Before Indiana flew to East Lansing on Thursday for its week five game against No. 25 Michigan State, Indiana head football coach Tom Allen addressed the media to touch on areas of the team that he's monitored throughout the week of practice, such as the health of redshirt freshman quarterback Mike Penix and the plan to replace injured senior left tackle Coy Cronk.
Mike Penix active in practice, as expected
Tom Allen seemed the most optimistic about his redshirt freshman quarterback's health Monday than he had since the injury was announced before the week three matchup against Ohio State, and that optimism carried into Thursday as well.
Allen had noted Monday how he expected Penix to throw and continue to progress toward recovery during practice this week, and the head coach confirmed that, as expected Penix was active and continues to improve.
“We’re going to make that decision, and it will be announced at kickoff," Allen said. "He’s continued to progress, and we’ll see where we’re at. Don't know everything for sure yet, but we’ll continue to evaluate after we get everything done today. We’ll meet with everybody that’s involved and make a decision.”
The specifics surrounding the injury remain undisclosed, but Penix dressed and made handoffs during warm-ups before the Ohio State and Connecticut games but never made a pass in front of closed doors.
Allen also said they've been progressing toward getting the two quarterbacks split on reps in practice.
Coy Cronk to be replaced with three-man group
As senior left tackle Coy Cronk awaits ankle surgery Friday after a nasty collision against Connecticut, Allen and the staff have worked to find a long-term strategy in replacing one of the best offensive linemen on the roster.
The plan the staff has devised is to use right tackle Caleb Jones and backup right tackle DaVondre Love pliably, as well as integrating freshman Matt Bedford in the mix. Freshman Aidan Rafferty will serve as a backup to Love and Bedford.
Love and Jones have the ability to play both sides of the line, as Jones was moved over to left tackle to immediately replace Cronk against Connecticut and Love has five years of experience to lean on. But Allen has expressed a desire to keep Bedford at left tackle.
Wherever Jones plays will likely depend on whose blindside he will need to block for, as Peyton Ramsey is right-handed and Mike Penix is left-handed.
The importance of a good performance from the defense
Michigan State's defense is known for being a top-five defense in the country, so the need for a good performances from individuals on the offensive side of the ball is assumed. But to get those good performances on offense, many of the opportunities will need to be created by the defense.
As injuries have plagued the Michigan State offensive line and left it about as thin as it can get, it's an opportunity for the IU defense to exploit areas of the Spartans' offense that are weak, force takeaways and maintain positive field position for the offense.
“We’ve peached it all week long, the ability for us to stop the run game and prevent those big pass plays, and being able to play a four-quarter game, all three phases. Our defense needs to step up to the challenge and play above their age. That’s how you grow. You want these moments. The weeks when you have that crowd noise pumped in (at practice), that gets me pumped up because I know what that means. I know where we’re going, I know what’s at stake, I know the environment we’re going to be in. I want our guys to learn to feed off of that.”
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