Notes and Quotes From Tom Allen's Media Monday: Week Ten

image: Joe Robbins Getty Images

Written by Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)

Tom Allen took to the podium for Media Monday following Indiana’s 38-31 triumph over Nebraska in Lincoln to become bowl eligible.

Notes:

- Players of the Week: Offense: Peyton Ramsey, Ty Fryfogle Defense: Kahlil Bryant Special Teams: Nathanael Snyder and Jared Smolar, Scout Team: Will Jontz, Cam Williams, DeKaleb Thomas, Stephen Walker, Luke Shayotovich

- Peyton Ramsey was named to Davey O’Brien ‘Great 8’ List and was the Manning Award ‘Star of the Week’

- Injury Updates:

- Allen on Michael Penix: “Not sure yet. We'll know more from the physical perspective as the week unfolds. It could be a Thursday decision, could be game time. It will be one of those two, I would expect, by Thursday or Friday or Saturday.

- Allen on Thomas Allen: “Thomas, he's done for the season. So it really breaks my heart. He came back from an injury this past off-season and worked his tail off to get back. It's his other shoulder, so it is what it is. He has a surgery next week. It's a very serious injury. He went down twice during the game, it popped out twice, and the second time it was for good. They were concerned then that it was pretty serious, but then the MRI confirmed it on Sunday morning. So pretty serious for him.”

- Allen on Simon Stepaniak: “I think he's going to be fine. He had some things late in the week that I didn't know about and just kind of came up on him. He wasn't feeling good at all on game day. It kind of came down to, when in doubt, it's like, hey, if you don't feel like you can go -- he's tougher than nails and love that guy and everything. So that was really a last-minute situation.

Tom Allen Quotes:

Opening Statement:

“Good to be back with you. Continue to reflect on the weekend and proud of our guys and the way that they showed a lot of resiliency throughout that game. Got off to a slow start on defense, but made some adjustments and got some really key stops and key takeaways that I thought were really game changing. The fumble recovery by Allen Stallings was probably the game changing play that really flipped the script. Felt like we could have a third takeaway, even a fourth one when the ball was loose, but two were big for sure.
Offense continues to do a good job of scoring points and controlling the football and moving the ball. Didn't have any three and outs, which is a big deal. That really keeps you on the field and keeps the chains moving, keeps field position being flipped. Third down efficiency was really high, especially on third and long. 4 out of 8 is excellent. So I think those are big, big deals.
And just being on the field to finish the game those last three minutes and having them burn their three time-outs and not having to give the ball back was a lot less stressful for us on the sideline, but that's how you want to do it, to be able to take a knee there at the end.
Other than a couple penalties that I thought were really bad and excusable and selfish, addressed those today and the rest of the week -- other than that, felt like the guys just really competed hard and stayed with us, stayed together, gave them momentum.
I felt like at halftime, we go in and score -- but that was before we threw the pick. I was hoping to go in and score and take the lead and then get the ball in the third quarter and take the game over. That didn't happen. Amazing how quickly things can change. They get the tipped ball, pick, go down and score, and that take the momentum at the half. That really changed the way I felt.
Halftime, we've done a really good job of adjusting, tribute to our staff. Our philosophy, as we go in there, we're going to adjust, we're going to believe, we're going to fight, and we're going to finish. That's how we approach halftime. Our guys have really bought into that and came out and played well in the second half and finished out the game in a tough environment, very historic place.
For a couple of reasons, big, big win, like I said before. To reflect on it, really proud of our kids and the way Peyton played. He got recognized for some national awards for that. Just his character and leadership and production, when needed, has been impressive. So really, really proud of him. Offensive line, same thing, the way they've stayed together and been able to just get the job done each and every week and run the ball when we need to, and that's been a great thing.
The timely takeaways in special teams have been very solid. We had three punts inside the 10, which I thought were huge. We work extremely hard on that. Raheem Layne was a guy that -- I give the LEO award. You may not know this, but we have an LEO stick that we have every game. It's thick, about this tall, just a 2 by 4 painted. It has "LEO" on one side and the one word for the year on the other, which is "grit." I give that award every morning before the game. Once we have our special teams pop-up meeting, I give it out, and it's always a big deal, who's going to get it, and I talk about this person before I say who it is.
I specifically mentioned in that talk -- Raheem Layne was our award winner for this game, and I talked about his special teams play, and how every time we have staff meetings, his name keeps getting brought up -- on this unit, he does this and does this and he's always coming in extra and watching film, he's always doing this, he's always trying to find a way to help -- it's an unselfish type of mindset he has because, obviously, special teams are important, but when you're a defensive guy, that's kind of where a lot of guys' focus is on, but he's bought into what we're really trying to create too, which is a true team mindset, and LEO is the foundation for all that.
So I specifically talked about him and special teams, and he goes into the game, and he's the one that downs the ball inside the 5 and had some really big special teams plays. So we talked about it this morning. It just reinforces everything we're teaching and preaching here about what makes us play winning football, and how do you win these kinds of games?
How do you go on a road and play in a place that you haven't won at in 60 years and find a way to win? When momentum was for you, it was against you, things happen, we didn't play perfect, make mistakes, do some things you don't want to be doing, and then you find a way to win the game. So those are just all the things you try to keep reinforcing with those guys.
Really excited about this week. Got the defending Big Ten West Champion Northwestern Wildcats coming to town. Really big opportunity for us. Really excited about our team being able to continue to stay locked in and focused and play at a high level, and everything we do is about who we're playing next, which won't change.
Really encourage our fans and our student body to come out and support us and then do everything we can to come out and create a great environment and pack this stadium and be able to be, as I said before, playing the first November night game here in Memorial Stadium in our history.
So exciting time for our program, and I'm really, really proud of our guys, but we've got a lot of work to do.”

