Notes and Quotes From Tom Allen's Press Conference 10/30
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By David Sugarman (@David_Sugarman2)=
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK:
Offense: Simmie Cobbs, Luke Timian, Whop Philyor
Defense: Nate Hoff
Special Teams: Issac James
INJURY NEWS:
Peyton Ramsey is being considered day-to-day.
J-Shun Harris tore his ACL against Maryland and is out for the season, this is the third time Harris has torn his ACL since joining the program
After receiving knee surgery Donovan Hale is officially ruled out for the season
Morgan Ellison is still rehabbing and his status for Saturday is unclear after not playing against Maryland
Mike Majete is also considered doubtful for Saturday after not playing against Maryland
Ian Thomas is dealing with a nagging injury but there’s a good chance he’ll be ready for Saturday
NOTES:
This week’s game will be on ABC and is set for a noon kickoff.
Whop Philyor was named Big 10 freshman of the week with 13 catches, a freshman record
This weekend will be a Salute to Service game, Indiana will wear special decals on their helmets to honor the troops
QUOTES:
TOM ALLEN:
Peyton Ramsey was dinged up on several occasions and Allen touched on that:
“Well, you know, I would say first of all, we're going to -- Peyton right now left the game, so it's day-to-day right now to see what will happen this weekend. He's rehabbing to get himself squared away. Yeah, he's taken some hits and has that style of play. He is an amazingly tough kid.
But Richard was ready to go on Saturday, and is going to have to be ready to go this week as well. We'll get both guys really and see where we are later in the week.
Yeah, and you see is across the country. Quarterbacks take hits. That's why you have to have a couple of them. More than that. So we're always trying to find everything we can do to give our team the best chance to win. Whoever that is, that's who it's going to be.”
Allen on getting an early lead and losing focus:
“As a matter of fact, that was a huge part of our discussion trying to figure out what was missing. You know, obviously you don't know for sure, but what I think it was was I think we had a mental letdown.
I think we got a pick the second play of the game. Our offense had just gone down and scored in a methodical way. We're up 14-nothing, and that really frustrates me that we didn't have enough maturity.
You sense a little bit of that. As a coach you continue to coach hard. But for whatever reason, that's the only way I could explain it. We had a little emotional let-up. When they punched back, we didn't have a counterpunch. Not to the same -- wasn't that we were completely just flat, but I agree with you, we didn't have the same sense of urgency or, as I call it, playing with a fever pitch. You got to play with a fever pitch I think every snap to be great.
We're one of those teams where we don't have the luxury. We can't have both depth and -- we got to play up here. When we play up here we're a certain level. When we don't, there is a substantial drop off, especially matched of against their speed.
They have some legit -- we knew it. No. 1, he's a special player now. He made some phenomenal catches. We have to match that. If it's a little bit off, just a step here, a step there. That would be our assessment, was that you know what, we just had a little bit -- just keep rolling. You can't think that way. You got to know it's going to be a struggle. It's going to be a 60-minute battle every time you take the field.
It might have been just enough to throw us off. I don't know. That seemed to be what we as a staff defensively thought happened.”
With all the injuries at running back, Cole Gest got the lions share of carries on Saturday, Allen was happy with his performance:
“I thought he did a lot of great things. He had touchdown on that catch and ran the ball hard and picked up his blitzes well overall. So solid, solid performance by him. I was happy for him to be able to get an opportunity, and he took advantage of it. He needs to. We got to have guys like him step up, without question.”
Allen had high praise for how far Whop Philyor has come after his big game on Saturday:
“Well, you know, he came into fall camp and got injured, so he really got off to a slow start. We had thoughts that we may have to redshirt him because he just wasn't able to get healthy. Then you loose all those reps because he's not here in the spring and you're just behind, you know, and so he didn't know the offense.
Really what I saw Saturday is what I really expected to see out of him this year, this season. He has an unbelievable energy level. We call him the Energizer Bunny. He just keeps going and going and doesn't seem to get tired.
I've seen that in the past when he was in high school and played both ways. Just ran all over the field and never -- there was never a drop-off. Some guys have that ability and some don't.
Now that he's learned what he's doing, his confidence level has increased highly in the area of his execution just because he knows where he's supposed to be and the routes, where the ball is coming. He's been able to get open. He has that ability to separate. He can put his foot in the ground and change direction or that little fly sweep and he hits it and goes. Try and get him the football.
I thought he was going to be one of our better players, and it's proven to be true. Just took a little time.”
Allen on the special teams struggles after good performances and big plays against Michigan and Michigan State:
“You know, hard to say one thing because there are three different special teams that I felt like let us down. Even just the field goal protection was not what it needed to be. The blocked punt was really -- we haven't had one of those. Been doing a great job on that. But it's just like anything else. That's why it's so important when we talk about -- you got to be at your best when it counts the most on special teams because you get so few opportunities.”
Allen on Tony Fields adjustment to the husky position:
“He got the pick early. They were testing him right out of the gate with one of their fast receivers that's really talented. He made them pay for that. He's just been excellent really. So consistent. He's really become even more of a verbal leader on our team as a senior. Just really encouraged by his play.
When Lino went down, that was a huge loss for us. Obviously still don't have him back. Tony has filled a huge void for us there and has consistently played at a high level, and is going to have to do that here for the rest of the regular season.
Really proud of Tony Fields and the way he's performed.”
MIKE DEBORD:
DeBord had high praise for Richard Lagow who had to step in when Ramsey went down Saturday:
“He mentally and physically was ready to play. Very proud of him.”