'I'll Be There For You' — How Tom Allen Helped Philip Blidi in a Time of Crisis

Indiana defensive lineman Philip Blidi transferred to Bloomington from Texas Tech earlier this year and found himself facing a crisis and needing help. That's when he turned to coach Tom Allen, who answered the call for his player right away.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Tom Allen, like every college football coach, leads an incredibly busy life. 

He had just gotten back from a long day on the road when he got a call from Indiana defensive lineman Philip Blidi. 

"Coach, I don't know what to do, I'm already gone, and nobody's there."

That's what Allen, speaking to the media on Friday at Lucas Oil Stadium, recalled Blidi telling him that fateful night. 

After spending three seasons at Texas Tech, Blidi transferred to Indiana in January. He and his family struggled to get settled in Bloomington, while his wife, Emma, was pregnant with their second child.

Emma had encountered complications during her pregnancy and had to be hospitalized. With his first daughter just 2 years old, Blidi was unable to bring her to the hospital. He flew back to Austin, Texas, to have his family look after her during the whole ordeal. Then crisis struck, with Emma needing an emergency C-section. She needed help in Bloomington while Blidi was thousands of miles away in Texas. 

That's when Blidi turned to the man who brought him to Indiana.

'I’m at the airport, I’m finding out more news, and it’s getting worse," Blidi said. "I'm texting [people], 'I need somebody to be there for my wife.' She doesn’t have anybody, and this is a bad situation. And then I text Coach Allen." 

It didn't matter that Allen was in the middle of a busy day himself. He dropped everything and rushed to the hospital to be with Emma. Allen even said that he was the first person to see Emma in the recovery room when she came out of surgery. 

Now months after the birth of his second child, Blidi said his family is doing well and that his son is healthy. 

He looks back on that night and knows the kind of man and coach he's playing for in Allen.

"That was something that was really big for me," Blidi said. ""I’ll run through a wall for him.”

“I said ‘Hey, I’ll be right there.’”

Coach Allen on how he drove over to the hospital to be with Phillip Blidi’s wife during her emergency c-section earlier this year #iufb pic.twitter.com/wIRdZQzTVG

— Dan Olinger (@dan_olinger) August 18, 2023

In a moment of crisis, Allen did not hesitate to help.

"You [should] just do the right thing," Allen said, explaining his response that night. "He needed me to be there. [I] love our players, and I'm going to be there for them regardless. You call me any time of night, I'm going to drop what I'm doing, and I'll be there for you. That's how I've always felt like it's supposed to be."

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