douglasdmb
November 6th, 2006, 03:06 PM
Great article from yesterday's Springfield News-Leader:
http://www.springfieldnewsleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061105/SPORTS0401/611050409/1002/SPORTS
'Being humbled makes you hungry'
Difficult first year part of the process of rebuilding MSU football program.
by Lyndal Scranton
Sunday, November 5, 2006
The aggravation is easy to spot. Several times a game, after a Missouri State mistake, there's coach Terry Allen burying his head in hands.
Nobody could blame Allen, who left a good job as associate head coach at Iowa State, for wondering why, oh why, did he take on this task.
The Bears fell to 1-9 with Saturday's 38-14 loss at Illinois State, clinching one of the 12 worst records in school history.
Not what Allen had in mind when he was hired last December to take the program to new heights.
But the man who once was the coaching king of the Gateway Conference said he's not going anywhere. There's no running away from the biggest challenge of his career.
"Being humbled makes you hungry," Allen said.
"It's just going to take time. And patience. We knew it when we took this job.
"We are going to get it done."
How?
"We need to get faster and we need to get stronger," he said. "It sounds pretty simple."
Allen chuckled. If only it was that simple.
Bottoming out
When Allen took over from Randy Ball, he inherited 25 seniors. That gave hope for at least a respectable record.
Three losses have been by three points or less. A play here or there and things wouldn't look appear as bleak.
But a lack of team speed, particularly on offense, has been obvious from Day 1. That was further heightened on the day of the season opener when speedy tailback P.J. Ikner was declared academically ineligible.
Scott Carroll's decision to focus on baseball left the Bears without any experience at quarterback. That's an almost-certain recipe for failure in the rugged Gateway Conference.
"We knew going in that it was going to be a tough thing to get turned around," Missouri State athletic director Bill Rowe said.
To the credit of Allen and his coaching staff, he hasn't lost the team. Practices have remained upbeat and the effort good.
"It's a credit to our seniors," Allen said. "From a coach's standpoint, you have to be pretty proud."
Added senior cornerback Greg Lovely: "Guys are giving it their all. As seniors we want to lay a foundation. In a couple of years, when this program succeeds, we want to have been a part of that."
Support from above
Missouri State president Mike Nietzel said Allen has the administration's full support. That's why Allen was given a five-year contract.
"I like Terry Allen and I'm glad he is our football coach," Nietzel said. "He is the right person to build the program and he has put together an excellent coaching staff to help him do that.
"The win-loss record is disappointing. Everyone would agree with that. But I'm impressed with the way he's conducted the program and the way he has dealt with some of these defeats."
Allen said part of the building process means getting fans to think football year-round, not just as something to do as a warmup to basketball season.
To achieve that, Allen has spoken to more than 100 civic groups since his arrival at Missouri State.
"He's outstanding at letting people know what he's trying to get accomplished," Rowe said. "I love his presence in that area, in addition to the (on-field) part of the job."
But Allen admits that there's no better way to cultivate a football culture than to win games.
"It's a process," he said. "But I still believe (that) with some success you can get that (football culture) here."
The 'right way'
Twenty-one of the 22 freshmen from Allen's first recruiting class are redshirts, saving a year of eligibility as they adapt to life on and off the field.
And it could be 22-for-22 if freshman Jonathan Davis, who hurt an ankle in the season's second game and hasn't played since, receives a medical redshirt.
"You learn how to work harder," freshman defensive end Levi Moore said. "It takes more effort in the classroom and on the field. You have to play harder, faster and lift (weights) harder."
Allen said some of the freshmen could have helped the team this season, but that would have been mortgaging part of the future.
"We committed to doing this in the beginning of the process," Allen said. "It's the right thing to do."
Some of the freshmen who could see significant playing time next year include linebackers Colby Hurt, Sam Block and Byron Hightower, and defensive linemen Moore, Waylon Richardet and Slone Willingham.
Backs Jeran Trotter, Marco Finley and Anthony Morgan are faster than anyone on this season's offense. Quarterback Derek Miller is a good enough athlete that he could play a number of positions.
With 25 seniors on the squad, plus some unused scholarships, there are approximately 32 recruiting slots available for this offseason.
"We'll always take about 20 high school seniors," Allen said, "with the rest being (selective) transfers who can come in and help us. This year, with as many departures as we'll have, we will have a few more junior college guys."
Another rough one?
Next season could be equally difficult, with such a young team, though the won-lost record can't be much worse.
This year's team has only 11 juniors and 21 sophomores. Thirteen redshirt freshmen round out the active roster.
"Next year could be real tough, but we knew that going in," Allen said. "It depends on how well we'll be able to get a fit with some immediate-help players."
One of those could be at quarterback. Redshirt freshmen Tyler Horner and Matt Krapfl, along with sophomore transfer Garrett Congdon, have started games this season.
"If it were a perfect world we wouldn't have to go out and recruit a quarterback," Allen said. "But for us to do the things we'd like to do offensively, it would help us to have a little more athletic quarterback."
Allen's projected blueprint is for some improvement next season as more players learn the system and, with another recruiting class maturing, a breakthrough in 2008 and 2009.
