Spring Practice No. 2 Notes and Observations

Written By Nathan Comp

The Hoosiers returned to the field in side Mellencamp Pavilion on Sunday afternoon for the second practice of the spring. Here are my observations and notes from Sunday’s session.

Spring Practice Day Two Notables

March 3rd, 2019

General Observations

• One word of the practice offered by strength coach David Ballou: Consistency.

• No pads were worn today, so full physicality was limited.

• Speed on both sides of the ball appears well-improved.

• The focus this early on in spring is primarily technical/fundamentally focused.

• Despite coaching changes/shifts to different position groups, all coaches appear comfortable in their new roles.

• Full pads will start this week.

Coach Allen Quotes

• “Offense caught the ball a little better today than they did yesterday. Every rep, every possession, the offense is getting better and better, little more comfortable.”

• “A lot of good fundamental work will continue through spring ball.”

• On differences now that he is no longer the defensive coordinator: “I am able to be way more involved in the recruiting. We’ve had a lot of young men on our campus here the last two days, some really important guys from the Midwest area. So I’ve been able to spend a lot more time with them than I have in the past.”

• On the defensive secondary: “They’re fast guys. And we’ve made some adjustments, get some guys spread out a bit. Got Cam [Jones] at the backend higher up and not playing behind Marcelino Ball.”

• “Noah Pierre is a guy who has stood out to me. He’s a guy that’s really flashed, Juwan Burgess has really flashed. Fitzy [Bryant Fitzgerald] looks faster.”

• On Reese Taylor’s switch to the secondary: “Great feet, great quickness. Really good football IQ. Trying to get him solidified in one area, that’s an objective for this spring. He doesn’t back down to those guys [Nick Westbrook and Donovan Hale].”

• On the returning Hoosier, Juan Harris: “There’s no question he’s in the best shape he’s been in since I’ve been around him here. He’s a very big human being, very difficult to block.”

Mentioned: Coach Tom Allen, David Ballou, Cam Jones, Marcelino Ball, Noah Pierre, Juwan Burgess, Bryant Fitzgerald, Reese Taylor, Nick Westbrook, Donovan Hale, Juan Harris