Indiana Football Coach Tom Allen Speaks Before Practice at Lucas Oil Stadium
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00:00 What's your history in this building?
00:02 How many times have you coached here?
00:02 I know our ball stayed a few years ago,
00:04 but any other games?
00:05 - Well, that was the first one.
00:07 And the only one, you know, when I was a high school coach,
00:10 this wasn't built yet.
00:11 So we played three times in the old dome
00:15 and was blessed to win three state championships
00:17 in that facility, but never got to play in here.
00:19 So, but played ball, stayed here a few years ago.
00:22 So want to know?
00:24 - You guys had the video last night of Matt Holt
00:26 getting put on scholarship.
00:27 Just kind of what does he mean to this program
00:28 and what kind of moment was that for him?
00:30 - Well, those are always special
00:32 and wherever you see him from,
00:33 it's always a pretty cool thing, I think.
00:35 But, you know, when you know so much about him
00:38 and how hard he's worked, he's so respectful.
00:40 You saw the response.
00:41 I mean, it's always a big response,
00:43 but that was pretty, that was pretty passionate, you know,
00:45 and just so genuine and real for our guys.
00:48 And they just, they love him.
00:49 They respect him.
00:49 He's worked so hard.
00:50 He's a really good football player.
00:51 You know, he has such great instincts,
00:53 but it's the details, you know, it's the way he works.
00:56 It's the way he prepares.
00:57 It's the way he practices.
00:58 It's the way he does everything.
01:00 It's such a high level
01:01 and it allows him to be very effective.
01:02 He's a really good player for us last year.
01:04 And so he earned it, you know,
01:06 and you come here as a walk-on
01:07 and pretty cool that his dad did the same thing, you know.
01:09 So it's just a neat legacy to have that opportunity.
01:12 And those are the ones you can't wait.
01:14 We always try and find creative ways to do those,
01:16 but with him getting put on the board for the Swarm D,
01:20 which is a big deal.
01:21 And we put the guys up there on that wall
01:23 that represent the culture
01:24 on our side of the football defensively.
01:26 And so we got him, we put him up there on that.
01:28 And then I had a chance to announce him as a scholarship,
01:31 you know, award winner.
01:32 So it was pretty cool.
01:33 It was an awesome night.
01:34 - Coach, I've got a couple of questions
01:35 about Phillip Blitte.
01:35 Last winter, when everything was going down,
01:37 what were the first couple of things
01:39 that went through your mind
01:39 when he called you and told you about the situation?
01:42 - Well, it was kind of crazy.
01:43 So, I mean, he, you know, she was pregnant, obviously.
01:47 And so, but we thought she was going to be
01:49 not having the baby for a while.
01:51 And so she started having lots of trouble.
01:53 He had taken their daughter back to her family
01:55 to be able to, so they could do the transition
01:57 and get everything squared away.
01:58 And so he left thinking everything was fine.
02:01 And so she had, she started having trouble.
02:04 And so had to have emergency C-section.
02:06 So he called me just kind of freaking out,
02:08 like, "Coach, I don't know what to do.
02:10 He wasn't even in the state.
02:11 I've already gone and nobody's there."
02:13 And I said, "Hey, I'll be right there."
02:15 So I dropped everything.
02:16 I literally had just gotten home from being on the road
02:18 and stopped everything I was doing
02:20 and went right to the hospital.
02:21 And I was like the first person that she,
02:24 when she came out of surgery, you know,
02:26 there with her in the recovery room and went to see Brooks.
02:30 And I was the first one to go see him.
02:31 And she obviously couldn't see him yet.
02:33 He was in intensive care.
02:34 And so obviously, so it was just a crazy, crazy night,
02:37 but, you know, we'd just be there for him, you know,
02:40 and obviously I already knew her
02:42 and had a chance to,
02:43 well, like I was a complete stranger to her,
02:45 but obviously we hadn't spent a lot of time together,
02:47 more with Phillip, but just tried to be there.
02:49 My daughter's also an RN there at the hospital.
02:52 So that kind of helped me get in there
02:54 and work through the back channels
02:55 to get bedside with her.
02:57 So, but it was important to be there for her, for sure.
03:00 - Why didn't you hesitate in that moment?
03:02 - Well, I mean, it's, you know,
03:04 just do the right thing, you know,
03:07 I mean, he needed me to be there.