"We didn't make any promises when we came here that we were going to be world beaters in a year or two," Allen said. "We just have to fight our way through the process."
http://www.springfieldnewsleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061105/SPORTS0401/611050409/1002/SPORTS
'Being humbled makes you hungry'
Difficult first year part of the process of rebuilding MSU football program.
by Lyndal Scranton
Sunday, November 5, 2006
The aggravation is easy to spot. Several times a game, after a Missouri State mistake, there's coach Terry Allen burying his head in hands.
Nobody could blame Allen, who left a good job as associate head coach at Iowa State, for wondering why, oh why, did he take on this task.
The Bears fell to 1-9 with Saturday's 38-14 loss at Illinois State, clinching one of the 12 worst records in school history.
Not what Allen had in mind when he was hired last December to take the program to new heights.
But the man who once was the coaching king of the Gateway Conference said he's not going anywhere. There's no running away from the biggest challenge of his career.
"Being humbled makes you hungry," Allen said.
"It's just going to take time. And patience. We knew it when we took this job.
"We are going to get it done."
How?
"We need to get faster and we need to get stronger," he said. "It sounds pretty simple."
Allen chuckled. If only it was that simple.
Bottoming out
When Allen took over from Randy Ball, he inherited 25 seniors. That gave hope for at least a respectable record.
Three losses have been by three points or less. A play here or there and things wouldn't look appear as bleak.
But a lack of team speed, particularly on offense, has been obvious from Day 1. That was further heightened on the day of the season opener when speedy tailback P.J. Ikner was declared academically ineligible.
Scott Carroll's decision to focus on baseball left the Bears without any experience at quarterback. That's an almost-certain recipe for failure in the rugged Gateway Conference.
"We knew going in that it was going to be a tough thing to get turned around," Missouri State athletic director Bill Rowe said.
To the credit of Allen and his coaching staff, he hasn't lost the team. Practices have remained upbeat and the effort good.
"It's a credit to our seniors," Allen said. "From a coach's standpoint, you have to be pretty proud."
Added senior cornerback Greg Lovely: "Guys are giving it their all. As seniors we want to lay a foundation. In a couple of years, when this program succeeds, we want to have been a part of that."
Support from above
Missouri State president Mike Nietzel said Allen has the administration's full support. That's why Allen was given a five-year contract.
"I like Terry Allen and I'm glad he is our football coach," Nietzel said. "He is the right person to build the program and he has put together an excellent coaching staff to help him do that.
"The win-loss record is disappointing. Everyone would agree with that. But I'm impressed with the way he's conducted the program and the way he has dealt with some of these defeats."
Allen said part of the building process means getting fans to think football year-round, not just as something to do as a warmup to basketball season.
To achieve that, Allen has spoken to more than 100 civic groups since his arrival at Missouri State.
"He's outstanding at letting people know what he's trying to get accomplished," Rowe said. "I love his presence in that area, in addition to the (on-field) part of the job."
But Allen admits that there's no better way to cultivate a football culture than to win games.
"It's a process," he said. "But I still believe (that) with some success you can get that (football culture) here."
The 'right way'
Twenty-one of the 22 freshmen from Allen's first recruiting class are redshirts, saving a year of eligibility as they adapt to life on and off the field.
And it could be 22-for-22 if freshman Jonathan Davis, who hurt an ankle in the season's second game and hasn't played since, receives a medical redshirt.
"You learn how to work harder," freshman defensive end Levi Moore said. "It takes more effort in the classroom and on the field. You have to play harder, faster and lift (weights) harder."
Allen said some of the freshmen could have helped the team this season, but that would have been mortgaging part of the future.
"We committed to doing this in the beginning of the process," Allen said. "It's the right thing to do."
Some of the freshmen who could see significant playing time next year include linebackers Colby Hurt, Sam Block and Byron Hightower, and defensive linemen Moore, Waylon Richardet and Slone Willingham.
Backs Jeran Trotter, Marco Finley and Anthony Morgan are faster than anyone on this season's offense. Quarterback Derek Miller is a good enough athlete that he could play a number of positions.
With 25 seniors on the squad, plus some unused scholarships, there are approximately 32 recruiting slots available for this offseason.
"We'll always take about 20 high school seniors," Allen said, "with the rest being (selective) transfers who can come in and help us. This year, with as many departures as we'll have, we will have a few more junior college guys."
Another rough one?
Next season could be equally difficult, with such a young team, though the won-lost record can't be much worse.
This year's team has only 11 juniors and 21 sophomores. Thirteen redshirt freshmen round out the active roster.
"Next year could be real tough, but we knew that going in," Allen said. "It depends on how well we'll be able to get a fit with some immediate-help players."
One of those could be at quarterback. Redshirt freshmen Tyler Horner and Matt Krapfl, along with sophomore transfer Garrett Congdon, have started games this season.
"If it were a perfect world we wouldn't have to go out and recruit a quarterback," Allen said. "But for us to do the things we'd like to do offensively, it would help us to have a little more athletic quarterback."
Allen's projected blueprint is for some improvement next season as more players learn the system and, with another recruiting class maturing, a breakthrough in 2008 and 2009.
"We didn't make any promises when we came here that we were going to be world beaters in a year or two," Allen said. "We just have to fight our way through the process."