Countdown to 2019 IUFB Kickoff: 99 Days (Allen Stallings and Nathanael Snyder)

2019 Countdown - #99

Name – Allen Stallings

Position – Defensive Line (Senior)

Hometown – Maywood, Illinois (Oak Park and River Forest)

Height – 6’2”

Weight – 246

Many coaches will tout the importance of versatility and loving players that excel at other sports. Often, you will see football players that were standouts in basketball or track and field. Allen Stallings took a different route: he was an outstanding wrestler. While at Oak Park and River Forest High School in Illinois, Stallings was a four-time wrestling state qualifier and a state champion as a senior. In 2014, he was the national runner-up in Greco-Roman while wrestling at 220 pounds. His incredible success on the mat was complemented by his exploits on the gridiron as he lettered in three seasons. Stallings was an all-state and all-conference selection and he was the league’s defensive Most Valuable Player during his senior season when he amassed 71 tackles, seven sacks and 12 tackles for loss. Stallings had a connection at Indiana, he is cousins with former Hoosier Nile Sykes, and committed to Indiana as a defensive end, joining the program for the 2016 season.

His freshman season had only one appearance, as he made his only showing in the opening victory against Florida International. In hindsight, perhaps he should have redshirted but he was able to win scout team player of the week twice and set the table for a good 2017 campaign. Stallings played in all 12 games, garnering 25 tackles with three sacks and a safety. Last season, he maintained that level of production with 24 tackles, a pair of sacks and a tie for the team lead in quarterback hurries.

Now a senior, Allen Stallings is playing under a new defensive coordinator in Kane Wommack but his role likely won’t change much. Indiana is deeper and likely more talented at defensive end than it has been at any time in the veteran’s career in Bloomington. Players like James Head are on the ascendancy and newcomers like (redshirt freshman) Madison Norris and (true freshman) Beau Robbins will likely take some snaps. Who starts along the defensive line is somewhat irrelevant as Indiana is going to try to have a steady rotation of eight to ten players. Stallings will definitely fit into that and he’ll be competing with players like Robbins, fellow senior Brandon Wilson and Michael Ziemba for snaps. Slightly increasing his production (think 30 tackles with 5 sacks) is a reasonable goal for his final season wearing the Cream and Crimson.

Name – Nathaniel Snyder

Position – Kicker (Redshirt Junior)

Hometown – Greenwood, Indiana (Center Grove High School)

Height – 6’1”

Weight – 198 pounds

The second #99 on the roster for the 2019 season, Nathaniel Snyder is the other focus of today’s countdown. Snyder was a kicker for powerhouse Center Grove High School and was named a Kohl’s Kicking All-American in 2015. He was a two-time all-county selection and led the state in touchbacks as both a junior and senior. His kicking helped the Trojans (along with current teammates and former Trojans Gavin Everett and Jacob Limbach) to the 2015 state championship and three regional and conference titles.

Snyder chose to stay in-state and enrolled at Indiana prior to the 2016 season, becoming a criminal justice major. He redshirted the 2016 season and has not seen any game action in 2017 or 2018.

Many assumed that Charles Campbell was going to take the reins at kicker and succeed Griffin Oakes. However, Logan Justus stepped up and refused to give the freshman (or anyone else) a chance. He had a terrific 2018 campaign and looked great in the Spring Game. Short of injuries, it seems unlikely Snyder will pass up Justus and only one kicker is likely to see game action.

Hutch’s Trivia Question

In honor of the late Terry Hutchens, we are including a daily IUFB trivia question from his book So You Think You Know Indiana University Football. Hutch is dearly missed and this is our way of keeping his memory with us this season. Please leave your answers in the comments section.

What year was the Old Oaken Bucket introduced to the IU-Purdue Rivalry?

(check back tomorrow for the answer)