Notes and Quotes From Tom Allen's Media Monday: No. 8 Cincinnati

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Image: Sammy Jacobs Hoosier Huddle

Image: Sammy Jacobs Hoosier Huddle

Written by Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)

Indiana head coach Tom Allen met with the media for his weekly press conference following the Hoosiers’ 56-14 win over Idaho and ahead of their matchup with the 8th ranked Cincinnati Bearcats.

NOTES:

Injuries:

  • Jaylin Williams- Expected Back this week

  • James Head Jr.: “I doubt will be. He's still coming back from an injury. He's progressing well, doing more and more every single week. I think he'll be back hopefully in the near future.”

  • Christopher Keys: Tore ACL (Out for Season)

  • Jonathan Haynes: “Hoping to get Jonathan Haynes back in the mix this week”

  • Devon Matthews: “We get Devon, a/k/a Monster, get him back with us as soon as possible.”

Players of the Week:

  • Offense: Stephen Carr

  • Defense: Ryder Anderson and Micah McFadden

  • Special Teams: AJ Barner, DJ Matthews, Noah Pierre and Javon Swinton

  • Offensive Scout Team: QB Will Jontz

  • Defensive Scout Team: DL Gavin McCabe

  • Special Teams Scout Team: Connor Hole

TOM ALLEN QUOTES:

Tom Allen opened with a statement that complemented the fan turnout on Saturday, recapped the win and previews the upcoming game with Cincinnati

“What a great atmosphere that the fans created for us [against Idaho]. We really appreciate that. And obviously need that again this week.

I thought our performance was very solid. Special teams really stuck out. As we saw in-person and as you go back and watch the film, just really proud of Coach [Kasey] Teegardin and the job that he's done there. Ryan McInerney is his quality control guy. They do a tremendous job working together and coming up with a great game plan, and the guys executed it. Creating explosive plays in that area of the game is really important for us moving forward to be able to set up our offense.

Defensively we tackled well, we ran to the football and played physical. Made some adjustments there as they got a couple drives on us late in the half and early in the third quarter. Offensively being able to get some more guys involved I thought was very important for us to be able to do that with some different guys. Getting Michael [Penix Jr.] to continue to grow and develop and comfortable with his situation.

It was just a very important game for us. Now we turn our full attention to Cincinnati. We are just really impressed with their football team. Had a chance to spend the last couple days watching them. Coach [Luke] Fickell's done a tremendous job there in both recruiting and, the last couple seasons, they've won a lot of football games. They have a very talented quarterback and a lot of good speed and skill guys across the board, in the backfield and big men up front. Defensively they are very disciplined, very sound, and don't give up a lot of things. They really do a good job tackling and keeping things in front of them.

So really, really good football team. They're ranked what they are for a reason, and they've earned it. So just very excited about the opportunity that creates this weekend and excited for our fans to be there in full force. I know it's already a sellout, and that really means a lot to me that the fans are getting behind us. We understand the opportunity that this presents. So really excited about this coming weekend and ready for questions.”

The Hoosiers are hosting a top-10 team again on Saturday. Tom Allen was asked about what opportunity it presents:

“I think a sense of urgency is probably a good way to put it. I think there's no question that's what this situation creates. I think that, just like you mentioned, you have an opportunity week one, and we're going to have many opportunities as you see the polls out as the season unfolds to be able to play against top teams in the country.

Our schedule is full of them. And this is the next one.

We talked about, even before two weeks ago and leading up to that, being able to understand that it's about earning it every single week. When you play such a [tough] schedule like we do, then you are blessed with the opportunities to be able to play elite teams consistently.

So, no matter what happened in the past, good or bad, you've got to flush it and you've got to get ready for the next opportunity. And that's what this one presents. So definitely one we want to make sure we're fully ready for.”

One of the big questions heading into Saturday was the play of Michael Penix. Tom Allen addressed how he played:

“I thought it was an important next step [to have a couple of scrambles against Idaho]. Definitely have more work to do, but I feel like it was important to get the run game going with Stephen Carr, too. He was our offensive player of the game. I think that's indicative of how their offensive line blocked and the perimeter blocking and tight ends blocking and he and all of the running backs running the football well.

I just think getting [the run game] established and then being able to have good sound protection. A couple things in there that we didn't [do well] after going back and watching the film and meeting as a stuff, but we just need to continue to help him feel comfortable with the progressions and play calling and everything that we're doing.

I did think there was one where he was flushed out of the pocket, got a facemask call, and then ran and slid. The decisiveness of that decision was good. Just to be able to get back there and play football and not over think things. That's part of it you're just working through and that's where I think he's got to continue to just play. I think it was definitely a very positive step in the right direction for Michael to just getting more comfortable every single week. Like I said, during the week, it's not an issue because you know the situation and you're able to know what's going on around you. I felt last week's practice was better for him than it was the week before. So, as we continue to help this process move forward, I think you're just going to see him getting better and better.”

Tom Allen talked about Cincinnati’s star quarterback Desmond Ritter:

“In regard to Desmond Ridder, he's a special player. The thing about it, he's a long guy, 6-foot-4. He's big. He's 215-plus pounds. Runs a lot and runs really effectively. As we all know, that puts challenges on a defense when a quarterback can do that. He runs the ball a lot but has to be able to stay healthy, and that's a tough thing to do at this level.
Really, his passing just keeps getting better and better. You go back and watch in years past, which we've done that … we spend a lot of time studying over the summer as well and look in previous years and see his growth as a quarterback. He's just really throws the ball down the field with a lot of accuracy now and has a really talented receiver core.
He's a very good football player. Definitely a future NFL guy. You have that kind of guy leading your team, that's a very good formula for a lot of success.”

The offensive line is still a developing group and Tom Allen addressed that position group Monday:

“To me, they need to continue to develop there. The two plays that you alluded to, the first one we got beat on a tight end stunt, which shouldn't happen. It was a mistake in communication. That's what I talked about before and that's the part you have to continue to work through when you have the guard/tackle working together. With Luke [Haggard] back, those guys have another week to be together. There was poor communication on the one side. Then Luke just got beat one-on-one off the edge, which can't happen. But those were the only two sacks that we gave up.

And, definitely, I just think every single week you go through, and I felt like there was -- even in the run game --there was some improvement for sure. I felt like that, and as I mentioned before, they're two inside guys who are very big and strong and talented guys and just really guys had to really strain and work and finish, which is good. I felt like that we were on the right people more even than in the past. Stayed on guys. I thought we had better effort up front, better finish up front. Still got to make sure we don't misread with our backs. That happened a couple times, which affected some runs. We'll continue to get better with that. I think as a collective group with Stephen Carr, he is new working with those guys, with our system, learning more and more on each rep. He wasn't here in the springtime, so you just continue to get everything you've done from fall camp on.

It's just a group that continues to mesh. And to me, that's what we say, teams are made during the season. Every single week, the work that you put into it and everything we do in practice. [To help that] the one thing we're doing a lot more of this year is we're doing more good on good during practice to be able to create a better look for each side of the football to be able to really do a good job of preparing our front because that's the key on both sides to be able to work against high-level guys that can give you the proper resistance, proper movements. You have to execute technique at a high level to be able to get that. That's something we're really working hard on. The O-line needs to keep coming together. They have to play really well because it starts and stops with them.