Postgame Quotes vs. Indiana State

Postgame Quotes
Indiana State at Indiana
September 8, 2023

Tom Allen | Indiana Head Coach
On the process of deciding the quarterback…
TA: They played minutes in both games. And we said we were going to go back and evaluate both games and make a decision. So we will have a starter for week three.

You know, it will extend to myself and Walton and the staff. You know, we won't pull the players. We kind of got a feel for that. I think after having two games, you kind of know how that feels. And honestly, you know, I think our guys played well in both of them, to be honest with you.

So at the same time, you got to have a guy. You know, I really do believe that's important. So we will make that decision. But it will be the coaching staff, not -- I care what guys think, both sides of the ball. You know, we'll watch game film, decision-making.
Sometimes you see things and a play turns out a certain way, and maybe it's not executed properly. Or it looks like someone makes a mistake, maybe it was somebody else's fault. So just make sure we have accurate information. Obviously, a very important decision.

But just proud of both of them. I thought they both commanded the offense. They threw the ball well, ran the ball well, made really good decisions and got spread the ball around. And, obviously, to be able to put pressure on them. So just -- we're just going to do what we're going to go, play two games and make a decision.

On the similarity in the quarterbacks performances and production…
TA: Yeah, I mean, I don't know necessarily. I do think it's important to have a guy that you name the starter. I think they both can play. There's no doubt. They both proved they can play. And you can see the talent, you can see the skill. They're both young. But they're young, talented players. And I think you can say that. And we saw through fall camp. Back and forth, different guys doing different things. They can both throw, they can both run it.

But you need more than one quarterback. We know that, seen this. There's no question about it. So whoever's not the starter, has got to be ready to go based on what happens in a game and the situations that occur. And so, it's good to have more than one that I believe can play.
And I think we have that.

And, you know, once you need an extra backup, then you got three that we know have proven themselves to be able to play and can move our offense. So having eventually three is a big, big deal. Because it's a long season. We're going to need everybody on that roster, everybody in that locker room to help us win.

On the status of Cam Camper and E.J. Williams and Omar Cooper 's performance…
TA: Yeah. So talking about Omar, really, really pleased. Not surprised. I've always felt like he was special. Watched him play in high school many times. And that's just what he did. He has strong hands, he runs strong, he's tough. He's got a great base to him, you know, and he can block. He's unselfish. And he runs good routes.

You know, so he just -- he made some contested tight windowed catches, strong-handed catches, and then went and got some yards. So love his emergence. We need that. We'll need everybody to help us win.

And as far as anybody else who was injured in the game, we use the available report now as a part of our procedure. That's how we're going to use it. So we won't comment on injuries.

On running back Jaylin Lucas…
TA: Yeah, that's what you want. And, you know, just trying to be able to on a weekly basis get him the ball in space. Because we were fully aware that people were going to try and avoid punting him the ball, kicking him the ball. On kickoffs, you see how that kind of affects that, as well. So trying to find ways to get him the football. And, obviously, he was very dynamic tonight. And that's who he is and trying to get him -- hand him the ball, toss him the ball, and throwing him the ball. And catching punts and catching kickoffs.

Once again, just another guy in our arsenal. Said this from the beginning, I feel like our offense has explosive, talented players. We just got to be able to get the whole pieces together and just continue to work and develop and get the timing down. And I think we made a positive step in that direction tonight.

On Indiana State's 12-play drive and the team's response after the timeout…
TA: Yeah, they didn't even have 100 yards of offense. So that's hard to do. I don't care who it is. And so, I'm still ticked about the fact that we didn't get a shutout. Because the fumble and the scoop and score. That's frustrating. But that's their fault. Because they had that 12-play drive. They shouldn't have had that.

So I was frustrated because -- and it wasn't -- it didn't have anything to do with, you know, giving them credit. They moved the football, they were using the running quarterback, using a lot of different things. You try to create some creases.

I just didn't think we -- I thought we got ahead and we let up. And that's what I was trying to avoid. I just want to see guys battle, fight, and compete no matter what the scoreboard says. I just thought we let that happen.

And I know it's human nature to do that in that situation. But I wanted to see our guys -- I was more disappointed in our body language and leadership. So I challenged our leaders to make sure, Hey, that's happening, because it's going to happen in a different setting, we got blow up and make some stops.

And we did get the stop there. We got an interception on fourth down. Which was big. And got off the field in that regard. So I thought the response was good. I thought the second half response was excellent. I think we gave up 27 yards the whole half. So just want to see us finish. And I thought we did defensively. So it wasn't perfect, but pretty dang good.

On the offense as a whole and getting Josh Henderson and Jaylin Lucas involved on the receiving and running game…
TA: Very important. And the thing that for me, that's what I saw out of us. You know, I think I might have said this in one of my -- when I was talking this past week about, you know, our offense got after our defense a fair amount during fall camp. And so, it was back and forth without question.

