IU Football's Junior Day Has Prospects Raving About Strength Program and Atmosphere
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Image: Amanda Pavelka Hoosier Huddle
Written by Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)
The Indiana Hoosiers football staff hosted a number of prospects last Sunday for their Junior Day event. The Hoosiers have already seen the dividends pay off in the form of a Rodney McGraw commitment. However, other prospects also were impressed by what Tom Allen and his staff are building in Bloomington, with the biggest take away from several prospects being the strength and conditioning program run by coach David Ballou and Dr. Matt Rhea and the overall family atmosphere of the program.
“My biggest take away was definitely the strength and conditioning program. Coach Ballou really impressed me with their program and using science to help make the athletes the best football players on the field. When looking at a school I really value a school that emphasizes strength and conditioning to make sure I’m the best athlete I can be” said Bloomington North High School tight end Aaron Steinfeldt whose father is also a professor at Indiana University.
DJ Moore, a lineman from Fort Wayne’s Snyder High School, agreed with Steinfeldt saying, “the biggest takeaway was how much effort they actually put in making sure their players are training right.
During a Junior Day a prospect will get a first-hand look at a potential home for their future endeavors. They are shown around the facilities, meet their potential future position coaches and learn what exactly Indiana University has to offer.
Joe Strickland, a defensive lineman from Indianapolis’s Brebuef Jesuit High School came away with high marks for Indiana’s academics. “Their school of business is very well known and I will definitely be looking into that in my future” he told Hoosier Huddle. Indiana’s Kelley School of Business is on one of the top business schools in the country according to USNews.com.
“Junior Day is something I take serious(ly)” said Larry Harris from Lawrence North in Indianapolis who also came away with the thought that “IU has something special and I want to contribute to that.”
As Indiana continues to build the football program under Tom Allen, getting players on campus for junior days to see the culture that he and his staff are building is going to be an important part of his recruiting plan. Every player who talked to Hoosier Huddle also talked about how the staff genuinely cares about the players and how the football program has a family atmosphere.