Tom Allen Says There's 'No Pressure' If Players Choose to Opt Out of Season
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The first day of fall camp is in the books for Indiana football. It's been a choppy offseason with no sign of smoothness in the future, but Tom Allen wants his team to take things one day at time.
Indiana already had to pause voluntary workouts once over the summer after six members in the program tested positive for COVID-19. Freshman offensive lineman Brady Feeney was one of them, and he was dealing with it for awhile and had potential heart problems. Allen said he is back with the team now.
With the Big Ten schedule officially released and Indiana set to play its first game in about one month, players around college football are beginning to feel unsafe about playing this season.
In the Big Ten, two major names have opted out already — Minnesota wide receiver Rashod Bateman and Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons.
Wednesday in the Players Tribune, players of the Big Ten wrote a letter to the NCAA and Big Ten Conference expressing their desire to have their input included in decisions regarding if college football should happen because they are the ones who will be playing in the games.
For Indiana specifically, there are currently no players who have chosen to opt out. But if a player wants to, Allen wants them to know it is fine to do so.
"First of all, I told parents this last night, I told our team this many times that if somebody doesn’t feel safe, doesn’t feel comfortable playing, then there’s no pressure to do that," Allen said. "There’s not."
Tom Allen at Indiana's first day of fall camp on Aug. 6, 2020.
Indiana University Athletics
Indiana athletics announced in early June that if athletes choose not to participate in their respective sport this season, their scholarships will still be honored.
"If they choose to opt out or to sit out because of the fear of getting sick or don’t want to infect somebody at home or don’t wanna have yourself infected by this, then it’s clearly stated by the Big Ten, by the university, the NCAA, that those individuals would keep their scholarship and be in good standing with the team," Allen said. "That’s clearly stated."
Allen hopes he has created an environment within the program that players feel comfortable to come up to him and say, "Hey coach, I need to talk to you about something."
Even though no players have opted out, Allen said he has had conversations with a number of players about everything that is going on.
Despite how inconsistent the summer was this year, Allen was pleased with the focus and energy his team brought to start fall camp. The Hoosiers have one of the most well-rounded teams heading into this season, but they are still dealing with many unknowns that have never been faced before.
It's why Allen wants to run a day-by-day operation in Bloomington because new updates and changes occur pretty frequently with the ongoing pandemic.
It's also why if something becomes too much for a player, Allen will understand if they don't want to continue and choose to sit out the season.
"When you trust each other, and you really believe that their best interest is what I care the most about, which it is, and they believe that, they’ll feel comfortable talking about it," Allen said.
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