Quarterback Battle Nearing an End in Bloomington

Tom Allen meets with the media Image: Sammy Jacobs Hoosier Huddle

Written By Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)

"We will be making that decision later this week" is what Tom Allen told reporters on the field of Memorial Stadium on Monday morning as the Hoosiers finished up a light practice.

The quarterback battle has been highly speculated upon over the three-week long fall camp and the Hoosiers want a decision to be made between Peyton Ramsey, Brandon Dawkins and Michael Penix before their mock game on Saturday.

"We feel good," Tom Allen said when asked about the battle. "We are going to meet this afternoon and talk through some things. In the next few days here, it is a situation that I want to get, I have said this all along, I want to get it announced our mock game, which is on Saturday. I would like to make that final decision, that way we can really get our guys in position to get the quality reps that they need to be able to get ready for week one. So we will be making that decision later this week."

It may have taken longer than most people have anticipated but Allen is comfortable with that. "I wasn’t in a rush to do it. I felt like we structured practice in a way where those guys are all getting quality reps" Allen said. He added that "all three guys have things to bring to us and you’re not really sure how they’re going to play."

From the outside it has not been clear who is the frontrunner as each player has split time with the first, second and third team offense. However, Allen said "I do feel like it has become clear. Clearer, right now. We haven't had the final meeting, but I do think you start figuring out some things. Every time you take snaps and make plays it's become obvious to me what we need to do."

The Hoosiers struggled with consistency at the quarterback position in 2017, but Allen says he feels "great about the room" and that "they're all going to have to help us when it's all said and done. 

Other Notes:

• Allen said that offensive lineman Grayson Stover was given a medical hardship waiver and will finish out his schooling at IU.
• On Classifying Freshmen as redshirts, potential contributors and contributors

“It’s never going to be set in stone, but we have a list that we go through and look at based on fall camp production and the way that they performed. I think that is a much clearer group now than it was but it’s always under review, trying to decide how that is going to play out. What you really want to do from fall camp is to find who is ready to play in the first quarter of the season. When you have those four games, even if a guy is going to potentially redshirt, you say ‘hey this is a guy, they’re really ready to go right now and some guys aren’t quite ready yet.’ Some guys you say ‘hey, they’re going to play’. There will be guys who will be in the mix.