Media Monday: Tom Allen Notes and Quotes
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Written by Andrew Walker
Indiana head football coach Tom Allen met the media on Monday morning to preview his team’s season opening game against the Ball State Cardinals.
Notes
Michael Penix will be the Hoosiers starting quarterback this year
Word for the week is PROVE
DB Reese Taylor is Day-to-day
Quotes
Head Coach Tom Allen on starting QB:
“Got a really good strong group of leaders that I just think everything we do together just seems to exemplify those qualities of the kind of young men that we have in our program. Obviously today is a day that we are going to announce our starting quarterback, and our starting quarterback is going to be Mike Penix for the 2019 season. I know that's been a question that many of you have been asking about, and it was a very difficult decision in regards to the competition involved with the young men that, you know, Jack Tuttle and Peyton is just -- Peyton is an awesome kid. He's one of the finest young men I've ever been around. And so much respect for him, and that was a hard conversation.
But I love each one of them, and that doesn't change. None of that has anything to do with it. But those are tough decisions that have to be made by head coaches. And so it wasn't what Peyton didn't do. It was more of what I believe Mike can be. And so just we let these guys compete, and it was very, as we said all along, it was very close. We made the decision last week so we could get the proper reps. And I'm excited about the future of our program. Peyton understands his role, and the way he handles that and responds to that is critical, and he and I have had a good heart to heart about that. And I know it's hard. I don't diminish that whatsoever. But he's had an awesome attitude about it since outwardly, and I know he's a competitor and wants to be the guy. But he will be ready at moment's notice and accept that role and do an awesome job in that.
And as we all know, a lot of things happen throughout the season, and we're going to need all these guys. Going to need Jack to fulfill his role, and he's got a bright, bright future. He's got a lot of talent. So really appreciate the way they competed together and the bonds they built and the way they've responded to the situation. And now we're all behind Mike as our starting quarterback and looking forward to seeing him take off and lead this football team.”
Allen on how Penix earned the starting role:
“Well, for me he had to get healthy. You go through spring ball, and he was released to practice for spring football, but he was limited. If we would have had to play a full game in the spring, he wouldn't have been released for that, for full contact. So you had to get him through the summer and you had to get him into fall camp, and obviously we don't let our quarterbacks be live during the fall. But you have to see that it is back to 100 percent, you know, and then make that progression to be able to grow.
And the thing that's a little bit unique about the situation is it's not like he didn't play last year. He played well in the first game against FIU, played well against Ball State, played really well against Penn State, you know, before the injury. And so we do have a body of work to look at in games, because that's sometimes hard to tell in practice. So to me it was just about him coming back and just seeing where we felt like the best direction of our program is, once you go through those practices. But it was, I'm telling you, it was not some easy decision, you know, and it was a lot of discussions and a lot of going back and forth. But you gotta follow your gut, follow your heart and don't look back.”
Allen on the leadership of Penix and other QB’s:
“Yeah, and that's where I would say, you know, all three of those guys are somewhat quiet in some ways, especially Peyton and Mike, by personality. So they've both been challenged to be more verbal leaders, and I think that's an area that we both really worked hard at, Mike's really worked hard at. The thing that he brings that you really can't teach and coach is just that natural calm and poise. I mean he has that presence about him. The situation doesn't seem to be too big for him. He seems -- you put him out there, like I said, had he not played in games, you know, you just don't know. But he has, and I've seen that. And so that exudes to the guys around him. You get in those moments, and he's just kind of effortless at times about how he goes about what he does.
And so I just think that that's a leadership quality that it affects the people, it gives them confidence to know that he's just, you know, he believes. He believes in himself, and he plays that way. And he's got a very live arm and athleticism and all those things, but just that quiet confidence about him.
And there's no question; he's still young. He's a redshirt freshman. And so that's where I think Peyton can come along side him and help him in those areas. And that's a leadership piece that I expect in guys working together, and that's part of being a team. And to me, it's L-E-O. It's care more about the team than yourself. And we talk about LEO. We talk about I don't care who gets the credit because it's not about me. Those are challenges that I've given to that room, and we've given it to the running back room and the receivers and on both sides of the ball and the specialists.
So I just think that that's where the strengths that Peyton has, the strengths that Mike has, they can come together and work together, because at the end of the day it's about helping the Indiana Hoosiers win on game day. That's the part where its tests your true character of who you really, really truly are. So that's what I'm excited to see from our team.”
Allen on if the injury made him evaluate Penix any differently:
“Yeah. That's a good question. I think the biggest thing is another year older. If he was a true freshman and I didn't know certain things that would be, I wouldn't probably feel the same way about naming him the starter. So I just think that he's been in our program now, he came mid year, and he's here and he obviously had the injury. I know those injuries are hard. How he recovered from it, I think those are variables. I mean, to me, the grit that you have to have to overcome an ACL injury and to see how he handles the rehab tells me a lot about him as a person. It tells me a lot about his work ethic, his toughness, his fight; is he disciplined enough?
You talk to our trainers; how does he handle the process of going through that long rehab that that injury creates? And so I think that's another variable that helped prepare him to be more ready for this, even though at the time, I guarantee you it's the worst thing he wanted to have happen and had not been hurt like that before. But he'd probably agree it taught him a lot of valuable lessons.
And I think just the time. I rely on our shrink staff. Those guys, we talk a lot about our players and especially our leaders and just helping him grow in those areas and things we did over the summer. He's part of our leadership council, and just being able to be more verbal and taking ownership and calling out receivers when they don't do things the right way or run the wrong route or whatever. Just having that confidence, it takes time to get that. So I think those are things that I saw, and there's no question, just like any other young player, you know, you put him in those positions and you just -- you want to put him in a position to be successful. But he just needs to go take it and run with it, you know, and take off, and realize the full potential of what he can become, and that to me is really what you see and what you make decisions off of.
And you obviously have to have confidence that he's able to be the guy to lead this team, because it's different than coming in off the bench than it is being the starter and knowing you're the starter and standing in front of the media and answering questions. Things don't always go your way, and I told this to Mike and I said it to all of our quarterbacks when I recruited them, and that is that the head coach and the quarterback, those two guys are very similar, and their two positions are similar, and they get too much of the blame when things go bad and they get too much of the credit when things go right. But that's just the nature of being in those positions, and you better be able to handle it, both the good and the bad. So to me, that's part of the growth that that position demands.”
Allen on Ball State’s recent success against the Hoosiers and if that plays any part in game preparation:
“To me, any time we play somebody that, you know, on paper, you know it's a Big Ten Conference versus the MAC Conference, and I know the history of that. I've seen many, many MAC teams beat Big Ten teams, and it happened many times even last year. And so that to me is what we talk about, and there's no question I'll talk in the right way about the mindset that this football team is going to have when they step on the field against us. But some of that stuff that's happened in the past, you know, it's in the past.
I'm really focused on what we're building here and how we approach these type of games and how we play in these type of games and how we play to our standard of football here at Indiana. And that to me is what's the key. But I'm never one to shy away from the reality of what can happen. But it's week one, and if you're not ready to play week one, then you got issues, because it's been a long time to have a chance to play. And so I fully expect us to play our best football, and when those guys step on that field, that better be their mindset, too, or they're not going to be out there very long.”