NOTEBOOK: Transfers Make Big Debut Impact
Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Expectations were high, and Indiana's transfer players delivered.
Expect it to continue. Head coach Tom Allen certainly does.
Transfer players thrived in major ways against No. 3 Ohio State, and figure to make bigger impacts moving forward, starting with Friday night’s home game against Indiana State (0-1).
Eighteen transfer student-athletes made their Cream & Crimson debut against the Buckeyes, and all played well.
Let’s start with the secondary.
“(Cornerback) Nick Toomer stuck out to me,” Allen said. “He was a guy I wanted so bad the first time. We recruited him so hard. He comes from a great family. I’m so glad he's here.”
Toomer, a former Georgia high school standout, transferred from Stanford. He had five tackles and a pass breakup against Ohio State.
“He’s such an awesome person,” Allen said. “He's long, athletic. He can tackle. He did a really good job.”
Allen also was high on cornerbacks Jamier Johnson (Texas) and Kobee Minor (Texas Tech).
“Jamier did some good things. I liked his ability. It’s the same thing with Kobee. He had missed a little bit the last couple of weeks, so he's getting back into the flow. I think he can continue to grow and get better.”
Linebacker Jacob Mangum-Farrar (Stanford), running back Christian Turner (Wake Forest), and receivers E.J. Williams Jr. (Clemson) and DeQuece Carter (Fordham) also earned
Allen’s praise. Turner led IU with 29 rushing yards
“Christian shows burst. We knew he had that. We have to continue to fine tune our offense in that regard. E.J. and DQ can make plays for us.
“I like the guys that we have. We've added some playmakers. We’ve got to keep growing together every week.”
Then there was the defensive line with transfers such as Andre Carter (Western Michigan) and Phillip Blidi (Texas Tech). Carter had four tackles, two for loss, plus a pass breakup from his defensive end position.
“I was encouraged,” Allen said. “I expected them to play well, but you don't know. And I thought Andre Carter was extremely disruptive. He'll only get better as he learns our system more and continues to trust playing within it and the different things we have him do.
“Phillip was really disruptive, as well.
“(LeDarrius) Cox played his best football since he's been here. And you've got Marcus Burris (Texas A&M) who is another guy that's new that I expect to just keep getting better and better.
“I thought Nick James, one of our young redshirt freshmen, showed tremendous promise. He’s extremely explosive. He’s a little undersized (6-2, 285 pounds), but what he lacks in size, he makes up for in quickness and athleticism.”
Allen also was high on Lanell Carr (West Virginia), P.J. Lucas, Venson Sneed, and Anthony Jones.
“I was encouraged by our D-line. I thought we had a couple mistake in some key situations. That was frustrating because I felt we should have held them to even less points.”
Allen referred to couple of dropped interceptions that eventually led to Ohio State field goals.
“You have to make those plays. You play a team like this, every time you get two hands on the ball you've got to pick it off.
“I thought the D-line set the tone. It was a big area of focus for us to get guys that could help right away. Those six guys that we brought here, they all played, and played well.”
Indiana State is coached by Curt Mallory, the son of former IU head coach Bill Mallory, the winningest coach in program history. Another son, Doug, was the Hoosiers defensive coordinator for several years.
Allen talked about the special relationship he has with Curt Mallory and the entire Mallory family, including Bill’s wife, Ellie. He said some former Bill Mallory players will attend Friday night’s game.
“I appreciate that family,” Allen said. “They’re a football family, good people. They’re so respected in this entire profession at such a high level.
“They’ve been very important to our program and just a lot of respect for them. I look forward to having them here.”
Indiana State is coming off 27-0 loss to Eastern Illinois.
“They’re going to come here hungry, ready to compete and play their very best,” Allen said.
Better offensive line play was a priority. Under new offensive line coach Bob Bostad, progress was made even though it didn’t lead to impressive run (71 yards) and pass (82 yards) numbers.
Ohio State only registered one sack, and that was more on the quarterback than the line, offensive coordinator Walt Bell said.
Allen was encouraged.
“We were a lot better up front,” Allen said. “We got movement. I felt like the guys were targeting their guys accurately throughout the game, and I thought they did a lot of positive things. We had two hits on the quarterback. We gave up one sack.
“We did not sustain our blocks to the level that we know we have to moving forward. So this strain to finish is the next component. But step one is targeting the right guy, getting on the right people and creating movement.
“There’s much to build off of. Coach Bostad has done a good job with the group. Expectations just keep getting better every week.”
IU held Ohio State to 23 points and forced the Buckeyes into three field goals.
How big was that? In six previous meetings with Allen as the head coach, Ohio State had scored at least 42 points every time, three times with 51 or more, including last season’s 56.
“That’s pure mentality,” co-defensive coordinator Matt Guerrieri said. “Ohio State is an explosive offense. Our guys made plays in the red zone. You’d prefer they not get there, but our guys made plays.
“That’s our mentality. I don’t care where the ball is -- give us an inch, and we’ll defend it. It doesn’t matter if we’re on the 1-yard line or in a back-up situation. There’s a lot of pride from Coach Allen and from the system standpoint. Our guys answered that.”
IU ran for 71 yards with Turner, Jaylin Lucas (24 yards), and Josh Henderson (five yards) handling the running back burden. That will continue, Allen said.
“We'll keep using all three. They are all different. As the offense grows and continues to get better, we want those guys involved. All three of them are talented players.”
Trent Howland and David Holloman also are in the mix.
“Trent didn't get a lot of snaps, but he's another guy, as well as David, those five guys to me are the top running backs we believe in. They have a chance to keep those guys fresh. They've got to do a lot of different things. I expect to use a lot of those guys throughout the course of the season.”