Shaun Shivers' Intensity, Trash Talk Provides Edge Indiana Lacked Last Year
What started as a perimeter drill during fall camp nearly turned into a brawl, Indiana coach Tom Allen recalls.
It was a physical practice – the kind running back Shaun Shivers loves – with receivers blocking defensive backs on the outside. Shivers hustled over to talk some trash, causing the offense and defense to start roughing each other up.
"When I trash talk, I do it in a good way,” Shivers said. “I tell my defense 'Y'all suck. Y'all can't stop me.’ C4 [Cam Jones] and the defense, they hate that. I get the defense all riled up, and it makes them play to the best of their ability each and every time, so I love when I do that.”
Allen broke it up before tensions escalated too much, but also saw an underlying benefit.
“I was like, ‘Okay, I like this,” Allen said. “We didn't have this last year.”
Indiana's Shaun Shivers (2) runs during fall football camp at Indiana University on Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022.
Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK
Shivers, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla. native, brings plenty of what Allen called ‘South Florida confidence.’ With that comes chippiness, chirpiness and an edge that Allen related to former Indiana wide receiver Whop Philyor. But that trait went missing when Philyor graduated after the 2020 season.
Allen talks to his team about playing with a controlled rage – the fine line between disciplined football and playing with a high level of intensity and toughness – and that’s what Shivers brings. Perhaps it comes from being doubted as a 5-foot-7 running back, but Shivers has learned to block out this criticism.
“There's a reason why he’s this tall,” Allen said with his hand measuring chest high. “And he thinks he’s this tall,” Allen said, shooting his hand toward the sky. “He really has a different mindset. He really does. That's infectious. That's what I love about him.”
Shivers arrived in Bloomington this offseason as a fifth-year transfer from Auburn. His most productive year came as a freshman when he gained 371 yards and scored three touchdowns on 70 carries in the SEC. Shivers remained a backup for the following two years, and he was used almost primarily as a pass-catching threat out of the backfield last season.
The running back room at Indiana was bare following the 2021 season, and Shivers saw an opportunity to become the lead back he always believed he could be.
"I feel like I run harder than most guys," Shivers said in his first press conference as a Hoosier. "I run down hill, I get vertical, I can break tackles. I can do the same things as those guys, so why not me? Why can’t I be the featured running back?”
He joined Indiana as the shortest player on the roster, but you would never know that from the way he speaks. Sophomore wide receiver Donaven McCulley remembers a summer workout where the team wasn't meeting Shivers' standard.
“Shaun just ripped everybody on the team,” McCulley said. “He’s just one of those guys when he’s talking to you, you listen to him and you do what you got to do to make sure you handle your responsibilities.”
Shivers stood out during fall camp with a physical running style and speed in the open field, and first-year Indiana offensive coordinator Walt Bell looked to get Shivers involved right away. On the first play of Indiana’s 2022 season against Illinois on Sept. 2, quarterback Connor Bazelak zipped a swing pass to Shivers in the flat.
But before Shivers could haul it in and turn his eyes up field, Illinois defensive back Devon Witherspoon delivered a hit that flipped Shivers on his head and elicited an instinctual and communal gasp from the Memorial Stadium crowd.
“I just couldn’t breathe, but I’m still going to play regardless,” Shivers said. “It's just a hit. You got to be able to take one.”
Shivers returned to the game the following series, eager to bounce back from the big hit. But the Indiana run game struggled as Illinois loaded the box, generating 1.2 yards per carry as a team. Shivers picked up just 28 yards on 15 rushes in his Indiana debut, but as Indiana approached the goal line with less than a minute remaining, Shivers could feel what was about to happen.
“Give it to me,” Shivers said to Bazelak. “I'm gonna score right now.”
Shivers plowed forward for the game-winning touchdown to give Indiana a 23-20 victory in Week 1 over Illinois. Despite a lack of success running the ball for the majority of the contest, Shivers said he and the offensive line brought the grit when it mattered most.
“I told myself to make the biggest play of the game, and I did,” Shivers said.
Indiana Hoosiers running back Shaun Shivers (2) celebrates the game winning touchdown in the second half against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Memorial Stadium.
Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
His infectious personality has made an imprint at Indiana in less than a year, and it appears to have made a lasting impact at Auburn, too. Shivers said he heard from Auburn coaches, players and fans after the Illinois game, first checking if he was OK after the big hit, then congratulating him on the touchdown that defeated the Illini.
“They still showed major love, so shout out to them,” Shivers said. “We’re still close and everything, just had to change location.”
Indiana produced a far more dominant running game in its Week 2 win over Idaho, rushing 36 times for 239 yards. Shivers carried the ball 20 times for 155 yards – the most rushing yards from an Indiana running back since Stevie Scott in 2019 against Rutgers – and capped off his performance in style with a 46-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
Indiana linebacker Jared Casey often compares Shivers to a bowling ball, and he believes it’s more difficult to bring down shorter running backs. Allen agrees.
“He’s rocked up,” Allen said at his weekly show ‘Inside Indiana Football.’ “He’s hard to tackle because there’s just not a lot there. Just a lot of muscle, and he’s got vertical speed.”
Making defenders miss like he did against Idaho is how Shivers envisions the Indiana run game moving forward. Indiana hosts Western Kentucky before a road trip to Cincinnati, which is followed by a full slate of conference opponents.
Shivers draws inspiration from his mother, who always pushed him to be great and told him, ‘Never let anybody punk you.’ There’s no question that things are about to get more difficult for the Indiana running game as it approaches the physical trenches of Big Ten play. But if one thing is certain, Shivers won’t back down from any challenge.
“I always had that edge and was different,” Shivers said. “I always had that dog in me."
Related stories on Indiana football:
- ALLEN REVIEWS IDAHO, PREVIEWS WESTERN KENTUCKY: Indiana coach Tom Allen appeared on his weekly show 'Inside Indiana Football' alongside play-by-play announcer Don Fisher on Wednesday night to discuss Indiana's win over Idaho and look forward to Saturday's matchup with Western Kentucky. CLICK HERE
- INDIANA WEEK 3 DEPTH CHART: Indiana football (2-0) will host the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (2-0) on Saturday at Noon ET at Memorial Stadium. Here is Indiana's Week 3 depth chart. CLICK HERE
- MEET THE WESTERN KENTUCKY HILLTOPPERS: Indiana football hosts the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers in a Week 3 matchup on Saturday at Noon ET at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Ind. Indiana won last year's game 33-31, and both teams enter this season's contest with a 2-0 record. CLICK HERE
- WKU COACH TYSON HELTON TALKS INDIANA: Western Kentucky is off to a 2-0 start to the season with wins over Austin Peay and Hawaii. After a highly-contested game against Indiana in 2021, Western Kentucky coach Tyson Helton shared his thoughts on the Hoosiers on Monday. CLICK HERE
