Indiana University Athletics
Maximum Goal: IU Football Aims For Big Turnaround
6/14/2022 12:30:00 PM | Football
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Tom Allen is pumped again.
Of course, he is.
The Indiana Hoosiers are utilizing the university's state-of-the-art football facilities to push for a better tomorrow, summer camps full of potential future Cream & Crimson standouts are rolling through, plans are set for a huge 2022 turnaround season, and Allen radiates passion and determination.
"I'm excited for our guys, excited for the health of our team," the sixth-year head coach says.
"I'm excited to get this team back together and about fall camp."
Allen isn't pumping out unrealistic spin. The Hoosiers return strong talent, bring in perhaps the best newcomer class in program history, have plenty of promising quarterback depth, and have instituted changes to regain the winning ways of 2019 and '20 (an overall 14-7 record with 2 bowl appearances).
Want specifics? Allen has them.
"If I had to pick one as far as the strength of our team, I would say the secondary," he says. "A number of guys are coming back. Some of those guys were injured last year, but they're all back 100 percent healthy. I look at the talent and experience there. That's one of our strengths.
"There was a lot of emphasis on our offensive line. They have to get better. I've really been encouraged by Matt Bedford's leadership growth and physical growth. It's the same with Luke Haggard and Zach Carpenter. Those three guys stuck out to me who needed to get better. The challenge has been put out to them and they responded.
"The receiver room is really new. There are a lot of new faces, new guys, names you might not have heard about in the past.
"Getting D.J. (Matthews Jr.) back will be huge. There are several guys I am excited about. They need to have a great summer -- keep developing, keep working."
As for the quarterbacks, "Connor (Bazelak) came in here in January and has been with us all spring. He's done a great job.
"That room is highly competitive. That's what makes us better. I am excited about that room. A year ago at this time, we had one guy on scholarship who was healthy.
"It's completely different this year. We've got to keep those guys healthy. The quarterback play a year ago wasn't to our standard, to what it needs to be. That's a big deal for us."
There are other big deals, of course, and we'll get to those, but the goal is clear:
"We'll take the guys we got," Allen says, "and maximizing them."
Spring football ended in April with basically a healthy roster, something that wasn't true last season. Injuries hit hard, especially at quarterback and in the secondary.
In the spring, "(All-America cornerback) Taiwan Mullen didn't practice much," Allen says. "(Standout safety) Devon Matthews didn't practice much. Those guys will be back full bore.
"(Wide receiver) D.J. Matthews has to come back from his (knee) injury. We had a guy here or there nicked up."
For those who didn't get a lot of full contact, "They got a lot of good conditioning and technique work."
"Everybody is ready to roll and have two full months to get ready to have a good camp."
Last year fueled multiple changes, from new coaches to new players to new approaches to spring practice and on-and-off-field preparation.
Specifically, IU has a new offensive coordinator (Walt Bell), a new running backs coach (Craig Johnson), a new receivers coach (Adam Henry), a new defensive line coach (Paul Rudolph), and a new defensive coordinator (Chad Wildt).
"That's a lot of coaches," Allen says
Staying the same was never an option.
"Last year was really difficult," Allen adds. "I felt for our players. They worked so hard. They set such high expectations for the 2021 season. We all know about that. We talked those things through. They're all in the past.
"We play in a tough league. The margin for error is very fine. We played a tough schedule. We knew that ahead of time. That wasn't any surprise.
"When something like that happens, you do a lot of self-evaluation about where we are and what we did. Was there anything we could have done differently?"
Evaluations included the strength and conditioning program to see if that could be tweaked to reduce the injuries.
"We looked at everything," Allen says. "What might we have been done to cause some of those injuries? Try to make some changes. It's been very positive."
A pause.
"We've got to find a way to win some of those close games."
Allen took the losing personally. He had no choice. Good or bad, win or lose, it always falls on the head coach.
"You evaluate everything you did," he says. "In the end, you fall back on what you are and what you believe in. You don't alter that.
