Quarterback Competition Centers on Belief
Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – There will only be one. They know that. Head coach Tom Allen is not a two-quarterback-rotation guy.
Jack Tuttle and Connor Bazelak battle for Indiana starting supremacy with one ultimate goal, and you’d better believe it’s collective and not individual.
Win.
That’s how quarterbacks are ultimately measured, by the games they help win, the championships they help earn, the inspiration they provide.
“It’s who believes that when we have the ball,” Allen says, “if that guy is in the huddle (at the end of a close game), our team believes we are going to find a way to win. That’s the final step to figure out who the guy needs to be.”
Tuttle, a California native whose journey to IU included a one-year stop at the University of Utah, is the Hoosier veteran with three previous Cream & Crimson seasons (819 passing yards, 4 touchdowns, 6 interceptions and a 56-percent completion rate) on his resume.
Bazelak is an Ohio native who transferred to Indiana after three seasons at Missouri. He’s thrown for 5,058 yards, 23 touchdowns and 17 interceptions while completing 66.3 percent of his passes
Those numbers are etched in the past. Now is what matters.
And so they work under the guidance of Allen and new offensive coordinator Walt Bell. Last Friday’s closed scrimmage was a key barometer, although a final decision won’t be publicly revealed until the Sept. 2 season opener against Illinois.
“That’s the right way to do it,” Allen says.
For Tuttle, the offensive goal is as simple as it is crucial.
“Move the ball, score points. Pretty simple. Yeah, that's really it. That's all from scoring in the red zone, moving the ball, making plays, and explosive plays.”
Both guys are confident, and they’d better be. Self-doubt has no place in running a Big Ten offense.
While Bazelak generates social media video acclaim with his three-point shooting prowess (making 10 straight from the corner at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall), his focus is on football.
“I feel good about where my (football) game is right now,” he says. “I feel like I'm throwing the ball really well. I’m hitting deep shots, checking the ball down when I get pressure, and learning the offense, getting a better grasp of the offense.”
A pause.
“I feel good about where I am.”
Bazelak is especially glad to be a Hoosier. He’s coming off a decent, but not great season (2,548 passing yards, 16 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, 65.3 completion percentage) to help Missouri reach the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl.
“Last season was definitely up-and-down,” Bazelak says. “I had a really bad (hamstring injury) and played through that, which was tough. I couldn't run. But nobody cares. You've got to win games. That's what they want.
“I thought it was best to come here. Everything's great. I love it here. The players have been awesome. The quarterbacks were super welcoming in the spring. I can't say enough about Coach Allen. He's an unbelievable man, coach, leader. Coach Bell has been great. The hospitality has been awesome. It's a great fit for me.”
Tuttle, a backup to Michael Penix Jr. the last three seasons, doesn’t just want to just start, but thrive. Significant improvement was needed, and it came with a price he gladly paid.
“I had to do a lot of reflection after last year. I changed a lot of things personally. I changed my diet. I changed the way I lift. My mindset. Coach Bell coming in.
“It’s helped me physically to get my body fat percentage down, my speed up. Getting bigger.”
Beyond that, “Mentally focusing no matter what’s going on in the game. If we’re up by 40 or down by 10, it’s the same mindset. Continue to be level headed.”
Change also meant giving up deserts. Let’s just say the chocolate supply in Bloomington is in no danger.
“I’ve got a sweet tooth,” Tuttle says. “I can’t do that anymore. Anything with chocolate is out.”
Specifically, he says, he met with strength coach Aaron Wellman, whose NFL background includes all sorts of better-diet guidelines.
“That guy is unreal,” Tuttle says. “I don’t think I had a bad diet before, but I had to cut down the carbs. I needed to figure out what was adding body fat to me. What could I do to cut body fat. I eat a lot of ground beef. Lean meat. Vegetables.”
The result -- Tuttle’s body fat has gone from the 17-percent range to single digits.
Still, when it comes to the starting job, nothing is guaranteed. But then, after last year’s team struggles, plus the hiring of new offensive and defensive coordinators, no one’s job is guaranteed.
