Heading into his first career start at Wisconsin last week, quarterback Jack Tuttle had shown Indiana head coach Tom Allen and the staff that he had all the capabilities of playing at a high level and had mentally prepared himself for the opportunity.
What was unknown was how Tuttle would fare when he was hit by an opposing defender, as he was making his first start not only for Indiana, but in college football.
It took some time for the answer to come, but when Tuttle found himself hit by Wisconsin defenders, he jumped right back time after time, something that drew the praise of Allen this week when he met with the media.
"I still come back to the toughness," Allen said of what he was most impressed with from Tuttle at Wisconsin. "I went back and watched it, he took some big hits from big, physical guys. To be able to stand in there and make accurate throws under duress and when he wasn’t, I think you get thrown into that situation, put a guy who has never started a college game before and it is different. There were a lot of questions about how he’d perform. His toughness and ability to execute at a high level.
"Glad he’s a Hoosier. I love Jack and he is a special young man, neat for the country to see that. He really cares about this football team, and I think that showed."
If there was any question about Tuttle's toughness, that was erased in the fourth quarter. With just over 13 minutes to play, Tuttle found himself in the Indiana injury tent being looked over. Three minutes later he headed to the locker room for further evaluation. Shortly after, he came sprinting out of the tunnel and onto the field toward the huddle and helped guide the Hoosiers to their first win over Wisconsin since 2002 with a 14-6 win.
Tuttle told the media this week when he went to the locker room, he knew he was fine.
"I knew I was okay. I took a shot and knew I was okay. They wanted to check in on me. I love my team, won’t give up on them and will keep on fighting," said Tuttle, who finished 13-of-22 for 130 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
He was more than okay for the Hoosiers, and offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan said Tuttle showed off the toughness a quarterback playing in the Big Ten needs.
"I liked his toughness, that's probably thing I liked the most. Good trait to have and one you need in this conference. He made good decisions with the football. I wouldn’t say we weren’t trying to not be aggressive, but we did what we needed to in order to win the game. Proud of Jack and his toughness," Sheridan said.
Sheridan said the coaching staff expected Tuttle to be tough, but added you never know how a player will respond until they are in the moment.
"We expected it, but until it happens, you don’t know how a player responds," Sheridan added. "He responded great and that is part of playing quarterback in the Big Ten, it is required to be tough and he was great. He hung in there, took some shots and did enough to help us win on the road."
With the first game under his belt, all attention turns to Purdue and Tuttle's second start.
"It’s always good to have that first start under your belt, go through that process and he did a tremendous job of handling those responsibilities and that position and what that looks like in game week. It is a chance to do it the second time you just feel more comfortable. Showed tremendous toughness, made some really good throws, took some hits and shots and kept coming back. That is a great message to your teammates and opponents as well. He has to go through a process of getting ready for Purdue and all the different things they will do defensively. Always been an extremely hard worker and he understands he has to prepare at a very high level," Allen said of Tuttle this week.
Tuttle said he felt good in the moment, but after watching tape, saw several areas he can improve on this week.
"I felt like I saw a lot of things pretty clearly during the game, but going back to film there’s little things here and there I can improve on and that is huge for me and the team," Tuttle said.
That attitude is something Allen loves about his new quarterback, especially considering Tuttle was a premier quarterback coming out of high school and transferred to Indiana after sitting at Utah.
"All you have to do is look around the country and see what quarterback rooms look like and monitor transfer rate, especially of the top guys. He was part of the elite group for his class and you look at where they start and where they go. It’s hard, you want to play and he came in at the same time as Michael Penix and that’s what makes the story even better. He has accepted that role, is an extremely bright individual and will be highly successful in life but you want to play," Allen said. "It speaks to his character and substance of who he is on the inside. When you make it about developing them as a man, I feel it is my job to be a finisher of all those things your parents have instilled in you, and I want him to be a great man when he leaves this program and a great man in his home. That’s what I care about. Neat to see him preserve, stay the course and be successful. Really happy for Jack."
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