4/2/2021 football Edit

Hoosiers continue to adapt inside Covid-19 global pandemic

Paul Gable • TheHoosier

Staff Writer

Don't miss out on any of our exclusive football, basketball and recruiting coverage. Get a 60-Day FREE trial to TheHoosier.com with promo code IU60

A year after having its spring season cut after four practices, the Indiana Hoosiers are continuing to adapt to life in the midst of the ongoing Covid-19 global pandemic.

Meeting with the media Wednesday, head coach Tom Allen acknowledged the Hoosiers had to cancel practice last week out of an abundance of caution, but noted things have looked good during the spring.

"Excited about the progress we are making with our football team. Been a really good spring. I think you go through and look at where you are at. You get 15 days and those days are critical. You look at where you are with your players and what you are looking to accomplish. We had a minor setback last week with Covid and want to maximize our guys with what comes next, which is our end of April workouts and summer months," Allen said.

With Indiana now offering Covid-19 vaccinations to anyone age 16 and older, Allen said he has scheduled his vaccination, but mentioned that he cannot make it mandatory for his team to get one.

"There is no doubt it is a positive thing. I just know that we are encouraging our guys to do that, but it is a decision they have to make. Any time you have a chance to get a large number of people to get the vaccine, it takes away a chance to get it. It helps get back to a level of normalcy. We are still in the same similar mode as the fall -- still testing every day, still wearing masks, lot of things we are doing don't feel any different. Hopefully as you get into the summer months and fall we can get back to some level of normalcy.

Allen said he understands the frustrations from his players, but acknowledged he has seen them understand the reasoning behind the policies.

"We are planning things for the summer and there is definitely a completely different feel than a year ago in regards to answers. We don't have everything answered, we don't know what testing will look like, masks or official visits. There is a lot of unknowns still, we aren't out of the woods. Our planning is still in pencil. I think from a player's perspective, there is a level of understanding what we need to do and a frustration level you can't go back and do things as you would've before this all started. We are still limited in number of guys together. Getting together with your teammates off campus is still the biggest challenge, we can't do that yet," Allen said.

Despite all that, Allen said he hopes fans will be allowed back inside Memorial Stadium this season and on the road during games.

"I do hope and feel the routines we have gotten in has been good, but we do not know what the policies will look like. I do feel good about the direction we are going and the prognosis of a fall that has fans in the stands. That hasn't been decided yet, but that is the hope, and I think it's fair to say, the expectation. The vaccine plays a big part in that. We are trying to get to that point. Everybody wants to click our fingers and be back, but it won't be like that and we understand that," Allen said.