"For me, it's been about a lot of self-reflection. There was a lot of communication. You talk to other coaches about how can we better manage ourselves and not just think about one part of the year, but the whole calendar year.
"We made changes. We made further changes moving forward about how we handle fall camp. We're trying to help our guys to stay healthy through a long season, which is always a challenge.
"All these changes excite me -- the new ideas, the new ways to do things, and the opportunities to get better. For me, it's about evaluating what we were doing, making changes from those evaluations, and pressing on."
IU had 20 new players arrive in January -- 10 from college and 10 from high school. Twelve more high school players arrived in June. Allen has two more available scholarships for next season, but will use them only if the right players come along.
"Right now, we are very selective. We want to find a guy who can help us win in 2022.
"You want to try to make your team deeper and better. Add more speed, add more guys who can help us rush the passer. That's an emphasis for sure. And you can never go wrong with finding a guy who can be a dynamic fit for our offense. And then find an offensive lineman to help.
"Those would be my big three."
Beyond that, "You never get away from, does he fit the culture of our program? That's priority No. 1. I feel good about the guys who have joined us."
The transfer portal era -- specifically the ability of players to transfer once without having to sit out a year -- has altered recruiting to reflect college veterans as well as high school prospects.
"The NFL has a division of pro scouting and college scouting," Allen says. "That's what we are turning into -- a division of college scouting and high-school scouting. We want to mirror that. We haven't gotten to that yet, but I want us to go to that direction."
Recruiting has always been relentlessly time consuming, especially in football, where each year you strongly consider 100-or-more prospects even though you'll usually end up signing 20-25 per class.
Add all the transfers -- those leaving your program and joining it -- and, as Allen says, "It's taken a lot of our focus. It needs to. The roster management piece is intense. It's a daily conversation."
Conversation extends to NIL (Name Image Likeness), which allows student-athletes to make money in sometimes lucrative ways.
"That's another issue we're dealing with," Allen says. "I think more change is coming. It's a very positive thing, but it does lead to challenges.
"A lot of things are happening right now. For us, it's how can we best take full advantage and maximize it at Indiana."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Tom Allen is pumped again.
Of course, he is.
The Indiana Hoosiers are utilizing the university's state-of-the-art football facilities to push for a better tomorrow, summer camps full of potential future Cream & Crimson standouts are rolling through, plans are set for a huge 2022 turnaround season, and Allen radiates passion and determination.
"I'm excited for our guys, excited for the health of our team," the sixth-year head coach says.
"I'm excited to get this team back together and about fall camp."
Allen isn't pumping out unrealistic spin. The Hoosiers return strong talent, bring in perhaps the best newcomer class in program history, have plenty of promising quarterback depth, and have instituted changes to regain the winning ways of 2019 and '20 (an overall 14-7 record with 2 bowl appearances).
Want specifics? Allen has them.
"If I had to pick one as far as the strength of our team, I would say the secondary," he says. "A number of guys are coming back. Some of those guys were injured last year, but they're all back 100 percent healthy. I look at the talent and experience there. That's one of our strengths.
"There was a lot of emphasis on our offensive line. They have to get better. I've really been encouraged by Matt Bedford's leadership growth and physical growth. It's the same with Luke Haggard and Zach Carpenter. Those three guys stuck out to me who needed to get better. The challenge has been put out to them and they responded.
"The receiver room is really new. There are a lot of new faces, new guys, names you might not have heard about in the past.
"Getting D.J. (Matthews Jr.) back will be huge. There are several guys I am excited about. They need to have a great summer -- keep developing, keep working."
As for the quarterbacks, "Connor (Bazelak) came in here in January and has been with us all spring. He's done a great job.
"That room is highly competitive. That's what makes us better. I am excited about that room. A year ago at this time, we had one guy on scholarship who was healthy.
"It's completely different this year. We've got to keep those guys healthy. The quarterback play a year ago wasn't to our standard, to what it needs to be. That's a big deal for us."
There are other big deals, of course, and we'll get to those, but the goal is clear:
"We'll take the guys we got," Allen says, "and maximizing them."
