Allen on Quarterbacks: 'At the End of the Day, it's About Winning the Game'

Michael Penix (9) will battle for the starting quarterback job in the fall Image: Sammy Jacobs Hoosier Huddle

Written by Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)

As the 2019 season creeps closer the thing in the front of everyone’s mind when talking about Indiana football is who will be the starting quarterback for the Hoosiers when they kickoff against the Ball State Cardinals on August 31st at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

There will be a three-way battle for QB1 when fall camp rolls around in August. Peyton Ramsey is the incumbent with a season-and-a-half of starting experience and 4,127 passing yards to his name. However, the challengers redshirt freshman Michael Penix and Utah transfer Jack Tuttle are set to turn up the heat on Ramsey.

Hoosier Huddle had a chance to sit down with head coach Tom Allen and ask him what he is looking for in his starting quarterback.

“The first thing that jumps out to me is that take our offense down the football field and score points” Allen told Hoosier Huddle. He added that his quarterback has to be a player “who has the skill set, who has the arm talent, the moxie, the confidence of his teammates is a huge component.”

Allen is a big advocate for the power of belief and he thinks that it translates to the offensive huddle as well. “One of the more important variables is who do they believe in. Who do the guys believe that as long as there is time on the clock, if that guy is in our huddle, we have a chance. That to me is a powerful thing. That’s just from taking the team, put them on your back and let’s go score and win the game. That mindset.” Having that winning mentality is something that has been missing from the Hoosier football program that always seems to be surrounded by a self-loathing attitude off the field.

Peyton Ramsey (12) looks down field against Purdue Image: Sammy Jacobs Hoosier Huddle

However, quarterback is more than just having a rah, rah attitude. There is a physical skill set that is needed to be successful. While Peyton Ramsey has put up relatively good numbers, there are physical limitations that have held the offense back in the past. “Then having the physical traits to do that. There’s an arm talent with that, whether it’s accuracy. Accuracy is a big deal in the pass game. Then there is also the ability to stretch the field and force them to honor certain parts of us as an offense, so they can’t gang up on us in the run game or in the short game, so I think that is a big deal” Allen explained.

Jack Tuttle (14) will also get his shot at QB Image: Sammy Jacobs Hoosier Huddle

Allen’s expertise is on the defensive side of the football. Nevertheless he knows what he wants to see, or doesn’t want to face, in a quarterback when it comes to playmaking abilities. “it’s that ‘make something out of nothing’ type of guy. Escape ability, it falls in that category. The ability to create something, extend the play, put pressure on the defense. Those are the things that jump out, obviously it’s who is the guy I don’t want to defend. The quarterback, that when things breakdown, that’s when he’s at his best. That’s when I get the most nervous as a defensive guy. Those are the quarterbacks that you don’t want to play. I want to create a system and have an offense that, that’s what he is known for. To me, that’s what I think of, I think of a guy that can help us and help us win.”

The quarterback battle is not close to being decided and will likely go deep into fall camp and as Allen closed his comments on the quarterbacks, he stated the obvious, yet powerful line that “at the end of the day, it is about winning the game.”