Indiana head coach Tom Allen on Thursday morning announced redshirt sophomore Peyton Ramsey will be the team's starting quarterback for its season opener at Florida International.
Ramsey beat out Arizona grad transfer Brandon Dawkins and true freshman Michael Penix Jr. for the job.
"Really excited for him," Allen said of Ramsey.
Ramsey earned his fifth career start after passing three key tests in the eyes of Allen and the rest of the IU coaching staff. The decision was unanimous across the staff, according to Allen.
"First of all, a quarterback that protects the football and his decision making — how he reads coverages, how he distributes the ball, how he protects the football. That was No. 1," Allen said. "No. 2 was the ability to move the team down the field consistently throughout those opportunities, whether it was scrimmages or those times throughout practice. No. 3, wanted a young man that the team believes in. That was very, very important to me. We we go through and we selected our leadership council earlier in fall camp, he was our leading vote-getter by a landslide.”
Beyond those checked boxes, there was no one particular moment that sold Allen on Ramsey being the starter. Allen was intentionally deliberate about the decision.
Allen highlighted Ramsey's leadership, familiarity with the offense, knowledge of where to put the football, extending plays with his legs, toughness, grit and competitiveness as his strengths that will be accentuated within IU's offense.
Most importantly, though, Allen saw Ramsey consistently put the ball in the hands of IU's playmakers.
"Distributing it to the right guys at the right time is what he does best, and that's what kind of pushed him ahead of the other guys," Allen said.
Ramsey completed 134 of 205 passes for 1,252 yards, 10 touchdowns and five interceptions while starting in four of the nine games he played in last fall. His 65.4 percent completion percentage set a single-season program record, ranked second in the Big Ten and tied for 13th nationally.
Work in the weight room over the last several months aided his cause in earning that fifth career start.
Allen said Ramsey looks a year older, stronger and faster, which in turn creates confidence for a Big Ten quarterback who's going to get hit a few times.
Earlier in camp, Ramsey said he worked with Athletic Performance Coach Dr. Matt Rhea 2-3 times per week on exercises design to build arm strength.
"I think I’ve done a better job being able to push the ball down the field," Ramsey said on Aug. 14. "My arm strength has improved. Gotten a lot better at just anticipating throws and throwing guys open, and putting it in windows, making bigger plays that way."
The decision doesn't come without stipulations.
Allen said he told Ramsey he expects to continue to improve. Allen also said he expects all three quarterbacks to play at some point, potentially through a special offensive package for Dawkins and the four-game redshirt route for Penix.
For now, though, the starting job is Ramsey's.
"Bottom line is I believe all three of those guys are gonna play at different times," Allen said. "I’m not gonna put specifics on that, but I do expect all three of them to play. But Peyton Ramsey is the starter.”
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