Big Ten football finally returns this weekend after a more than 10 month absence of league play.
Indiana opens the 2020 season at home against Penn State on Saturday.
Penn State head coach James Franklin talked about Indiana at his weekly press conference on Monday.
Here is what he had to say about the Hoosiers. You can watch the full video below.
“Got a lot of respect for Tom Allen, I think he does a great job. And I have a lot of respect for Tom as a man, I think I think he’s done a great job for that program. I’ve liked my interactions with Tom I’ve liked getting to know him. We also have two people on our staff that think very highly of him. Greg Kincaid, worked at Indiana, for Tom and he’s got great things to say about him. And then I think some of you guys know this, Jevin Stone, our Director of Video, actually, Tom Allen was his high school coach. So, I got pretty good perspective on Tom and the type of man he is and the type of program he runs, he does a great job.
I think it’s the best Indiana football team that they’ve had in my six years in the conference. I think they’ve done a really good job of building it, they got a bunch of guys back that have played at a high level and obviously last year at a winning conference record as well as, you know, obviously enough success to win eight games and go to a bowl game. And the majority of those guys are coming back. So I think this is the best Indiana football team that we’re going to face. And obviously we’re facing them on the road. The last couple years have been very, very competitive games. We’ve been fortunate to get out of there with a win, not only in Beaver Stadium, but also in Indiana.”
Video credit – Penn State Athletics
CRONK TALKS DECISION TO LEAVE INDIANA
Iowa opens the 2020 season against Purdue, and that means former IU tackle Coy Cronk will face his hometown team in the season opener.
The Lafayette product decided to transfer to the Hawkeyes after the 2019 season. He was listed as a starter at tackle on the Iowa depth chart.
Cronk talked about his decision to leave Indiana and what it will be like to face Purdue back in his native city.
(transcript via Iowa Athletics)
How hard for you was it to leave Indiana?
“It was a really difficult decision. I have a lot of respect for every single one of my teammates, every coach I had the opportunity to play for, strength coaches, everything. Indiana did a lot for me. I started 40 games for them. I’ve got a great relationship back and forth, but sometimes, you got to make a tough decision, and there’s no one I respect more than that program and what I was able to accomplish there. More importantly, I was able to get a degree, meet some lifelong friends, play for great coaches, and play on some pretty good teams. Overall, I think it was a great experience, but I’m excited for this next opportunity.”
What’s it going to be like going back to your hometown and did they try to recruit you after you transferred from Indiana?
“I take a lot of pride in where I’m from. I really love Lafayette, especially growing up around there and everything the community has done and everything we done for the community, it’s really tight knit. I love being from there and it’s an awesome place. I got the most respect for Coach Brohm and what he’s been able to do the last three to four years and just the way he’s been able to bring a lot of excitement back into the Lafayette community and people. The people are really excited about football again which kind of was lost there for several years. It’s exciting always to come back to Lafayette. I love being there. I love being able to play in front of my parents and close friends. I think I’m really excited and they’ve got a good team so hopefully, it’s a great game.”
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