Indiana head coach Tom Allen discusses the first week of fall camp and his main takeaways.
Above is the full Q&A.
(Video courtesy of IU Athletics)
Below is the full transcript..
Opening Statement
TA: Good afternoon. I appreciate everyone joining us today. We just finished up a really good full-pad practice and got a lot of good work in in a lot of good situations. The last few days have been really good. We get outside in the heat and were able to react to that. I have been encouraged by our guys mental focus and toughness to work through that and get a lot of good work in. It has been super positive, as well, in the attitudes and the way they approach their work every day.
Also, wanted to announce the addition of Jonathan Haynes, a graduate transfer that just joined out team from Ole Miss. He has been a good player for them and played a lot of football in the SEC and we are really excited to have him join our football team. And also, would like to announce that Sampson James has chosen to go a different direction with his career and is no longer with the team. We wish him nothing but the best.
On how Michael Penix Jr. is progressing through the first two weeks...
TA: I think that the progress has been good. I feel like as you go through, and every fall camp is this way, it is all about timing and working with the receivers. Obviously they have been throwing all summer, but timing when you have the whole offense there and the routes and the different things that you do [is really important]. Then we just try to develop him during those periods that we do special teams work, he works with our training staff to continue to rehab and strengthen and do all of those things you need to do to get him to be 100 percent for September 4. He has been progressing well and has a strong command of our offense, and we are really seeing him, I think, more than anything that has stuck out to me, with his leadership growth and being able to command everything, correct and challenge and call guys out in a positive way when they need that encouragement. He is definitely in a good place.
On how Jonathan Haynes was added to the roster...
TA: With the late addition, the set of circumstances are they have to be graduate transfers. They have to graduate from the institution they are coming from. So, he made that decision and put himself in the [transfer] portal. Once he did that, we reached out to him because we had guys that have coached him on our staff, and guys that know him very well [on our team]. Once again, we have added a young man that our staff already knows through previous relationships with him. Coach [Jason] Jones was coaching on that staff [at Ole Miss] years ago. Bottom line is, he made that decision and once he put himself in the portal and we had an additional spot available and chose to use it for him.
On the backup quarterback spot...
TA: It is definitely Jack Tuttle, but Donaven [McCulley] has really done a good job. I think that, as the installs [of the offensive system] grow, it can become overwhelming for a young guy like that. The last couple practices, yesterday and the day before, were his best two in regard to putting everything together. We will be able to see [where he is at this weekend]. We'll have a full scrimmage on Saturday and that to me is going to say quite a bit. We did some live gos today that we haven't had ... and you could still see his athleticism and movements [in those drills]. Jack is the No. 2 and Donaven is the No. 3, but Donaven has impressed.
On Name, Image Likeness and the group licensing aspect...
TA: It is definitely something that is growing, and we are absolutely working on that. We have partnered with Altius and they met with our players and we are close to a group licensing agreement with Brandr, which is [a group] that has been used by several other top programs in the country. Our players will have those same opportunities. It is a co-branding opportunity between Indiana and our student-athletes to be able to use their NIL opportunities and the IU marks, which is where the unique part comes in. That is something that we have offered to our guys, and they have the option to opt-in or not take advantage of it, if they choose not to. I know the majority of our guys will [opt-in]. It is a great opportunity and Brandr is a company that utilizes that. I am excited for our players and the opportunities they can have to be able to do the merchandise, whether it be shirts, t-shirts, sweatshirts or whatever. I am sure it will grow into jerseys once they get all of that squared away. That is definitely something that we are excited about, and our players are to.
On where Jonathan Haynes fits into the safeties room...
TA: He brings a lot of athleticism. He is over 200 pounds, at about 205, and close to 6-foot. We played against him in the bowl game, so we got to study him in that regard, as far as scouting a team or your opponents and he was their starting safety the last couple years there. Not exactly sure yet, but we are a three-safety defense, so there are a lot of opportunities there. It gives us a lot of depth and the special teams area is somewhere I see him flourishing. He is extremely physical player with really good speed, length and athleticism. We just have to figure out where the best need is there to give us the best opportunity for him and for us to maximize his skill set. We will be evaluating that. Today was his first practice with us and he was already out there making plays. he has to go through the acclimation process, so he was just in helmet and spiders today and didn't [participate] in all of the periods. He showed out in terms of making plays.
On seeing the vision that he had for this program come true...
TA: I think it is really special and I think it is a special bond that we have, because I sat in their home and recruited them, and our coaching staff visited them multiple times and invested in their families and sold the vision of what we believed we could build here. To see them come here, buy in to that before the turnaround happened, before the breakthrough happened, is really special. Now, to see them here in leadership roles, looking at our whole defense and whole team, it is full of guys that believed and came here. It is a lot of high-quality young men and some guys have maybe exceeded what some thought they could do on the field, but at the same time we saw something in them that was special and thought they could fit with us. We thought they had the qualities we were looking for to develop into high-caliber student-athletes at Indiana. And that is what they are doing. These guys are breaking records in the classroom: GPA, guys graduating and academic All-Big Ten. Also, strong leaders and strong in their athletic abilities on the football field and the things we are doing there. It is neat to see those guys come here and believe, buy in, help us build and now be rewarded in this opportunity.