On whether or not there is a QB controversy

“First of all, Mike's our starter, and Peyton's done a phenomenal job, but if Mike can't go, Peyton's going to go, and as we all know, Peyton's going to do a great job. So we feel really good about that.
That's kind of the approach we have with that position. I have absolute confidence in Peyton Ramsey. We don't know exactly yet what this week will hold, who will be the starter, but whoever it is, we'll be ready, and they'll play well. So that's all I do know.”

On celebrating the win with the fans Saturday:

“Most of that is pretty reactionary. It's not really like planned, am I going to go over and celebrate with fans and everything? But I got done doing the stuff I do on the field, the interview, talked with some family, but just the emotion of a lot of stuff just kind of comes over you, and I just see our fans there. That's even like the infamous trash can episode, you know, not preplanned. They catch my eye, and the students were still here, and I just go running over there.
It's kind of the same thing. I turn around and go to jog off the field. As you guys know, as you go to jog off to the locker room, our fans are all there to the right, and you go past them. They were all still there, and I missed the team singing to them because I was doing the TV interview stuff. But I just warranted to thank them, you know. Obviously, yelling, and I don't even know what I said.
But just to thank them for coming there and supporting us. It's got this little small contingent amidst all these umpteen thousand people, it's pretty cool. I just want to genuinely thank them for coming and cheering us on and believing in us and being there for us, a lot of our parents and all that. It's pretty cool. It's a neat time. So that's just kind of a -- you know, high fiving them and having fun because this is a tough job and it's hard work and it's stressful. Don't get a lot of sleep sometimes, but those moments are pretty special. So I'm going to enjoy them.

On if playing at night is going to change the practice schedule:

“That's a great question. The answer's no. Basically, we do that in fall camp, we try to get ready. It's kind of been unique. We usually have a night game or two before this time of year, but we have not. So we're going to do some things during the day different than we do because that's a long time period because we are a morning practice team, and the kids -- our players' schedules are all set that way. So it's hard to do anything in the evening. So that's why we won't be able to do that.
But we've been under the lights. We did that by design in fall camp, catching punts and everything. I feel good about that. It's more of a schedule part of it. We have a good flow that we have already preset for a night game, but we're going to do some things. We talked about it even in the off-season about preparing for a night game. We expected we'd have a couple by how, but we have not. So we will do things a little bit different the day of than normal, but when the lights come on, it's just like playing in the daytime.”

