Hoosiers Focusing on Install, Technique and Execution as Spring Practice Begins in Bloomington
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Tom Allen and the Hoosiers kicked off Spring Practice Saturday Image: Sammy Jacobs Hoosier Huddle
Written By Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)
It may be March, but it felt like a gorgeous fall day in Bloomington this afternoon as the Hoosiers kicked off their spring practice on Saturday. This was the first of four practices before the Indiana players embark on spring break (IU will have 11 practices after spring break including the annual Spring Game on April 14th) and head coach Tom Allen has set his focus on three goals before the Hoosiers go on hiatus: Installing new concepts in all three phases, technique and execution.
Allen wants "to get some things on film before we break so we can evaluate how it looks and decide where we go from there." There are plenty of new faces on both sides of the ball and having the extra time for new concepts to marinate in the minds of players and coaches is vital to the Hoosiers growth in the spring.
One of the advantages of spring practice is that there is no opponent to prepare for, it is a time for the team to work on themselves and correcting flaws that need to be addressed. This gives coaches more time to work with individual position groups on the techniques that often make the difference between heading to a bowl or spending the holiday season at home.
Alongside the technique aspect of practice is executing to a high level while playing at full speed. As players get better technically, it should allow them to execute there assignments better at a higher speed. Great teams can execute extremely well while moving at full-speed. While that may not happen on day one of spring practice, it is a foundation that starts in March and hopefully blossoms during the fall.
The Hoosiers return to the practice field on Sunday and will be in shoulder pads on Tuesday before donning full pads on Thursday, their last practice before spring break.
Other Notes
QB Competition
The Hoosiers are looking for a new starting quarterback this spring after Richard Lagow's graduation. Tom Allen said Saturday that there is "A lot of competition" at the position and that "it’s going to be open the whole time."
Day one usually doesn't yield many surprises and that held true Saturday as Allen said that redshirt sophomore Peyton Ramsey, who played in nine games and was an All-Big Ten Freshman honoree "probably looked the best running the offense.
Allen added that "Nick (Tronti) is battling kind of getting the chance to understand the system better in his second time being here."
One of the most anticipated signees to hit the field this spring is Mike Penix, who IU landed over Florida State. Allen said, "his mind is racing right now, especially when the defense starts coming at you full-speed, but I thought he did some great things as well."
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