03:09 And so my wife was out of town too, you know,
03:12 or she would have been there with me.
03:13 And so just, you just love our players,
03:17 gonna be there for them.
03:18 And regardless, I think that's, you know,
03:21 that's who I've always been as a coach.
03:24 I don't care what time of night it is.
03:25 You call me, I'll, whatever I'm doing,
03:27 I'll drop what I'm doing.
03:28 I'll go be there for you.
03:29 So that's just how I've always felt like it
03:32 is supposed to be.
03:33 And that's where I want to be.
03:35 You know, he's one of our guys,
03:36 he's part of our family and then make that decision.
03:38 So it's just, I think it's what anybody else would have done.
03:40 - And what is, what do your actions say
03:41 about the culture of IU football?
03:43 - Well, you gotta, you gotta,
03:45 your actions gotta match your words.
03:47 If they don't, it's shallow.
03:48 It doesn't mean anything.
03:49 So to me, and usually when things like that happen,
03:52 it's not at a convenient time, you know?
03:54 So, but that's life.
03:55 And so to me, you just, but you gotta live it out.
03:59 I mean, like you said, LEO is awesome.
04:01 I believe in it.
04:02 I believe it's all about relationships.
04:03 It's all about capturing the hearts and minds of your players
04:05 and it's how you get a team to come together
04:07 and do things special together
04:08 and make it about we and not me.
04:10 But, but as the, as the leader of the program, you know,
04:12 I gotta be the, at the forefront of that.
04:14 You know, like I said, just can't,
04:16 they're pretty empty words, pretty shallow.
04:18 If it's just a slogan on the wall, sounds all cool.
04:20 But then when life's really hard
04:21 and coach isn't there for you,
04:23 then I don't think it means a whole lot, you know?
04:25 So it's when things aren't easy,
04:27 that's when you have a chance to show that it's real.
04:30 - From an overall coaching perspective,
04:32 what is the expectations of today?
04:34 - You know, we, we're in spiders, you know?
04:36 So not, not in pads, but to be a very crisp,
04:40 sharp, focused practice, a lot of situational football.
04:43 We're going to work on a lot of end of game situations.
04:46 I want it to be crisp and clean, you know?
04:48 I want to be, be, just show our great habits
04:50 of how we position ourselves for everything.
04:52 We call it full speed tag tempo, you know?
04:53 So tagging off in proper positions to make those plays,
04:56 blocking and tackling special teams,
04:58 big emphasis as well.
04:59 A lot of caution, clock management situations to go through.
05:02 All this stuff is scripted.
05:03 And then a few things I want to add
05:05 that the coaches don't know,
05:06 to be able to see how we react to those situations.
05:08 So to me, it's really a lot about being crisp and clean
05:11 and working on game-like situations.
05:13 - Can you, it's-
05:13 - Coach, Dr. Drake and I had a brawl yesterday.
05:16 Today's up Mike Linebacker.
05:17 Obviously he's an older guy, but what does it say about him?
05:20 His first year, he trusted,
05:21 you know, that defense is in a position
05:23 where he's going to be directed
05:24 and do a lot of calls and stuff like that.
05:26 - Absolutely. You know, Jacob's the guy that I trust.
05:30 He's big and physical and he can run.
05:32 Very intelligent young man.
05:33 Obviously a Stanford graduate.
05:35 And just is a guy that's coming here
05:38 and earned the respect of his teammates, you know,
05:40 by how hard he's worked,
05:41 how much time he's put in the film room
05:43 and how much he studies and prepares.
05:44 And that is a position, as you said,
05:45 I mean, they got to run the defense
05:46 and Ace is going to be right next to him.
05:48 And Ace has played both positions.
05:50 And I think he's more natural at Stinger,
05:52 which is great for him to be able to be in that spot.
05:54 And so just feel like that Jacob is the guy that,
05:58 you know, commands a lot of respect of his teammates
06:00 because of how he's prepared, you know,
06:01 and we tell those backers, they got to run the defense.
06:04 You know, they got to run that side of the football
06:05 with confidence and those kinds of things.
06:08 And so he has the ability to do it.
06:10 He obviously has a lot of experience,
06:12 played a lot of football there in the Pac-12
06:14 and excited to have him here with us.
