the game, and obviously it is personal, and it is passionate, which makes it special.
On what a win would mean on Saturday at Purdue…
TA: It would be huge with all we have been through. Sometimes when you are in it you don't have a chance to take a step back and realize what you have been going through. It's been challenging. So, getting a win would be massive for our program and for our players. I just want it for these guys. I want them to finish this way: to finish with a huge win and winning The Bucket would make us feel a whole lot different going into this offseason. So, yes, it is a big deal.
Below is a partial transcript of the press conferences, while video of the full media session can be found on the right sidebar at IUHoosiers.com.
Tom Allen | Head Coach
On the injury situation…
TA: They are progressing and have been working out there. A combination of both extra rehab sessions, as well as practice, and just trying to get them ready to roll. We don't know for sure yet, obviously it being Wednesday, but we do feel like we are making progress. Josh Sanguinetti is in that group. James Miller, Tiawan Mullen, and Stephen Carr. Those four guys haven't played here in the last few weeks, and we are trying to get them ready.
On Devon Matthews' status…
TA: Devon continues to progress. He had everything looked at [after the game]. He had the X-rays done and the MRIs done postgame, so we had the information from that. He is definitely questionable and in that group of guys we are working through and trying to get squared away. Bottom line is, we don't know yet, but if at all possible, he definitely wants to play.
On the importance of playing complementary football…
TA: That is definitely the plan, trying to do a great job of playing winning football, which means trying to help both sides work together. Being able to, as you said, stay on the field [as an offense] is critical, being able to make manageable third downs, being able to drive the football and convert third downs, whatever those might be. Obviously, the more manageable the better. There is no doubt that is the objective, just trying to be able to do that and help the football team. Then, special teams is going to have to play a big role. Field position and trying the expedite those things and trying to steal some positions.
That is critical for us to be able to have that mindset as a whole group. In some ways it is not a lot different than every single [week], but obviously more critical when you have less guys you have at your disposal to play.
On whom he likes to bring in to talk about the Bucket Game…
TA: Mark Deal, I am not sure there is a more passionate Indiana Hoosier on this planet. It runs deep in the Deal family. He is understandably very proud of his family and his father playing here, and his brother and himself being part of Buckets that they have been able to win and all of the I's on the chain that they have inside that Bucket is a powerful thing.
Our guys were fired up when he got done [talking to the team]. He does a great job of making sure they understand how big a game this is to us, our fan base and to our university. We have other alumni that we utilize, even having Anthony Thompson here on campus on a daily basis. He is another guy that has talked to our guys, and we will have some others. We do video each week with alumni to be able to share and we got another one coming up this week. We have some former players [going to talk to the team]. Nate Sudfeld is going to share with our guys. We just try to take advantage of all of them that have a stake in this big game and have had an amazing experience playing in the game, and obviously it is personal, and it is passionate, which makes it special.
On what a win would mean on Saturday at Purdue…
TA: It would be huge with all we have been through. Sometimes when you are in it you don't have a chance to take a step back and realize what you have been going through. It's been challenging. So, getting a win would be massive for our program and for our players. I just want it for these guys. I want them to finish this way: to finish with a huge win and winning The Bucket would make us feel a whole lot different going into this offseason. So, yes, it is a big deal.
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