So I knew we had this opportunity to be able to -- and I understand, you know, we're -- played a team that doesn't have the same level of talent. And so, I understand that. But the execution was a lot to be encouraged by. And the reads and the amount of guys involved in.
And I think we have a deep team. I think we have a lot of receivers who can make plays, it showed up tonight. Have a lot of running backs that can make plays, showed up tonight. We have a lot of guys at tight-end who can play and help us and do different things.
And so, I feel like we got a couple quarterbacks that can play. And I think we played a lot of different linemen, as well. We got eight guys I really believe that are ready to be in that five that we play with and we can mix and mash them and be able to rotate them.

So I think those -- it was what we needed to do, was to be able to be crisp and clean and sharp. I think we punted a couple of times and just felt like the execution was what we have to have. And, obviously, kind of build off of it. Obviously, we got a lot more work to do. Got a huge test and opportunity coming up here next weekend. But in order to be able to keep growing our offense, I thought tonight was perfect.

On the comfort and reps of the quarterbacks they need to become a starter…
TA: I believe so. You know, when you count all the -- you know, anybody -- just name one week one. You know, coming out of fall camp, I get that. But trusted my gut on that one. Didn't feel like they had any distinction either way. I feel like we needed live game play to make a decision, and to really make a fair assessment. You know, and you can still see it's very close.

But once again, good issue to have. Two really good quarterbacks that I believe can run our system and we built it that way. And so, just got to be able to -- whoever that guy is, I do think they've had enough reps. We got to -- we got a numerical count of what we got during fall camp. We got a lot of reps. Because those two guys pretty much did everything. And then Dex was kind of the one that got a few in there, as well, once he got back.

But other than that, those guys took a ton of reps during fall camp. And, you know, they got two games where they both played a lot of football. Pretty balanced in regards to the numbers and everything. So just pleased where we are. And, obviously, that was the goal, was to be able to come to this point. And then we got to, as a staff, make a decision.

On the displeasure with penalties and sloppy plays…
TA: Yeah, I still -- we had several penalties. Six of them were on special teams. The two running into the kickers to me is ridiculous. That's very fixable. Now, we didn't have block in the backs on these returns, which is huge. So it was kind of more just silly, I think, lack of focus mistakes.

You know, we had the hit on the return. And I didn't really necessarily agree with that. Because there's no halo rule anymore. He didn't fair catch it. Sometimes it can just be catch it and wham. Anyways. That was one that -- that's an act of aggression. The other ones to me are just stupid. Okay?

Just running into a punter should never happen. So we'll get them cleaned up. Obviously, gave an earful to Coach T. I love him to death. But he knows. We're in this together. We've been in this a long time. He cares as much about it as I do. So we're going to get those things cleaned up because we got to be at our best here this weekend.
Appreciate you guys.

Have an awesome night.

Indiana Student-Athletes
Andre Carter | DL | R-Sr.+
On the timeout during the long Indiana State drive…
AC: It just gave us all a chance to recalibrate. It gave us a chance to look into each other's eyes and say, 'let's go do what we're supposed to do out here and get the job done, get the assignment done.' We came out more physical and more locked in on our assignments. We shut everything down and locked in.

On stepping up as a leader during that timeout…
AC: That's definitely where the pressure comes in. It's just another scenario of me having to grow my leadership skills. I have to thank my captains and the other leaders on the team and the team as a collective like Aaron Casey and all of those guys that are the glue to this defense and this team.

On the defense…
AC: I'm just really happy about how we came back together and recalibrated, and our ability to go back out there and lock in on the assignments. Again, we just have to hit the drawing board and get better at a lot of things. But as far as growing together and getting closer, I'm happy with that aspect of it.

Phillip Dunnam | DB | So.
On the "MOB" group chat that the secondary unit has and the story behind it…
PD: I started that. It's unity. We are one unit. We are strong, and we all win together.

On the secondary unit and the hot start to the season…
PD: We've been doing good. We got some stuff we could fix. We got some things we could go over, but I like our secondary so far.

Josh Henderson | RB | Sr.+
On what was working tonight with the run game…
JH: The O-line kept their foot on the pedal. They made it easy for us. I was telling the guys, I'm just the one getting the carries. I'm blessed to be getting the carries. You could throw anyone in that running back room, and they will produce when the line is dominating like that.

On how the line has played these last two weeks…
JH: They've been great. They are holding each other accountable, as well as the whole offense holding them accountable. They are holding us accountable. We've got things to work on to help them out, and they are being real consistent. That's what's really important.

Omar Cooper Jr. | WR | R-Fr.
On his level of excitement about playing at Lucas Oil next week…
OC: Yes, I am. It will be my second time ever playing there, the first time was against our rivals. Being there again is a dream come true.

On how they will build off this game to prepare for next week…
OC: By keeping our heads down and going hard at practice. Knowing we left a lot out there in the Ohio State game and just trying to come out the next week better than we did last week.

On how he feels about his progress since last year…
OC: I think being more confident in myself. I didn't play as much last year, and I didn't believe in myself. I have grown this year over fall camp making plays. The coaches believing in me and putting me out there, showing that they believe in me helps with my confidence. It makes me a better player.

#GoIU

Indiana University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Cam Camper

Andre Carter

Aaron Casey

Omar Cooper Jr.

Phillip Dunnam

Josh Henderson

Jaylin Lucas

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