“I always encourage competition on a team,” Tuttle says. “We’ve always had competition, but in recent years maybe not as much. Competition is an amazing thing for a team. It’s only going to improve everyone who’s in it. It’s all good for me.”
Allen wants a running threat from his quarterbacks because of the stress it puts on defenses. Tuttle, who has rushed for 71 total yards as a Hoosier, is all for that.
“How many crazy (good) defensive linemen are in the Big Ten?” he asks. “Being able to run is super important.
“I went through it last year. I wanted to get my speed up and be able to run around these guys and make plays and extend plays. It’s extremely important for a Big Ten quarterback to be able to do that.”
Bazelak didn’t generate much rushing yardage at Missouri, but is fine with running when needed.
“One part of my game that is underrated is my ability to create plays outside the pocket when the pocket breaks down,” he says. “In terms of running, whatever Coach Bell needs me to do. If I need to pull it on a zone read, I’ll do it. Get as many yards as I can.”
While IU might not have a lot of designed quarterback runs, the run-pass option so popular in college offenses will create rushing opportunities.
“In the zone read,” Bazelak says, “it’s obvious. If the defense takes the running back, the quarterback pulls it and goes.”
This is the third offense for both quarterbacks. Learning gets easier, they say.
“It hasn't been bad at all,” Tuttle says. “Coach Bell is great about meeting.
“The team has done a great job. Coach Bell has done a great job of getting with us, meeting with basically everybody so we're all comfortable with him.”
Adds Bazelak: “The third time learning a college offense is significantly easier because you have the experience. You know how to run an offense and handle a huddle.
“Coach Bell is so open to have us come into the office and teaching us anything. Whatever we want, he’s there for us. He’s been great.”
Bell is also there for Dexter Williams II, No. 3 on the quarterback depth chart. Because of redshirt and knee injury, Williams has never played a snap for the Hoosiers. But the potential, Tuttle says, is impressive.
“I’m super proud of (him). Coming off that injury, I can’t imagine what that’s like.
“The amount of improvement he’s done, you’d have thought he’d have played in a game, that he had some experience by the way he’s played. I’m super stoked for him. He’s going to be a really good player.”
For Allen, picking a starting quarterback comes down to three keys:
Command of the offense.
Protect the football.
Win over the team over.
No position demands more leadership than quarterback, but the burden falls on everyone. Not making a bowl game last season after making one the previous two seasons burned then, and burns now.
“There's a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff that the media doesn't really know or understand,” Tuttle says. “But we didn't play in a bowl, right? So, having that whole month of December just to think how last year went compared to two great years before that.
“A lot of thoughts came into my head. I got with (linebacker Cam Jones) about it. Put all the thoughts down. We had a lot of accountability stuff in there. We presented it to the whole team in January and that kind of just created that spark we needed, that motivation we needed, that hunger we needed to get back, grind, do what we need to do, and improve.”
Friday’s scrimmage goals for the quarterback, Allen says, was “Get the ball thrown down the field and create those explosive plays and those chunk plays.
“It doesn't have to be bombs; we are talking about even just the deep 10-15-yard concepts. Just trying to get the ball to the second level and get (the defense) stressed.
“I thought all three guys were effective at that…. It appeared that there was good command of the offense.”
The ultimate goal, Allen adds, is to move the ball efficiently, score touchdowns and create more explosive plays.
“Continue to master the offense and play with confidence,” Allen says.
As the Hoosiers approach the Illinois game, coaches want a clear picture of offensive and defensive installation, the depth chart and where players “stack up” against each other.
Friday’s scrimmage, Allen says, helped provide that.
“A lot of guys got a lot of good reps. It was competitive back and forth. It came down to the final snap: fourth-and-goal on the 1-yard line. Both sides made plays.”
Follow-up film work enabled coaches to “clean up” mistakes and fuel improvement.
This was the first of three planned scrimmages. On-field coaching was minimized to gauge player game readiness.
“Don’t say anything to them,” Allen says, “and make them make the checks and adjustments. That way, we know exactly where we are.”