Leading the Way: All-American LB Looks to Lead IU Defense to Prominence

Written by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)

For the first two years of his Indiana career, Tegray Scales was often viewed as a potentially standout player with all the physical tools that was lost in the shuffle on a bad defense. In both 2014 and 2015, the Hoosiers finished at or near the bottom of the Big Ten in nearly every meaningful defensive category. Scales was a well-regarded recruit out of Ohio that was expected to help turn IU’s defense around under new defensive coordinator Brian Knorr but things just weren’t clicking.

That all changed when Tom Allen made the move from South Florida to Bloomington. Allen’s 4-2-5 scheme fit the duo of Scales and Marcus Oliver to a “T” and the Hoosiers quickly responded to the leadership, intensity and positivity brought by Allen. The Hoosiers catapulted up the defensive charts, going from doormat to middle-of-the-road. Things could have been even better statistically if the offense could have cut down on untimely turnovers. Tegray Scales took a huge step forward, leading the Big Ten in tackles and earning a place on many All-American teams. He credits his play, and the turnaround of the team, to the boost in morale Allen brought and to his teammates.

“It boosted me a little bit. I knew what I could do personally, but with the defense and the preparation Coach Allen put into me and the team, it kind of helped a lot more. Last year, the success I had was a reflection of our team,” Scales said at Big Ten Media Day.

Tom Allen, now the Hoosiers head coach, knew Scales was set to have a special year after watching him prepare for the 2016 season.

“It started in his preparation. He did not have, the year before I got there, the 2015 season, he did not play to the standard that we expected him. Even though I wasn’t here, just talking to the coaches and watching him play, we had to change the way he prepared. I challenged him to be a leader. He wasn’t when I got here. He was a great kid, a guy everybody loved and all that but he wasn’t a leader on our defense.” Allen told the assembled media in Chicago.

“We had another young man that was one of our captains, Marcus Oliver, who was a really good player but he was kind of quiet. Tegray is not quiet. You can lead different ways, but you have to verbalize your leadership. You can’t just be: Hey, I’m going to lead by example. That’s okay in a certain situation but not to run the defense and not to be a linebacker. He embraced it. He bought into everything that I was telling him. He believed in it and he lived it out.”

Tom Allen was effusive in his praise of Scales and his admiration for the kind of player, and person, Scales has become is apparent.

“To me, it’s been a gradual process of him creating that confidence in himself. But he responded. And I love that young man. He’s not only a special player but a special person and I’m proud of him. He got his degree already so he’s working on his Master’s now,” Allen said.

Fellow senior and standout corner RashardFant definitely noticed the change in Scales and he spoke highly of the All-American linebacker: “Tegray is more vocal, he’s always been one of our leaders, even when he first came in. This year, he took on a leadership role as far as being more vocal. He’s hilarious, I’m not going to lie. Everyone gravitates to him and motivation is his big thing. He sets the standard and we follow him. Whether it’s in workouts being first in all the races or whoever he is competing against and giving his all out there.”

The growth of Scales as a player and as a leader has clearly paid huge dividends for the Indiana football program and his decision to return to IU for his senior season was a massive boost for the Hoosiers 2017 season. Indiana is hoping he can repeat the on-field production he displayed in 2016 as they strive to take another step forward as a defense. One of the primary tasks for Scales is helping to shepherd a new linebacker partner now that Marcus Oliver has moved on to the NFL. It’s one thing to go from “awful” to “solid” and it was a massive improvement that was a pleasure to watch. It’s another thing entirely to repeat that success and then build on it and the leadership of Tegray Scales will continue to be immensely important as the Hoosiers prepare for their first season under a new regime.