‘Great Effort!’ – Allen Coaches for Hoosier History

'Great Effort!' – Allen Coaches for Hoosier History

By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Tom Allen strides. Of course, he does. The man is full motion all the time, hustling across Indiana's football practice fields as if stopping would break state law.

"I want to see great effort, every rep!" he shouts through a bullhorn. The Hoosiers are full throttle at a recent, sun-splashed practice and no one is more engaged than this fifth-year head coach, who treats coaching from a tower as useful as an Emeril Lagasse cook book.

"Everything we do -- accountability!" he shouts.

Plays are run, drills are conducted, and execution is demanded. This is what has enabled IU to turn consecutive 5-7 records in Allen's first two seasons into a 14-7 two-year, breakthrough burst that has propelled the program into Top-20 national status.

"I want to see great effort, every rep!" Allen shouts on the move.

The bullhorn helps limit vocal cord punishment that comes from passionate coaching, and makes him more easily heard.

The Hoosiers need to hear what he has to say.

"The challenge is to go from believing -- and we have a team that believes -- to expecting (to win)," he says.

Optimism has never been so high. Last season's final No. 12 ranking was the Hoosiers' highest since finishing No. 4 following the 1967 Rose Bowl season.

They return 17 starters, and have 10 players generating national attention – quarterback Michael Penix Jr., wide receiver Ty Fryfogle, linebacker Micah McFadden, cornerback Tiawan Mullen, offensive lineman Matthew Bedford, tight end Peyton Hendershot, kicker Charles Campbell, outside linebacker Michael Ziemba, running back Stephen Carr, and receiver/returner D.J. Matthews.

Allen is also up for national coaching honors.

Such acclaim, Allen knows, means nothing when the games begin. The Hoosiers will have to prove themselves all over again, show that last year's 6-2 record with victories over Penn State, Michigan, Michigan State, and Wisconsin was not a fluke, but the start of long-lasting success.

It starts with how everyone in the program practices and prepares.

"Effort! Effort! Effort! Effort!" Allen shouts.

And then, a few moments later, in case the Hoosiers missed the message:

"I can handle mistakes. Poor effort is unacceptable!"

Allen demands that his assistants coach hard, which doesn't mean insulting or demeaning, but does mean challenging to achieve the highest standards.

He wants players who want hard coaching, who thrive from it, who don't pout or shut down when a mistake is made or a coach gets feisty, but who go full bore on the next play, because there's always a next play, and somebody has to win it.

"It doesn't matter what just happened," Allen shouts through the bullhorn. "It's mental and physical toughness!"

Allen talks about "aggressive" installation of offensive and defensive schemes during camp, and the improved depth that makes it possible. He says the challenge is "chasing greatness every day," which ranges from practice to meetings to film study to note taking.

"Do we have talent?" he asks. "Yes, we have a lot of talent. Do we have a lot of good players? Yes, I believe we have a lot of good football players. And I love our coaching staff.

"But how well this team meshes, the chemistry we create, how hard we play for each other, with each other, how well we perform each and every day. If those things all happen, I'm excited about what this team can become."

Fall camp has been adjusted thanks to input from associate head coach/running backs coach Deland McCullough, whose three years of NFL experience as the running backs coach for the Kansas City Chiefs (including the 2020 Super Bowl victory) provides a way to boost learning, efficiency, and production.

"Basically, by the time we get to dinner," McCullough says, "the entire day is wrapped up as far as install.

"We'll practice in the morning, we'll lift, we'll watch film, and then we'll do a walk-through that will be a continuation of the practice we just had.

"After dinner, everything is preparing for the next day."

This approach is also designed to reduce wear and tear. A fierce start to training camp can lead to diminishing returns and, perhaps, injuries by the end of it.

"We're doing a great job of just ramping it up, tempering it, building toward what we want as opposed to just coming out and letting it fly today," McCullough says.

Allen was all for the change. It's one of the advantages, he says, of bringing in coaches with NFL experience.

"We're a product of the people we're around," he says. "That influences us. That's one perk of going to the NFL and coming back to college.

"I've seen a lot of guys do that and be able to bring a lot of good things back -- could be schematic things or drills, organizational things, scheduling.

"We've made some adjustments based on the things (McCullough) was around with the Chiefs. That's a benefit of bringing guys like that to your staff."

Allen wants a dominating defense, an elite offense, and difference-making special teams.

The good news -- all the pieces are there as the Hoosiers build for the Sept. 4 season opener at Iowa, the challenging non-conference test against Cincinnati two weeks later, and beyond.

But that's for later. For now, it's about winning the moment and then the day. It's about pushing hard, and then maybe just a little harder. It's about finding a way when adversity hits, because it will hit.

And as Allen strides over the practice fields, one final bullhorn message is delivered that just might be the difference between winning well and winning great:

"Finish!"

Indiana University Athletics

‘Great Effort!’ – Allen Coaches for Hoosier History

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Players Mentioned

Matthew Bedford

Charles Campbell

Stephen Carr

Ty Fryfogle

Peyton Hendershot

Micah McFadden

Tiawan Mullen

Michael Penix Jr.

Michael Ziemba

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