Bloomington Leader

Indiana Hoosiers Football recently issued the following announcement.

Notebook: Newcomers Make Strong Spring Practice Impression

When it comes to eye-catching Indiana football newcomers, let's start with Cam Camper.

He's a 6-2, 201-pound receiver out of Texas' Trinity Valley Community College who has made a big spring practice impression as the Hoosiers continue their quest to return to the 6-2 glory of the 2020 season and not the 2-10 disappointment of last year.

"(Camper has) been that way through each of the practices," head coach Tom Allen says. "He has stuck out to me."

Last year Camper caught 28 passes for 505 yards and three touchdowns. That 18-yards-per-catch average reflects big play potential Allen wants in his new offense.

Then there's receiver Emery Simmons, who spent the last three seasons at the University of North Carolina. The former four-star high school prospect out of North Carolina (rated as the nation's No. 35 receiver prospect by 247Sports) totaled 30 catches for 516 yards and three touchdowns in 30 games, including 14 starts.

That includes last season's three-catches-for-110-yard effort at Georgia Tech.

"He's another one who stood out," Allen says.

Then there's Auburn running back transfer Shaun Shivers (1,020 rushing yards, a 5.1-yard-per-carry average, 38 catches for 211 yards, 9 total touchdowns) and North Carolina running back transfer Josh Henderson (209 rushing yards, 5.1-yards-per-carry average).

"With those four guys," Allen says, "I thought we were able to do some good things."

The offensive line has looked solid in pass protection and run blocking.

Defensively, veteran defensive back Noah Pierre has thrived.

"He's the one on defense who continues to play well," Allen says. "He has shown a lot of flexibility for us in the past."

Redshirt freshman husky Maurice Freeman, true freshman linebacker Kaiden Turner, sophomore defensive back Jordan Grier and redshirt sophomore outside linebacker Myles Jackson (a UCLA transfer) have stood out.

"Maurice is a guy who is coming along," Allen says. "The more live we go, the more he shows.

"With Kaiden, it seems like when we just play football and he doesn't have to think as much, he makes plays. That's what you're looking for.

"It's the same with Jordan Grier. He's another guy who is young and who needs to continue to grow and develop. That is super positive for us.

"Myles Jackson continues to flash and show bursts of athleticism and strength. I like the way he is playing. He is making us better."

Overall on defense, Allen says, "I felt we tackled well, and we haven't tackled live since the Bucket Game.

"We have been working hard on fundamentals. Our defense was able to make most of those plays in space. You still have mistakes and things you have to correct."

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Allen remains committed to returning to his run-the-defense roots.

He will call the defensive plays as well as handle his head coaching responsibilities, with a lot of help from new defensive coordinator Chad Wilt.

"We are really aligned in the motivation and leadership piece with the defense," Allen says, "and with the things we want to set in terms of cultural expectations with how we practice and the way we emphasize takeaways, tackling, and effort.

"That doesn't change, but the organization part is where (Wilt) comes into play."

Wilt has brought twists to tackling and takeaway drills.

"He's added some good things to those," Allen says. "That has been really good.

"He's scripting everything. That's a big part of his role."

During the season, Allen will focus primarily on offense on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, with the defense getting his prime attention on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

"I like where it's at," Allen says. "Chad is doing a great job. He has great energy.

"We have a standard of how we want to practice and how we want to play. He is doing a great job of helping us get it back to where it needs to be."

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Allen continues to up the coaching experience to his staff.

Rod Carey, a former IU offensive lineman under Bill Mallory in the early 1990s, joins the program as part of the quality control staff after spending the last 10 seasons as a college head coach.

Carey guided Northern Illinois to a 52-30 record in seven seasons. That included a pair of Mid-American Conference titles and five bowl games. He spent the last three seasons running the Temple program.

"I am really excited about him," Allen says. "He played here and loves Indiana. We just want to welcome his family back.

"He will be assisting us on defense and also assisting me as head coach with all of his experience that he's had."

Then there's new receivers coach Adam Henry, who just started working with the Hoosiers after an extensive NFL coaching career that included stops with the Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers, and New York Giants.

"Adam Henry was with us for the first time this week," Allen says, "and we are really excited about him. He is a great fit for us in his coaching philosophy. I love his demeanor and love the way he coaches our guys. The confidence and experience he brings is elite and special.

"He has a great heart for our players and that is what I want."

Carey and Henry reflect Allen's commitment to hiring coaches who fit his style and program.

"It's guys who love this place and want to continue to build the program and build what we are doing here."

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When it comes to the quarterback battle, senior Jack Tuttle and Missouri transfer Connor Bazelak get most of the hype, with a lot of good work from Donaven McCulley, Dexter Williams II, and Grant Gremel.

Williams, who missed last season because of a torn ACL, has shown promise.

"Dexter is another one who flashed to me because he's been out so long," Allen says. "His athleticism showed, and so did his arm strength."

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Reinvent spring practice?

All things are possible as Allen and his staff, and basically every coach in college and the NFL, evaluate practice, training and a smarter way to get better results.

"We are in the process of going through and re-evaluating spring," Allen says. "As a whole, in college football, it has been a big emphasis in a lot of the committees that we have had and head coaches meetings, trying to look at the big picture and the calendar from start to finish. How we train and the hitting and the pounding on the body.

"The NFL is doing the same thing in evaluating fall camp and how that looks.

"We are going to evaluate that throughout this spring and talk to some programs that have some different methods in utilizing these 15 (practice) days."

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Coaches want work in a full-contact setting.

There are scrimmages, and the first one was last Saturday.

"It wasn't a full scrimmage," Allen says. "It was probably half of the time spent in that mode to create some game-like situations.

"We did go live, which I think is very important. I thought it was a good step for us. At the same time, we had a long staff discussion about what (spring practice) is going to look like moving forward.

"I like the flow we are in as we make adjustments with new coordinators. I love the energy and focus of our guys."

Original source can be found here.