Thomas Allen: 'At End of the Day, I Wanted to Finish The Right Way'

Indiana linebacker Thomas Allen suffered a serious hip injury last fall and had to decide if it was worth months of rehab to play one more season. He's coming back for the 2021 season because he wants to end his career on a high note.

BLOOMINGTON Ind. – Thomas Allen has an Indiana diploma on his wall and a wedding ring on his finger. He's 23 years old now, and has four years of college football under his belt. He's had, many would say, a good college career.

But last November during Indiana's shutout win over Michigan State, Allen, the son of Hoosiers head coach Tom Allen, suffered a serious hip injury that ended his season. It could have ended his career, too.

But that's just not in his makeup.

Instead, the 6-foot-3, 240-pound linebacker worked through a lot of blood, sweat and tears during rehab to be able to play one more season at Indiana. He's back on the field now, ready to contribute any way he can during his fifth and final season of football. Who knows what the future brings, but for now it's all about the present, this 2021 Indiana football season filled with promise.

"I think at the end of the day, when you've had the injuries I’ve had, you have to look at big picture and say, 'is it worth it?' '' Allen said. "At the end of the day, I wanted to finish the right way. I wanted to be able to help this team win.

"We have a special group and I think that was one of the biggest reasons I came back. We have a special group as a team, but in the linebacker room we have a special group. I wanted to finish he right way. I am able to get my MBA and I’m able to do some great things off the field as well. When you put it all together, I felt it was the perfect way to come back and finish the right way for one more year.''

Allen, an All-American linebacker at Plant High School in Tampa, came to Bloomington to play for his father. He redshirted in 2017, but was named scout team player of the week twice. In 2018, he played in all 12 games and was an Academic All-Big Ten selection. 

He was playing well in 2019 too, when a shoulder injury at Nebraska ended his season in late October. He was an academic selection again, too, and in 2020 he was a selected as a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar. 

The hip injury, similar to the one suffered by Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, easily could have ended his career, because he's not going to play at the next level. But with the opportunity to play a fifth season, it was hard for him to say no to another go-round. After all, he's playing for his dad, he's in a linebackers room with his best friends and he's able to enjoy the renaissance of Indiana football – capably led by his father – from right next to him.

His father, who wears his emotions on his sleeve, cried through both of his season-ending injuries, as any father/coach would. They had a wonderful relationship, and playing one more season has a lot to do with it. Indiana is 14-5 in the past two regular seasons, and they are nationally ranked in this year's preseason poll for the first time since 1969.

It's a great time to be an Indiana Hoosier, so sticking around for another year makes total sense. Even with nine months of torture getting back in football shape and being ready to take a pounding on defense and special teams.

"I feel great,'' Thomas Allen said. "When you have the injury I had, you have your ups and downs and in camp, I don’t think it matters if you have zero injuries. The surgeries I’ve had, I’ve had some pain through camp and that's part of it. 

"As of right now, I feel really good and I’m excited to have the role that I’m in and be able to help our team win on Saturdays this fall.''

The seriousness of the injury meant Allen had to spend the first couple of months after surgery without putting any weight on the hip. There was a lot of sitting around at first, a lot of monotony. That's what rehab is, especially with serious injuries.

"This was a completely different process than I’ve ever had,'' he said. "When you dislocate your hip, at the start, you don’t do anything. I laid in bed for a while, you kind of just hang out and let the bone heal. That was kind of a frustrating process at times, because you get pretty bored and you kind of hang out and don’t do much.''

There are so many steps to the process of getting back on the field, too, and it gets exacerbated with all the mental struggles, too. It's easy to wonder if all the rehab is worth. Allen experienced those days, but he had good days, too, enough of them to know that it will be worth running out of that tunnel with his dad and his teammates all season long.

"Everyday through the winter and spring and summer, it’s just a grind,'' Allen said. "You have your ups and downs. When I had a day where I felt really good, I was going to attack that day all out. I was going to attack every day you way you need to, but especially when I started running, you have to take advantage of those days when you feel good. 

"It was kind of a rollercoaster of a rehab to get everything back healthy and get the muscles around your hip healthy again. It was a very long process to get through, but it makes you stronger at the end.''

Allen spent a lot of time with Jacob Laverman, IU’s director of football rehabilitation, working hard at getting better every day. Thomas said Laverman would bring him to tears many days in rehabbing the injury

“I will never miss that and I love him to death, but I don’t want him to ever touch me again,” Allen said.

Allen married Indiana softball player Annika Baez on July 30 after dating for four years. She was part of his decision to play again, too. It's family, and they're all in it together. Coming back also meant getting accepted into the MBA program in the Kelley School of Business, so he'll have another degree for the wall, and another year of football memories.

“This has been the greatest decision I’ve ever made,” Thomas said. “Through the ups and downs of my career, I wouldn’t have switched anything. Being able to play here at Indiana University for him, I’ll never change that.”