06:16 So I expect him to be a very good player for us this year.
06:18 - You guys obviously have an early season game here.
06:20 What's the importance or significance
06:21 of being able to practice here and get reps here?
06:24 - Yeah, it was important.
06:25 So we don't have a chance to come here the week of the game.
06:28 So wanted to find a way to get here in fall camp.
06:31 It's also kind of a nice change of pace to change the schedule.
06:34 You know, we're going to do some, you know,
06:35 team building activity afterwards as well.
06:36 So some fun things with our guys with that.
06:38 So, which I think is very, very important
06:40 is you continue to build the connectivity on our team.
06:43 And so, but just being here,
06:44 a lot of guys haven't played here before,
06:46 get familiar with the setting, how the lights feel.
06:49 You know, we got to make sure the setting's going to be
06:51 just as it is on game day with specialists
06:53 and catching kicks and punts and, you know,
06:55 kicking in this venue as well.
06:57 So just a lot of things that go into getting familiar
07:00 with the facility.
07:00 And so I think it's, yeah, it's a very important day for us.
07:03 - Did you guys drive up this morning, last night?
07:05 - No, this morning. Yeah.
07:06 So we had meetings this morning at our facility
07:09 and did all that and just got on the bus
07:11 and made the short trip.
07:12 - You've been with Coach Bostad for two and a half weeks
07:15 here at fall camp.
07:16 Are there two or three things about the O-line
07:17 that kind of stand out to you as, wow,
07:18 that's a different issue than what we're seeing?
07:20 - Well, if you ever watch them pre-practice, I mean,
07:24 they are full bore, lathered up.
07:26 I mean, it's like they've been going for a while.
07:28 So that's pre-practice.
07:29 So it's just the relentless attention to detail,
07:33 just the absolute, just bulldog focus
07:37 on technique and fundamentals.
07:39 And it's just the same things over and over and over again,
07:42 which develops toughness, consistency,
07:44 just confidence in your guys.
07:46 So I've seen that.
07:47 It's just been very obvious
07:48 and it showed up in our inside run.
07:50 We went live yesterday for inside run,
07:52 which we don't usually do,
07:53 but just trying to get that physicality
07:55 and some short yard situations there as well.
07:57 But got to run the football.
07:59 We've said that, we know that.
08:00 And so made that change there.
08:02 And yeah, he's definitely,
08:03 he's brought a different attitude,
08:05 a different edge about him and he's all business.
08:07 - What is the expectations for your quarterbacks today?
08:10 - Well, to me, I'll tell you what,
08:11 I thought they really played well yesterday, both of them.
08:14 Just complete lot of passes.
08:15 I mean, to me, it's just about continued execution.
08:18 You know, and I thought they were so much more decisive
08:20 yesterday in decision-making,
08:21 just going through the progressions,
08:24 getting the ball out when it needs to be out on time,
08:26 right where it needs to be.
08:27 I think the receivers have been catching the ball
08:28 really, really well.
08:29 And I'm excited about that receiver room,
08:31 excited about the quarterback room,
08:32 and obviously got to figure out who the guy is going to be.
08:34 But I've really seen these last two days,
08:37 I've seen a lot of growth from that quarterback.
08:38 It's great. It's encouraging.
08:39 - How close to a decision do you feel you are at that?
08:41 - We're close.
08:42 You know, I kind of always felt like
08:43 after the second scrimmage, which will be tomorrow,
08:45 we have to make a decision, you know,
08:47 at least internally for sure,
08:48 to be able to know who that guy's going to be
08:49 to get the reps with the ones.
08:50 And so to kind of get that timing for two weeks.
08:52 So I think we'll make a decision after this weekend.
08:55 - When do you plan to begin preparing for Ohio State
08:57 as far as game planning and all this?
08:59 - Yeah, so our philosophy is we try to get
09:02 two of a normal game week.
09:03 So two Tuesdays, two Wednesdays, two Thursdays.
09:06 And so that will begin next week.
09:07 So be able to create that from the calendar perspective,
09:09 be able to have, 'cause then that last week
09:11 will be a true full flow, you know,
09:13 Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday,
09:14 and then walk through on Friday.
09:15 So we'd like to have two of each of those.
09:17 Appreciate you guys.
09:21 - Thank you. - Awesome.
09:21 - Take care. - Have a great day.