Tom Allen Feels Good About Player Availability for Outback Bowl and More Notes from Thursday Update

Missy Minear, Indiana University Athletics

Written by Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)

Indiana head football coach Tom Allen gave his final Thursday update ahead of the Outback Bowl from Tampa. The Hoosiers have not seen a game field since Dec. 5 when they knocked off Wisconsin due to a COVID outbreak within the program. Allen addressed player availability and much more on Thursday.

“We feel good about it.” Allen said when asked if his team is 100-percent healthy. “The thing that you have to realize is every day they test. So, we have got one more of those. Had today's test and that was all good. We have got one more tomorrow so cannot say 100 percent sure for game day yet that we will have everybody. But as of today, the guys that had been out are all back and have been able to practice. So, it is just a matter of getting those guys physically ready. Quite a bit warmer than where we came from, so they are going to have to deal with that in terms the game day heat and keeping hydrated for that. Our guys are, the ones that were out are all back.”

Bowl Trip is Different in 2020

In a normal year, bowl trips include visits to tourist attractions, maybe a trip to the beach, a night on the town and probably a huge Outback meal. However, 2020 is different and the Hoosiers are taking precautions. and trying to balance risk and reward.

“it is a controlled bubble situation.” Allen said. “We do want them to be able to see family. They have got to wear masks. Family has got to wear masks. It is no different than when the families could come to a game, and they could come watch the game. Obviously, they spent some time with them afterwards, so we kind of treated that the same way. There is no question I want them to be able to be around their families. It has been so long, did not get to go home for Christmas. So that is the kind of compromise. We feel good. Our guys kind of understand now, from a social distance perspective, wearing masks. It allows us to create a protective shield for our guys. They are not on complete lockdown. They are not going out like you sometimes will do in a bowl city. We do not have any activities that we are leaving the hotel for. But the families can come here and see them and spend some time with them in that regard. So that is how we are kind of balancing.”

Opt Outs Have Dominated Bowl Season (and 2020) But Not For IU

By now everyone has seen or heard who is opting out from each team ahead of bowl games. While Ole Miss will be dealing with a heavy dose of that, the Hoosiers will not. Allen addressed that as well.

“I think it says a lot and I do not say that with any negativity toward any other team or any other kid's situation because I do not know their situations. All I know is this football team.” Allen said.

“And I know that we have built strong relationships with these guys. I would say this, when the season first was canceled or postponed or whatever you want to call the first time that the Big Ten said we are not going to play when we were supposed to play and put on that long, long pause. We had some conversations with some guys to try to figure out "hey, is this, what is the season going to look like? Should we, should I opt out just because I do not want to botch up one last chance to have a great season, let's just maybe wait for the next year?" And then when the NCAA came in and talked about giving everybody an extra year, that helped some of our guys work through that once we found that information out. At first, we did not know. When I think once we worked through all that, there has not even been a conversation with any of our guys even for the bowl game. The buy in here is extremely high. They understand what we are trying to build and they want to be part of it. They want to be a part of the team that wins the first bowl game in 29 years and that means something to these guys and they have invested a lot from our younger guys to our older guys to everybody in between.” Allen explained

“So, once again I said it is, I think it does speak a lot toward how they feel about each other when it is about the guys around you and it is truly and genuinely that is your motivation is to play for each other and with the guys beside you and then you value that. I think it makes a difference and like I said I just feel that we are building in the culture here and once again if guys in the future make those decisions, I do not always know what goes into that. I just know that I want guys to make decisions that are really others focused. That to me, that is a life principle. I get it you have to look out for yourself in certain situations. I understand that. And, but at the same time, when you make life about you, I think it is just shallow and I think it is just empty at the end of the day. When you make it about other people, I think it has a multiplying factor in meeting and value. And I think in this team that is what they have experienced and so when I talk to these guys and they want this. They want to play for each other. They want to experience this together. So, whatever thoughts they might have had individually it never really surfaced itself here at the end before the bowl game and I am just really excited for this team to be able to play together one last time.” Allen concluded.

Practice Going Well, Allen Loves the Energy

Buy-in during the 2020 Bowl Season has been evident. Teams have opted out, teams (Flordia) pull no shows and others are just rusty. However, Allen is loving the energy his team showed on the practice field on Thursday,

“Just got back from a good Thursday practice.” Allen said.” I liked our energy, liked our focus. Really excited for these guys. Really excited to be in this bowl game. I love being back here in Tampa, a place that we know well. Just staying a few hundred yards from where we used to live for a few years here. It is so neat to see so many of our guys have family down here already and for them to be so excited to be so close to home. Even the guys that are from Miami and cities that are not necessarily Tampa, but it is just a cool thing for sure. And had a chance to, could not talk to the recruits but had a chance to have some guys there watching us practice, and just being able to have the Indiana football team here in Tampa has been a great, great thing. So, it has been a good week, just have to finish it off and play well on game day.”