Indiana Players Talk Rallying Around Tom Allen
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Tom Allen wears his heart on his sleeve, and the clip of Allen getting emotional this past Monday has made its rounds on the national scene.
Whether on social media or SportsCenter, the world is starting to realize the passion Allen has for his players.
It started because Allen's son, Thomas Allen, sustained a season-ending hip injury against Michigan State. But then Allen's emotion turned to his entire team, passionately explaining how they are going to fight no matter what this Saturday against No. 3 Ohio State.
After Monday, some of Indiana's players talked about what makes Allen so special and why so many of them wanted to play for him out of high school.
For Micah McFadden, a linebacker from Tampa, the way Allen confidently talked about the vision of Indiana football sold him to commit.
"When I was a senior in high school and in the recruiting process, he was true from the start," McFadden said. "He was telling me that Indiana was going to be a Big Ten contender for the Big Ten Championship."
Right now, Indiana sits atop the Big Ten East standings at 4-0, and the game this Saturday against Ohio State could very well determine who represents the East in the Big Ten Championship game.
But McFadden continued...
"He said we were going to win a lot of games if I came here. The guys that he was recruiting, he knew it was going to be a good class. He was so enthusiastic about the change that was going on in this program. You could see it in his eyes and the way he talked was so convincing. That led me to believe, believe in him, believe in the program and the change that was going on. That led to me wanting to commit here."
McFadden wasn't the biggest recruit coming out of high school, and now, he leads Indiana with 30 tackles through four games.
Indiana cornerback Tiawan Mullen is another guy who completely bought in to what Allen was selling.
Even though Indiana hadn't accomplished any of its goals before Mullen arrived, he still believed Allen's actions spoke louder than his words.
"He is a driven coach. He thrives and he wants the best for everybody," Mullen said. "It is not so much about his words as it is about his actions. He does what he says he is going to do and that is why everyone follows him."
"He is the head of the triangle of the program. Everything starts with him and we follow his lead, as we are doing right now and everything is falling into place."
Mullen is tied for second on the team with 21 tackles this season, and he also has two interceptions, which both came last Saturday against Michigan State.
Any time Indiana football posts a locker room scene to social media, fans are able to see just how intense and passionate Allen is, and how much he believes in his team.
And it's been reciprocated to him.
Mullen said there is a never down moment in practice, and all the players are bought in to Allen's belief, and they care for him as much as he cares for them.
"He pushes himself. I feel like he might be pushing himself too hard, but hey, that's coach Allen," Mullen said. "We love him to death. The type of person he is, he'll make you want to run through a wall for him just out of genuine love. That's just coach Allen."
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