It is 970 miles from Bloomington to Tampa, Fla, and while there are a lot of differences between southern Indiana and the sand and surf of Tampa and Florida, there is one similarity that has lasted since before Tom Allen arrived at Indiana – relationships.
The relationships have really expanded since Allen, who previously worked in South Florida, took over the reigns as head coach and, as a result, the number of players on the roster from the Sunshine State has grown significantly under Allen’s tenure.
As a result, the Hoosiers have 25 players on the roster from Florida and have enjoyed success recruiting and signing players out of Florida that other Big Ten programs have not experienced.
Perhaps, it is because of Allen? Perhaps, the fact that Allen and his coaching staff treat Florida as an extension of Indiana when it comes to recruiting? Perhaps, it truly is because of the relationships Allen built as a high school coach and then as a defensive coordinator at the college ranks in Florida prior to relocating to Indiana?
Whatever the reason, Allen and the Hoosiers will take it.
Allen recently talked one-on-one with TheHoosier.com about the Florida pipeline and how the Hoosiers have tasted success when it comes to prospects turned players, including Tampa’s own Michael Penix Jr.
“Fortunately, when I came to IU, we had a few players from Florida already. It went to another level when I took over because of my time there. We treat Florida like it is in-state. That is how important it is to us,” Allen said.
The importance and success can be traced back to 1992 when Allen was the head coach at Temple Heights High School in Florida before becoming the defensive coordinator at Armwood High School (Fla.).
“Being in that Tampa area, I had an opportunity to meet a lot of coaches and build relationships,” Allen added.
Those relationships would continue almost two decades later when Allen was named the defensive coordinator at the University of South Florida in Tampa under then-coach Willie Taggart.
“It was a homecoming for me because a lot of people I knew were still coaching in Tampa and across Florida," Allen said. "When I came back at South Florida, I had a chance to really connect with coaches and make relationships with coaches from the Miami area. We had several players on that South Florida team that were from Miami, and had a chance to really connect with their coaches, meet them and have them come up to our practices. We were very fortunate to turn it around the year I was there. We won the respect of the coaches of young men who were playing for us from Jacksonville, Tallahassee, Central Florida, Orlando and that really expanded my influence and reach."
