Notes and Quotes From Tom Allen (3/2/17)

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Mike McGinnis doing one of the drills in the Hoosiers off-season conditioning Thursday morning. Image: Sammy Jacobs HoosierHuddle.com

Mike McGinnis doing one of the drills in the Hoosiers off-season conditioning Thursday morning. Image: Sammy Jacobs HoosierHuddle.com

Written By Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)

The Indiana Hoosiers were back in Mellancamp Pavilion for a winter conditioning workout. The Hoosiers start spring practice on Saturday March 4th. IU head coach Tom Allen met with the media after the workout to give a few updates about the team.

  •  "I would like to update the roster. Joe Belden has been placed with the medical hardship and so that's his status. We've got three young men, Wesley Green, Jordan Fuchs & Danny Cameron have been suspended indefinitely from the program and that's all to say about that. That's where we're at." 

The loss of these players is unlikely to effect the Hoosiers on the field. Green, a defensive back, played in two games last season after sitting out the 2015 season due to NCAA transfer rules. Fuchs'(TE) IU career has be derailed by injury. He played in 20 games over the last three seasons, accumulating just seven career catches and three career touchdowns. Danny Cameron appeared in one game at quarterback in his three-year career at IU, while Joe Belden (DL) had yet to appear in a game.

  • "The spring game is going to be on April 13th, the Thursday night before Easter weekend. That's an exciting time for us. It will be exactly 140 days prior to our kickoff on the 31st of August to open the season. That's going to be a fun night, Jon Gruden is going to be here with us as a special guest and our staff had a chance to spend some time with him and he's got connections to IU. He's excited about being here. It's a really good thing. The game will be starting at seven o'clock"

Allen gave a few more details on the annual spring game, announcing that it will kick-off at 7pm on April 13th. He also confirmed that former NFL head coach and current ESPN broadcaster Jon Gruden will be a special guest.

  • "Simmie Cobbs, has been encouraging with his development and he's come along really really well. Watching him move around is encouraging for us and and we need to get him back. Mike Majette, same thing. Cole Gest, Brandon Knight these guys are going to be back for spring which is good for everybody here. We've got some other guys along the way after postseason surgeries that won't be full board for spring. Overall I like the health of our team. I think that the direction we're going in terms of getting guys back to being full speed and obviously the objective is to be full speed by august 31st. We have a lot of work before then."

Indiana has some key players returning from injury this spring in WR Simmie Cobbs,RB Cole Gest and OL Bradon Knight. Cobbs and Knight are projected to be starters while Gest will be competing for time at running back and on special teams.

  • "There will be. I played the Navy in the past, Georgia Tech in the past and some other places I've been. We have a plan for that and then it will begin to be implemented this spring, not prior to spring break. Post-spring break we'll start working on it and that you pretty much have to because you don't play them in at a bowl setting."

The Hoosiers play Georgia Southern on Sept. 23. The Eagles ran the gun option last year and look to be move of their triple option selves this season. The triple option is tremendously difficult to prepare for and Allen said the team will be beginning to install their triple option defense after spring break.