Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Allen — man it feels strange to type that — told reporters on Wednesday he stayed in touch with his former Indiana players, including at least one this week.
Allen met with the media as he prepares to face Notre Dame on Thursday in the College Football Playoff semifinals.
“There’s no question, I have communication with the guys that I coached there (at Indiana),” Allen said. “And they obviously played (Notre Dame) in the first round of playoffs. I was just talking to one of them yesterday.
“When you coach the guys, and you invest in them and you get to know them, and you bring them into your program, you’re never going to stop being a part of their lives. And now that will be forever for me — that’s how I coach, that’s how I want to be.”
Perhaps some of Allen’s former players are giving him tips on how to defend the Irish?
The former IU head coach says he’d love to be able to take out the Notre Dame team that knocked the Hoosiers out of the CFP a few weeks ago.
“So yeah, there’s no question, to be able to have a chance to be able to, you know, get it for them,” he added.
In seven-plus seasons as head coach at IU, Allen delivered two seasons — 2019 and 2020 — that will always be remembered fondly as two of the better campaigns in program history.
As he was leading the Penn State defense in 2024, he saw the Hoosiers reach new heights. And Allen felt joy for some of the players who remained in Bloomington and played for Curt Cignetti.
Some of the main holdovers from the Allen era who played a major role for the 11-2 Hoosiers included Carter Smith, Mike Katic, Drew Evans, Bray Lynch, Omar Cooper, Jr., Lanell Carr, Amare Ferrell, and Jamier Johnson.
“So happy for the (Indiana) players, man, just all those who guys came there and they got a chance to truly, you know, see through the things that we tried to be able to start to do,” Allen said. “So, yeah, very happy for those players, very happy for the guys in that situation.”
Allen released a statement when he was let go by Indiana, strongly encouraging the school to invest in the football program.
He’s also noticed the substantial uptick in financial support for the IU program, from coaches salaries to name, image and likeness funds for the players.
“In today’s game you gotta go all in for football,” Allen said. “It’s the moneymaker to support the entire university. It looks like they’re starting to figure that out (at Indiana), which is awesome. I said that when I was asked to leave. That’s what they needed to do. I love Indiana, it’s my home.”
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