Spring football ended in April with basically a healthy roster, something that wasn't true last season. Injuries hit hard, especially at quarterback and in the secondary.
In the spring, "(All-America cornerback) Taiwan Mullen didn't practice much," Allen says. "(Standout safety) Devon Matthews didn't practice much. Those guys will be back full bore.
"(Wide receiver) D.J. Matthews has to come back from his (knee) injury. We had a guy here or there nicked up."
For those who didn't get a lot of full contact, "They got a lot of good conditioning and technique work."
"Everybody is ready to roll and have two full months to get ready to have a good camp."
Last year fueled multiple changes, from new coaches to new players to new approaches to spring practice and on-and-off-field preparation.
Specifically, IU has a new offensive coordinator (Walt Bell), a new running backs coach (Craig Johnson), a new receivers coach (Adam Henry), a new defensive line coach (Paul Rudolph), and a new defensive coordinator (Chad Wildt).
"That's a lot of coaches," Allen says
Staying the same was never an option.
"Last year was really difficult," Allen adds. "I felt for our players. They worked so hard. They set such high expectations for the 2021 season. We all know about that. We talked those things through. They're all in the past.
"We play in a tough league. The margin for error is very fine. We played a tough schedule. We knew that ahead of time. That wasn't any surprise.
"When something like that happens, you do a lot of self-evaluation about where we are and what we did. Was there anything we could have done differently?"
Evaluations included the strength and conditioning program to see if that could be tweaked to reduce the injuries.
"We looked at everything," Allen says. "What might we have been done to cause some of those injuries? Try to make some changes. It's been very positive."
A pause.
"We've got to find a way to win some of those close games."
Allen took the losing personally. He had no choice. Good or bad, win or lose, it always falls on the head coach.
"You evaluate everything you did," he says. "In the end, you fall back on what you are and what you believe in. You don't alter that.
"For me, it's been about a lot of self-reflection. There was a lot of communication. You talk to other coaches about how can we better manage ourselves and not just think about one part of the year, but the whole calendar year.
"We made changes. We made further changes moving forward about how we handle fall camp. We're trying to help our guys to stay healthy through a long season, which is always a challenge.
"All these changes excite me -- the new ideas, the new ways to do things, and the opportunities to get better. For me, it's about evaluating what we were doing, making changes from those evaluations, and pressing on."
IU had 20 new players arrive in January -- 10 from college and 10 from high school. Twelve more high school players arrived in June. Allen has two more available scholarships for next season, but will use them only if the right players come along.
"Right now, we are very selective. We want to find a guy who can help us win in 2022.
"You want to try to make your team deeper and better. Add more speed, add more guys who can help us rush the passer. That's an emphasis for sure. And you can never go wrong with finding a guy who can be a dynamic fit for our offense. And then find an offensive lineman to help.
"Those would be my big three."
Beyond that, "You never get away from, does he fit the culture of our program? That's priority No. 1. I feel good about the guys who have joined us."
The transfer portal era -- specifically the ability of players to transfer once without having to sit out a year -- has altered recruiting to reflect college veterans as well as high school prospects.
"The NFL has a division of pro scouting and college scouting," Allen says. "That's what we are turning into -- a division of college scouting and high-school scouting. We want to mirror that. We haven't gotten to that yet, but I want us to go to that direction."
Recruiting has always been relentlessly time consuming, especially in football, where each year you strongly consider 100-or-more prospects even though you'll usually end up signing 20-25 per class.
Add all the transfers -- those leaving your program and joining it -- and, as Allen says, "It's taken a lot of our focus. It needs to. The roster management piece is intense. It's a daily conversation."
Conversation extends to NIL (Name Image Likeness), which allows student-athletes to make money in sometimes lucrative ways.
"That's another issue we're dealing with," Allen says. "I think more change is coming. It's a very positive thing, but it does lead to challenges.
"A lot of things are happening right now. For us, it's how can we best take full advantage and maximize it at Indiana."
Players Mentioned
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