He saw it during preseason camp. Without already being familiar with the defensive schemes and formations, the freshman linebacker was still making big plays, Simmons said.
“Some kind of way he always got interceptions, fumbles and stuff,” Simmons said. “His work ethic, his preparedness on the field, it’s all gold. I love playing beside him.”
As Simmons’ backup at the middle linebacker position this year, Scales has 17 tackles in three games.
He was named the Big Ten co-Freshman of the Week after IU defeated then-No. 18 Missouri, the conference announced Monday.
Scales made five tackles, including one for a 10-yard loss, in a 31-27 IU win.
Simmons said the Cincinnati native has had no trouble making the transition from high school to college-level football.
“He’s a great athlete and he listens to Coach (William) Inge,” Simmons said. “He can do it all. Plus he’s got a great coach behind him. He just works.”
Scales said the commitment that Inge and the other coaches made to him during recruiting was essential to him choosing IU over offers from Oklahoma, West Virginia and ?Wisconsin.
Simmons said he also took Scales under his wing because he was in the same position as Scales as a freshman last season.
“Sometimes it feels like it’s going 1,000 miles per hour, but I tell him ‘You just have to slow down and work on your fundamentals, just fall back on that because that’s really what’s going to show,’” ?Simmons said.
As a defense, IU recorded four sacks and 11 tackles for a loss against the Tigers. The Hoosiers had 12 tackles for loss in their previous two games combined.
Scales said defensive aggression was a focus in practice this past week.
“Before that week even started, our coach let us go a little bit, getting after the quarterback a lot more,” he said. “I think that’s what our theme was going into the game.”
Scales, Simmons and ?senior safety Mark Murphy were the team defensive players of the week, Wilson announced at his weekly press conference Monday.
Scales is the first IU player to receive Big Ten co-Freshman of the Week since nose tackle Ralph Green on Nov. 25 of last season.
“Being relentless to the ball is one of our goals,” Scales said. “I think that’s what we did this past week.”