On how becoming bowl eligible early changes the focus in the final month:

“It's actually a very good feeling because I've not been here when that hasn't been the conversation. It's been did not even year one when I was not the head coach, it still came down to the final game. And year one for a head coach, obviously, same thing year two, so it feels kind of great to have that off the table. Now we can just go back to the business of getting better every single week and trying to win our next football game.
I just think it's a great thing to have out of the way. Just being very blunt and honest with you about that. We didn't dwell on -- I'm being very sincere. We have not had a ton of conversations about bowl games and six wins. We just did not. So it was really process driven. I know the guys recognize, they knew when we won the game that we were bowl eligible, but that was never the goal was just to get to six. Okay, we got it. So our guys do understand that, but it is a great relief in some ways to get that out of the way.
Now it's just 100 percent, full bore focus on Northwestern, and it will be the same way when we get back from the bye.”

On why Northwestern is dangerous:

“Do not be deceived by the record. I just point out to our staff, look at who they played. You look at the defenses they played and how good they are and the teams they played. Even a year ago, they won a bunch of close games and then lost some close games, and then things happen. You get in situations where you lose a little bit of this or a little bit of that. So to me, very dangerous football team. They're the defending West champions in our conference, and I've got a ton of respect for their head coach.
One of the guys, ever since I came to this league, that has always just taken time to encourage, to challenge, to help -- I mean, just -- he's a guy I can text and ask questions to. He's one of the guys I always confided in and things like that for a variety of things, and he's just genuine, he's tough, and he's just done a phenomenal job building that program. I have absolute, complete respect for Pat Fitzgerald and what he's done at Northwestern and how they play, and they're so physical and tough, and they have a great staff. They've been together for 14 years. It's a lot.
So a ton of respect for them. To me, you just throw out the record. It doesn't matter. They're coming, and they're going to play their very best football, and we'd better play ours. That's all I've got to say. We're going to be at our very, very best, and it's going to be a physical, physical football game, it's going to be a 60-minute, tough, hard-nosed Big Ten football game.
So that's my perspective on them. They've got one of the best defenses in the country. Their front seven is a bunch of grown men, I'll tell you that much. Very aggressive in the secondary as far as tackling and physical and big offensive linemen and backs run hard. The receivers are quick and catch the football.
They've had some quarterback challenges, and that's been an issue, and that's a key position. They had a guy that was pretty steady there for a long time, did a phenomenal job for him and led them last year. That's been a question mark for them.
But at the same time, absolute respect from our end at a high, high level, and we know we're preparing to play a very good football team.

On what George Taliaferro has meant to the IU Football program ahead of his statue dedication this week:

“Special man. My one regret when he passed was I never really got to know him as well as I wished I had. He was a little bit older. But the time we did get together, he was just such a genuine person. So it's hard for me to imagine what he went through when he came here and yet the way he handled it all with such grace and class and almost just a forgiveness that not everybody has.
The way he talked about it to our players, even just the way he communicated, he was just such a graceful, classy guy. He was a guy that forged the way for our current guys, our current players that are African American.
So just to have that kind of personality amidst all the negativity that that situation created is pretty, pretty special. That's just allowed him to elevate because, as time passes and he continues to talk, he's just able to really empower others to be able to this is how you handle some tough things in life. He's been just a huge part of our history.
That's why I didn't -- from being here, I didn't fully understand, until I was hired here, how special he truly was, from the outside, from my perspective. I think it's just so neat to get to know him and study more about him, and I appreciate it.
It's just we're going to have a statue of him out here, and it's going to be unveiled. Boy, it's a special thing. Just to be able to look back and see how it's changed, and we're not perfect with all that yet and got to be better. Obviously, he was one of the key individuals that helped us be where we are today. So to get a chance to have a statue for him, that's pretty cool. That's neat. Neat for his family.”