Senior Day Has Special Meaning For Indiana Coach Tom Allen

For the seniors on Indiana's football team, they've been along for a ride where the program has reached lofty heights not seen in a long time. Despite this disappointing 2021 season, they want to go out on a high note in the final home game of the year on Saturday against Minnesota.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Five years ago, when Tom Allen was recruiting the kids who make up Indiana's current senior class, all he had to sell was a dream. He had a vision for where he wanted to take the Hoosiers' football program, but it was a vision and nothing more.

He asked them all to buy in on blind faith, and that with hard work and dedication, they could start winning football games in Bloomington, despite the long-standing track record that said otherwise.

Those who bought in have seen that come to reality, and on Saturday, many of them will play their final game for Allen at Indiana when the Hoosiers take on Minnesota at Memorial Stadium. This step-back 2-8 season notwithstanding, they came to Indiana and saw a turnaround, the first eight-win season in three decades in 2019 and a 6-1 mark in the Big Ten a year ago that was 50-plus years in the making.

And now it's all over.

"There are a lot of people in that group that have sacrificed a lot, given a lot to this program, and helped us be where we are today and built what we've built to this point,'' Allen said.  "We understand this is a special week. This is a senior class that's unique because you've got super seniors from the previous year. It's a really large group of guys. So, you have guys in there that have used up their eligibility. You've got guys that have maybe one year left and they're trying to decide what to do and everything in between. 

"Saturday is for the seniors. We have a long list of guys that will be recognized. They've earned the right for us to finish strong nd play with the level of intensity, toughness, and passion that I know is the standard here and our expectation. That's what I expect our guys to do."

The COVID-19 pandemic a year ago sort of erased the traditional calendar for football players and it basically makes trying to figure out Senior Day a little difficult.

Some guys have played five years already, and they are done in a few weeks. But there are others who have played four years but could still come back and use their COVID year. Many of the seniors who will graduate in the spring might be ready to move on from football, or move on to another school or the professional ranks.

Several redshirt juniors have been here four years as well and will be graduating. There are a whopping 53 players who could be calling it a day soon, in one way, shape or form. It's unlikely, of course, because many of them will decide to keep playing football at Indiana, especially the redshirt juniors who will actually have two years left because of the COVID year.

Here's that very long list:

Graduate Students-Plus (6)

• Ryder Anderson, Ryder
• Camron Buckley
• Stephen Carr
• Jonathan Haynes
• Weston Kramer
• D.J. Matthews

Graduate Student (1)

• Dylan Powell

Redshirt Seniors-Plus (3)

• Gabe Cohen
• Marcelino McCrary-Ball
• Jared Smolar

Redshirt Seniors (8)

• Thomas Allen
• Chris Bradberry
• Alfred Bryant
• Juwan Burgess
• Bryant Fitzgerald
• Christian Harris
• Peyton Hendershot
• Caleb Jones

Seniors-Plus (3)

• Ty Fryfogle
• Raheem Layne
• Michael Ziemba

Seniors (10)

• Matt Bjorson
• Demarcus Elliott
• Luke Haggard
• James Head Jr.
• Cam Jones
• Devon Matthews
• Micah McFadden
• Reese Taylor
• Chase Washington
• Jaylin Williams

Redshirt Juniors  (22)

• Ryan Barnes 
• Charles Campbell
• Aaron Casey
• Chris Childers
• Joseph Daniels Jr.
• Davion Ervin-Poindexter
• Jacolby Hewitt
• Shamar Jones
• Jordan Jusevitch
• Jonathan King
• Christian Love
• Nick Marozas
• Miles Marshall
• Gavin McCabe
• James Miller
• Charlie O'Connor
• Michael Penix Jr.
• Noah Pierre
• Aiden Rafferty
• Luke Shayotovich
• DeKaleb Thomas
• Jack Tuttle

Allen said Thursday that they've had a good week of practice, and he wants that to show up on the field on Saturday against the Gophers.

"I want to make sure this team finishes well. It was a good solid week. We just have to continue. We have more things to do here before kickoff on Saturday,'' Allen said. "It's a special day for the seniors, recognizing these guys that have come here and done so much for our program

"There's a lot of quality young men, without question, a lot of really good players and guys that are special to me because they came here and believed in what we could build before it happened on the field. We really had a chance to recruit these guys and help develop them and be a part of their lives. You'll miss the relationships, the daily contact with them and being around them. It is just a lot of really high-quality guys that I have poured my heart in to, and they have poured their hearts into this program. It's pretty special, but that's why we're going to enjoy every step of these last few times together and make sure we don't take any of this for granted.''

Roster management has become a big part of college football these past few years. The bonus year because of COVID is one thing, but right on top of that are new transfer rules that allow players to move from school to school without having to sit out a year.

That's why his offseason will be very interesting for the Hoosiers. There are a lot of moving pieces and there is simply no way that everyone can come back. Tough decisions will have to be made, by players and coaches alike. 

"It's an interesting dynamic, that's for sure, because you have several different situations involved as you address some of those,'' Allen said. "Here's the reality, if we grant everybody their COVID year, we wouldn't be able to bring in any high school players in that whole class. That's not realistic, and no one in the country is going to do that. 

"So you have to make those decisions about who is going to be in these spots, whether you keep a guy for an extra year or do you go out and get a high school player or somebody else that is going to fill that position? We have already had some of those conversations for situations that we feel like we know more about at this point. Guys making decisions about their pro careers that have a year left, that will take some time. We have a whole process that we go through with that and that will begin as soon as the season is over. It really involves a lot of information gathering, meetings and opportunities for them to get as much information as they possibly can to make those decisions.''

For those where the professional ranks aren't an option, the numbers game might be difficult to navigate. There might be some Hoosiers who would like to stay but won't be asked back because of the numbers crunch.

It's a two-way street though, too, and there may be some Hoosiers who might look to transfer that the coaches would like to have stay. Re-recruiting some of your own players is the new normal, too. 

"There are guys that are somewhere in between and you're trying to figure out situations and numbers. A lot of conversations will happen afterour last game, but you do that while you are trying to get out and recruit during the contact period, which is a very important period for us for the early signing on Dec. 15. 

"There's a lot going on, for sure, so from our perspective it is really about roster management at a level we have not seen before, being able to go through and make a lot of decisions. Then sometimes you're working with information that you don't know the complete picture of yet. It's about taking the information you have right now and making the best decisions possible, but being very open and honest with our guys about where they stand.''

Those after-season conversations can wait. There's still Saturday's home finale against Minnesota and the Old Oaken Bucket game on Nov. 27 at Purdue. 

In other words, there's still the present to deal with before the future gets worked out. And for the seniors who have helped restore some pride to this program, it's a big day.

A big final day at Memorial Stadium.