Indiana University Athletics
Allen Back Home Again In Indiana
1/25/2016 11:07:00 AM | Football
By: Sam Beishuizen | Twitter
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - For new defensive coordinator Tom Allen, coming to Indiana didn't just mean accepting a new job.
It's a chance to come home.
"When they first contacted me with the opportunity, the first thing that jumped out to me was the chance to come home," Allen said. "That was a big deal."
Allen grew up and New Castle, where he was coached by his father in high school.
He has nearly a quarter century of coaching experience with roots set in Indiana before stops at South Florida, Ole Miss, Arkansas State and Wabash College along the way. He was the head coach at Indianapolis' Ben Davis High School from 2004-06 and was the high school's defensive coordinator for six years before that.
"I'm very, very excited to be back in my home state," Allen said. "I had some great opportunities in the south with some great programs, but there's nothing like coming home."
Admittedly, Allen doesn't have much time to readjust to being in the Hoosier state.
His January hire coincides with the closing stages of recruiting. He's had to dive head first into working with head coach Kevin Wilson and his new position coaches to fill out the 2016 class that will sign February 3.
Those incoming freshmen will join the existing Hoosiers in filling into Allen's 4-2-5 base defense, a change from the 3-4 base Indiana has been using the last two seasons and the 4-3 defense upperclassmen were accustomed to in the years before that.
Allen, who calls the games from the sidelines, said the formation change won't be as drastic as it may sound on the surface. The most radical part of the change will be playing with four down linemen more often, which Indiana already often did last season with bandits like the now-graduated Zack Shaw.
"We're going to adapt," Allen said. "We're going to be able to take the guys we have here and paly to their strengths. That's obviously what I have to do once we get recruiting squared away. That will be my next objective is be able to evaluate our guys and then start matching the scheme to fit what we have here and make it work."
Allen has had success turning defenses around in the past and will look to do the same in Bloomington.
The first step toward doing that is changing the mentality and culture surrounding preparation, Allen said. Though he has little to base it off of, he said he's going to assume that the first thing he'll attempt to establish with his new players.
"The way that we're going to prepare is going to create confidence," Allen said. "Once that confidence is created, it's going to create expectation. Once that expectation is created, it's going to create a different performance. But it's a progression, and it all begins with preparation. So that's where we're going to start."
But before he can worry about preparation, opponents or much of anything else, Allen needs to get acquainted with his new players.
He said it's going to take energy, effort and time to fully invest into his players' lives and let them know her cares about them. But he said he's willing to make whatever sacrifices he needs to make because those personal connections have been, and will continue to be, a cornerstone of what he does as a coach.
It's the only way Allen knows.
And he's bringing it home.
"I believe in coaching form the heart, to the heart," Allen said. "And that's a powerful part of what I believe in. That's not going to be any different here."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - For new defensive coordinator Tom Allen, coming to Indiana didn't just mean accepting a new job.
It's a chance to come home.
"When they first contacted me with the opportunity, the first thing that jumped out to me was the chance to come home," Allen said. "That was a big deal."
Allen grew up and New Castle, where he was coached by his father in high school.
He has nearly a quarter century of coaching experience with roots set in Indiana before stops at South Florida, Ole Miss, Arkansas State and Wabash College along the way. He was the head coach at Indianapolis' Ben Davis High School from 2004-06 and was the high school's defensive coordinator for six years before that.
"I'm very, very excited to be back in my home state," Allen said. "I had some great opportunities in the south with some great programs, but there's nothing like coming home."
Admittedly, Allen doesn't have much time to readjust to being in the Hoosier state.
His January hire coincides with the closing stages of recruiting. He's had to dive head first into working with head coach Kevin Wilson and his new position coaches to fill out the 2016 class that will sign February 3.
Those incoming freshmen will join the existing Hoosiers in filling into Allen's 4-2-5 base defense, a change from the 3-4 base Indiana has been using the last two seasons and the 4-3 defense upperclassmen were accustomed to in the years before that.
Allen, who calls the games from the sidelines, said the formation change won't be as drastic as it may sound on the surface. The most radical part of the change will be playing with four down linemen more often, which Indiana already often did last season with bandits like the now-graduated Zack Shaw.
"We're going to adapt," Allen said. "We're going to be able to take the guys we have here and paly to their strengths. That's obviously what I have to do once we get recruiting squared away. That will be my next objective is be able to evaluate our guys and then start matching the scheme to fit what we have here and make it work."
Allen has had success turning defenses around in the past and will look to do the same in Bloomington.
The first step toward doing that is changing the mentality and culture surrounding preparation, Allen said. Though he has little to base it off of, he said he's going to assume that the first thing he'll attempt to establish with his new players.
"The way that we're going to prepare is going to create confidence," Allen said. "Once that confidence is created, it's going to create expectation. Once that expectation is created, it's going to create a different performance. But it's a progression, and it all begins with preparation. So that's where we're going to start."
But before he can worry about preparation, opponents or much of anything else, Allen needs to get acquainted with his new players.
He said it's going to take energy, effort and time to fully invest into his players' lives and let them know her cares about them. But he said he's willing to make whatever sacrifices he needs to make because those personal connections have been, and will continue to be, a cornerstone of what he does as a coach.
It's the only way Allen knows.
And he's bringing it home.
"I believe in coaching form the heart, to the heart," Allen said. "And that's a powerful part of what I believe in. That's not going to be any different here."
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