Thursday Takeaways: Rutgers
10/19/2023 1:30:00 PM | Football
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. –––– Indiana football head coach Tom Allen talked to the media one last time in front of a meeting with Rutgers at Memorial Stadium for a noon kickoff on Big Ten Network this Saturday (October 21).
Below is a partial transcript of the press conference, while video of the media session can be found on the right sidebar at IUHoosiers.com.
Tom Allen | Head Coach
On his approach with the team after a game like last weekend...
TA: That is a great point. I think you have to look at the big picture. You got to understand what your goals are and the fact that they are all still in front of you and are all still available to you is a great motivator, without question. But you can also get caught up in the discouragement of not having recent success your last couple of weeks. Bottom line is you have to remind them of what we are, what we do have in front of us and to be able to focus on the daily process and the consistency of your preparation: the little things every day to create the change you are looking for on game, which is obviously what the objective is as a football team.
I just think it is keeping them grounded, meeting with some guys one-on-one, meet with your leaders and having them go out and impact the team. Then you have your 10 position groups and those coaches all doing the same thing with consistent messaging of, it is about us and focusing on what we control, which is our effort every day, how we prepare every day to be able to understand that, yes, these are our goals for the season, they are laid out here in front of us and gotta do everything we can do to keep bringing energy, to have that grit to you that allows you to have that perseverance and passion towards those goals. You just do not get discouraged, you don't doubt yourself, you just stay the course. Is that hard to do, absolutely, which is why you have to spend so much time individually addressing it. But you bring the energy, you bring the focus, and you let the guys follow that lead.
On if there is anything that Dexter Williams II needs to show in order to earn his way back onto the field after last season's injury...
TA: That is an accurate way to assess this. To progress this, he has gone from physically getting himself back, you get cleared from the doctors and now it's like, okay, the mental side of it and where you are at in his preparation. Like we have said before, he went from dressing during warmups and doing that whole activity, to then he would come out not in uniform to help us signal and do different things on game day and be a part of the process. Then, this past week, he was the emergency guy for us, and we did get him some more reps and did some things in practice to continue to bring him along.
It is a step-by-step process we are going through, because I want to make sure he feels really good about himself and his ability to be able to be out there. And, you are right, this is one of those things that a year ago we thought we may lose him for the whole season. That has obviously gradually changed, because he is way further ahead than any of us thought [he would be]. We want to be sure he is fully ready to go, so definitely building through that, going through that, and growing through that. I think you can just see each week he gets more and more confidence in both his knee and ability to get out there and play.
On what he sees on film from Rutgers...
TA: They have good in the core of their [defense], they are big and strong. They have length at linebacker. They are really disciplined in their fits. They are pretty simple. They play really hard. They are good tacklers. I think that they just kind of keep things in front of them, try not to give up big plays, and make you earn everything that you are going to get. I think that has really worked well for them and they have been able to have good success defensively and setting up their offense in a good way with some takeaways, as well as some key stops. I think it is just the fundamentals and just playing together, [they have] a lot of seasoned guys that have been there with them in the system that they have played in. There are several guys that have played in that system for many years, and you can just see the benefits of that. In the secondary they are good tacklers on the perimeter and touch physical guys. I think there is a toughness to them that coach [Greg] Schiano has brought there and that is evident. I think they take a lot of pride in that, which is something you respect as a coach and as a team. I just think it is good fundamentals, don't make a lot of mistakes and make you have to earn everything and try to force you into a mistake.
Below is a partial transcript of the press conference, while video of the media session can be found on the right sidebar at IUHoosiers.com.
Tom Allen | Head Coach
On his approach with the team after a game like last weekend...
TA: That is a great point. I think you have to look at the big picture. You got to understand what your goals are and the fact that they are all still in front of you and are all still available to you is a great motivator, without question. But you can also get caught up in the discouragement of not having recent success your last couple of weeks. Bottom line is you have to remind them of what we are, what we do have in front of us and to be able to focus on the daily process and the consistency of your preparation: the little things every day to create the change you are looking for on game, which is obviously what the objective is as a football team.
I just think it is keeping them grounded, meeting with some guys one-on-one, meet with your leaders and having them go out and impact the team. Then you have your 10 position groups and those coaches all doing the same thing with consistent messaging of, it is about us and focusing on what we control, which is our effort every day, how we prepare every day to be able to understand that, yes, these are our goals for the season, they are laid out here in front of us and gotta do everything we can do to keep bringing energy, to have that grit to you that allows you to have that perseverance and passion towards those goals. You just do not get discouraged, you don't doubt yourself, you just stay the course. Is that hard to do, absolutely, which is why you have to spend so much time individually addressing it. But you bring the energy, you bring the focus, and you let the guys follow that lead.
On if there is anything that Dexter Williams II needs to show in order to earn his way back onto the field after last season's injury...
TA: That is an accurate way to assess this. To progress this, he has gone from physically getting himself back, you get cleared from the doctors and now it's like, okay, the mental side of it and where you are at in his preparation. Like we have said before, he went from dressing during warmups and doing that whole activity, to then he would come out not in uniform to help us signal and do different things on game day and be a part of the process. Then, this past week, he was the emergency guy for us, and we did get him some more reps and did some things in practice to continue to bring him along.
It is a step-by-step process we are going through, because I want to make sure he feels really good about himself and his ability to be able to be out there. And, you are right, this is one of those things that a year ago we thought we may lose him for the whole season. That has obviously gradually changed, because he is way further ahead than any of us thought [he would be]. We want to be sure he is fully ready to go, so definitely building through that, going through that, and growing through that. I think you can just see each week he gets more and more confidence in both his knee and ability to get out there and play.
On what he sees on film from Rutgers...
TA: They have good in the core of their [defense], they are big and strong. They have length at linebacker. They are really disciplined in their fits. They are pretty simple. They play really hard. They are good tacklers. I think that they just kind of keep things in front of them, try not to give up big plays, and make you earn everything that you are going to get. I think that has really worked well for them and they have been able to have good success defensively and setting up their offense in a good way with some takeaways, as well as some key stops. I think it is just the fundamentals and just playing together, [they have] a lot of seasoned guys that have been there with them in the system that they have played in. There are several guys that have played in that system for many years, and you can just see the benefits of that. In the secondary they are good tacklers on the perimeter and touch physical guys. I think there is a toughness to them that coach [Greg] Schiano has brought there and that is evident. I think they take a lot of pride in that, which is something you respect as a coach and as a team. I just think it is good fundamentals, don't make a lot of mistakes and make you have to earn everything and try to force you into a mistake.
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