Tom Allen: 'This Was the Season We Were Really Looking Forward To'

Indiana football coach Tom Allen said he "really wanted to play,'' but now that things are being pushed back, he'll make the most of this time and be ready when the games finally do begin.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana football coach Tom Allen met with the media on Thursday, less than 24 hours after Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren confirmed that a decision on fall football "will not be revisited.'' 

He talked about moving forward now, but also was very clear that losing this fall season is very painful. Allen said this was a season that everyone was really looking forward to, coming off an eight-win season a year ago and having the vast majority of his starters back.

But now, he'll have to move forward. There are things that have to happen first, in his mind.

"The three things that I've set up that I feel is critical is No. 1, no matter what time it is, it needs to be safe for our players to come back and play,'' Allen said. "Things about contact tracing and testing, we need to have all those things answered and we need to know what's different then compared to what's stopped us from playing now.

No. 2 is to have a quality experience for our guys. Whatever window it is, it needs to allow our players to feel that it's a great thing to do and be a part of. And No. 3, I don't want us to impact the 2021 season in any way. That's a big variable that's involved, that we're not putting too much of a workload on the body. The longer it goes, the less I feel good about it.''

Here's what he had to say about several topics:

-- on his disappointment, and moving forward:

"Initially there was a whole bunch of disappointment, but then I had to flip the switch. I had to live out my own phrase, that I don't blink Now that this is the decision that's been made, how do we make the best of it? I am responsible for my response. Events happen in life that we can't control. Sharpen our ax, that goes for every single coach and every single player because we will play again, and we will be ready. 

-- on Indiana voices being heard:

"At the end of the day, we have a tremendous amount of influential people at Indiana and I feel good about the way they represent us with the Big Ten.''

-- on possibly playing in January and February:

"In this part of the country, in that time of year, you need to play indoors if you're playing in those months. They're just trying to be creative, I'm sure, and utilize the facilities that fall in the states where our Big Ten schools are in.

-- on the reaction of Big Ten coaches:

 "The coaches have al been very open and honest in the meetings we've had. Those things are behind closed doors, but you always want to feel like anything you're in an organization, you want to have a voice. But I don't have complete control over it. And I have to accept that.

"I wanted to play, but I also always said I only wanted to play if the medical professionals said we could play.''

-- on the uncertainty of what comes next:

"What do we know and what can we control? When you look at all the plans out there for the spring, there are a lot of different pros and cons to it. From our players' perspective, they have no control over that. The NCAA is in the process of evaluating what it looks like. 

-- on workouts this fall:

"It all has to work into that 12 hours per week, but we feel very good about the plan. The bottom line is, there will be a heavy emphasis on the weight room for us ... and to keep the program moving forward and keep guys developing each and every week.