Coach Q&A: Tom Allen discusses progress in spring practice, first scrimmage

IU head coach Tom Allen met with the media on Monday to discuss the progress made in spring practice and how the first scrimmage of spring went over the weekend.

Above is the full Q&A.

Below are key quotes.

Opening Statement

TA: I appreciate you joining us this afternoon. Really pleased with the start of spring football. We had our sixth practice on Saturday, and we are really in the process of going through and re-evaluating spring. I think, as a whole, college football, I know it has been a big emphasis in a lot of the committees that we have had and head coaches meetings, just trying to look at the big picture and the calendar from start to finish. I know the NFL is doing the same thing in evaluating fall camp and how that looks, and spring football and how that looks, and how we train and the hitting and pounding on the body and all of that kind of effect. So, we are probably going to evaluate that throughout this spring and talk to some programs that have some different methods or utilizing these 15 days.

We went ahead and had a scrimmage on Saturday. It wasn't a full scrimmage; it was probably half of the time spent in that mode to create some game-like situations. We did go live, which I think is very important. At the same time, we are trying to really [think through the spring] and had a long staff discussion about what it is going to look like moving forward. With that, I thought it was a good next step for us. We have three practices prior to spring break, where we have usually had four in the past, and we have already use all of our cough practices as we call them, where we just wear spiders and helmets - we have already done three of those of the six. Then, two in shells and the one Saturday was in full pads. I like the flow we are in as we are making some adjustments with new coordinators and different things, but at the same time I really love the energy and the focus of our guys. We have new coaches, Adam Henry was with us for the first time this week, and we are really excited about him. He is a great fit for us in his coaching philosophy and I love his demeanor and love the way he coaches our guys and the confidence and experience he brings is elite and special. And, he has a great heart for our players and that is what I want. I am really excited about all of the new guys we have [on staff], but he is the newest one.

Just being able to grow our staff and bring in guys that fit with us and help us continue to build our program. We have added Rod Carey to our quality control staff. I am really excited about him. He played here and loves Indiana. We just want to welcome his family back. He will be assisting us on defense and also assisting me as head coach with all of his experience that he's had. It's guys that love this place and want to continue to build the program and build what we are doing here as a football team.

I am really encouraged by the progress we are making here this spring, have practice number seven in the morning and will be back in shells. Then, we will go Thursday and Saturday, as well. We just want to continue to progress and get better as we progress through each one of these practices.

Questions?

On how the coordinators have been settling in...

TA: [The defensive piece] Has probably been the biggest piece, because it is even different than the last time I called [the defense], because I did not have a person in that [coordinator] role. I thought it was important that we did and the thing that I think has been so good is that we are really aligned in the motivational and leadership piece with the defense and the things that we want to set in terms of cultural expectations, with how we practice and the things we emphasize with takeaways, tackling and effort. That doesn't change, but the organizational part of that is where [defensive coordinator Chad Wilt] comes in to play.

The tackling circuits and the teaching of all of that. The takeaway circuits and the teaching of all that. He has added some really good things to those. That has been really good. Scripting everything is really a big part of his role, and then all the walk-throughs, he runs all of those with our players and our staff. We have a veteran group of guys on our defense that have been here and really know, especially in the backend with Brandon [Shelby] and Jason [Jones], they have been here for many years with us.

Really been encouraged by the progress they are making there. The way we kind of do things during the week is kind of scripted. If we do have a situation, like if we just move the ball or if it is more open-ended, I will have Chad call that on a Tuesday or a Thursday, then I do all the calls on the scrimmages. So, I did all of the live goes on Saturday and called that. That will kind of be the way we maneuver that and allow that to become part of our weekly flow as a staff. That allows me to be involved on offense on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, sitting in on all of those meetings and film reviews with our offense and different things like that. It also allows me to be able to be involved defensively.

I like it where it is at, and I think Chad is doing a great job and has great energy. We have a standard of how we want to practice and how we want to play, and he is doing a great job of helping us get it back to where I know it needs to be.

On Saturday's scrimmage...

TA: I would say one of the guys that stuck out was Cam Camper. I don't know if it was just the scrimmage because it has been that way throughout each one of the practices. He has stuck out to me. Emery Simmons is another one. I think our two running backs, as well, Shaun Shivers and Josh Henderson. Those guys are all new, all four of them. When you go live and you get a chance to see where those guys are at, I thought we were able to do some good things.

Up front, as well, offensively to be able to give us some time to get things done, when you talk about throwing the football and creating some creases in the run game.

I also felt like we tackled well, and we haven't tackled live since The Bucket Game. We have been working really hard on fundamentals, so I thought the defensive unit was able to make most of those plays in space. I thought those groups performed solidly. Though, I think you still have mistakes and things that you have to correct and all of that.

I think Noah Pierre has been the one on defense that continues [to play well]. He has shown a lot of flexibility for us in the past. Maurice Freeman is a guy that is coming along, and I think the more live that we go, the more he shows. Kaiden Turner, it seems like whenever we go and just play football and he doesn't have to think as much, he just makes plays. That is what you are looking for. Same with Jordan Grier, he is another guy that is young and needs to continue to grow and develop, and I think that is super positive for us. We just need to continue to bring those guys along.

On the front, Myles Jackson continues to flash and show bursts of both athleticism and strength. I really like the way he is playing right now and feel like he is making us better.

On what he has seen from the quarterbacks...

TA: To me, it is really solid. They are learning a new offense, that is challenging, without questions, but I thought that Jack [Tuttle] and Connor [Bazelak] kind of stood out on Saturday, as far as making plays and grasping the offense. And Donaven [McCulley] keeps getting reps. Dexter [Williams II] is kind of another one that flashed to me just because he has been out for so long. His athleticism showed and so did his arm strength. It is a good group of guys there. Grant [Gremel] is getting lots of reps and has a chance to keep competing with all of those guys.

You just have a group of guys right now that are pushing each other. I am in a lot of those meetings with them and [offensive coordinator] Walt Bell does a nice job of challenging them and really getting them mentally ready. I like the edge he has about him when he runs that room and runs our offense, and the expectations for their performance. To me it is all reflective of that and it is what you have to have. I think you kind of put them under a lot of pressure and stress and create that ability to not be flustered or not be negatively impacted by the craziness of the game.

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