IU head coach Tom Allen, offensive coordinator Kalen DeBoer, defensive coordinator Kane Wommack and select players joined the media Monday to reflect on Saturday’s 34-24 win over Ball State University and to look ahead to next week’s opponent.
Beating a nonconference, in-state school at an NFL stadium is an exciting way to kick off a season, but the coaching staff and players are more than eager to play in front of a home crowd in Bloomington.
IU looks to improve to 2-0 in its 2019 home-opener at Memorial Stadium against Eastern Illinois University, 0-1, at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
Here are three takeaways from Monday.
Peyton Hendershot receives praise but thinks he has more to show
Sophomore tight end Peyton Hendershot’s four-catch, 69-yard outing in the win over Ball State earned him Allen’s co-offensive player of the week honors.
The sophomore caught just 15 balls all of last season and was excited to be so involved in what he called the “glamorous” side of being a tight end, but Allen and DeBoer also had great things to say about his blocking presence.
“(Peyton) just did some really good things and run blocking, as well, and just running his routes and two-point play and all that,” Allen said.
Hendershot said he had multiple teammates approach him after the game to say it was one of his best performances. Both his snap and target count increased relative to last season, but the sophomore thinks his best is yet to come this season, especially as a blocker.
“I want to be a dominant blocker next week because we should have ran the ball a lot better,” Hendershot said. “A few plays we could have had big runs but I had messed up, so it was just disappointing and I want to really take a big step next week in the run game.”
Five true freshmen see game action week one
Allen named senior Logan Justus as special teams player of the week after the kicker picked up the same Big Ten honors, but Allen couldn’t go without crediting freshman long-snapper Sean Wracher.
“Sean Wracher, true freshman, in his first college start, first college game,” Allen said. “As I mentioned at the press conference, we didn't talk about him, which is a good thing. Really proud of him and the job he did.”
Wracher was joined by linebacker D.K. Bonhomme, receiver and kick-returner David Ellis, running back Sampson James and defensive back Tiawan Mullen as IU’s five true freshmen that played against Ball State.
James had one rush attempt for no gain while Ellis returned four kicks for 104 yards and made a crucial decision on a two-point conversion.
With IU up 29-17, Allen called for a two-point conversion in hopes of creating a two-touchdown lead. The freshman took a lateral in the backfield, heading for the right pylon,but two Cardinals defenders read it the whole way. Ellis unexpectedly slung the ball through a small window and connected with Hendershot for two points in the back of the end zone.
Less physical fall camp could be root of poor tackling
Allen was asked about his comments earlier in fall camp about not implementing as many full contact drills ahead of the first game to help the team to stay healthy and the trade-offs that come with it.
Sophomore defensive back Reese Taylor was the only player not 100% ready to suit up week one, but the Hoosier defense didn’t seem entirely prepared for a full speed game. The coaching staff estimated upward of 20 missed tackles on IU’s part against Ball State, and that could be a product of Allen’s ideal fall camp not being a sufficient simulation of live game action.
“So the true challenge is how do you keep them healthy and also tackle enough to get ready to play the game, and I do, I think it's a very difficult task,” Allen said. “To stay healthy truly has to be worth it. Losing a guy, he can't make any plays for you if he's not out there.”
Now sophomore linebacker Cam Jones is recovering from a lower-leg injury, and Taylor appears to be ready to go against Eastern Illinois. Bonhomme, freshman linebacker Cameron Williams and other young reserves should be ready to play off the bench this weekend too.
As for IU’s tackling, Allen said he isn’t concerned about the potential for it to be a long-term problem.
“Once again, very fixable, and I think that once you've got three hours of live tackling, you know, that you never get that the entire process,” Allen said. “It's just something that you've just got to keep working on, keep addressing and I expect it to get better.”
