No More Nerves: Jack Tuttle Feels Calm and Confident Heading into Outback Bowl
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Even though Jack Tuttle's first-career start was over three weeks ago, it still remains Tuttle's only career start.
The Hoosiers haven't played since Dec. 5 when they beat Wisconsin 14-6 in Camp Randall Stadium.
Tuttle quarterbacked the team to victory, completing 13-of-22 passes for 130 yards and two touchdowns. That start got rid of the question of if Indiana could win without Michael Penix Jr. at quarterback?
Tuttle proved he could lead the team, and for him personally, any type of jitters or nerves associated with being QB1 are now gone. That's why the Hoosier quarterback feels so prepared for his second-career start against Ole Miss in the Outback Bowl on Jan. 2.
"That Wisconsin game helped me improve so much and I gained so much confidence," Tuttle said. "It is not about this being my first start or getting my feet wet, it is just about playing football now. It is about improving from that game and prepping for Ole Miss. We just get to go play football."
Although Tuttle would've loved to take the field the very next week following the Wisconsin game, that wasn't the case for the Hoosiers.
Instead, the extra time off allowed some players to rest up and get healthy. It also allowed Tuttle to build some more connections and rhythm with the offense.
"These last couple of weeks have been great for us in terms of getting on the field and getting everyone reps," Tuttle said. "I can say that we are itching to play. We have been prepping for a while and we are ready to play. The guys are definitely ready to go."
Tuttle didn't compete in the Gator Bowl from last season as he served as the backup to former Indiana QB Peyton Ramsey. But Tuttle was on the sideline and saw everything unfold for the Hoosiers first hand.
He's been in the locker room all offseason, where that 23-22 loss to Tennessee has been used as a motivating factor all year.
"It was definitely a motivating factor. It has pushed us to get better and grow," Tuttle said. "We are really looking at this bowl opportunity as a chance to go win for Indiana. It has been 29 years since we last won a bowl game. We are fighting and doing everything that we can to be in the best possible situation for Saturday to get the win."
Head coach Tom Allen feels like Tuttle has grown a lot over the past few weeks despite not playing in any more games. Allen said that because Tuttle has been able to have so many practices being "the guy" for Indiana, it has helped him prepare a lot more.
Even though Penix has laid the ground work throughout the season for Indiana's success this year, Tuttle wants to finish the season out strong just as much as anybody else does.
Saturday's game is the final statement the 6-1 Hoosiers want to make to top off this season.
"Winning a bowl game would be super important for us," Tuttle said. "I feel like, for most of us, we wanted to play for Indiana. We want to win this bowl game and finish the season off strong."
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