Tom Allen refuses to name starting kicker ahead of season opener vs. Ohio State

Indiana Hoosiers head coach Tom Allen knows something that nobody else knows. He knows who Indiana is going to start as its kicker against Ohio State but he’s not going to share that information with anyone until the game starts.

Daniel Olinger of Hoosiers Now first reported this update.

Kicking is often overlooked and finding the right kicker is incredibly important. At the same time, Tom Allen comes across as a little overly concerned by not just announcing who the Hoosiers’ starting kicker is going to be. After all, it’s not like preparing for other positions where an opponent might gameplan specifically how to stop that player.

As of now, Indiana has two kickers on its roster. The first is redshirt sophomore Chris Freeman. He has a big leg and worked as a kickoff specialist in 2022 for Indiana. However, he has limited experience kicking field goals and extra points, with only two makes on two attempts for his career.

The second kicker is Nicolas Radicic. He’s a true freshman who obviously lacks any college experience. A three-star recruit in the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Rankings, he was the third-ranked player in the country at his position.

Chris Vannini of The Athletic added context to this decision. He added, “I just watched the Tom Allen kicker clip and he implied that he may split field goal kicking depending on distance. It didn’t sound like he was trying to hide the kicker from Ohio State like some people thought lol.”

Regardless, this is going to be an important decision for Tom Allen, whose Hoosiers are unlikely to blow anyone out and will need to win close games, holding onto all the points they possibly can this season.

Tom Allen is embracing the challenge of starting the season against Ohio State

Starting the season against Ohio State won’t be easy for Indiana. However, as Tom Allen explained at Big Ten Media Days, the Hoosiers are embracing the challenge.

“You know what, I’ve been blessed here. I’ve been head coach for seven years. Five of those seven years we’ve opened with a Big Ten opponent. Very familiar with this process. My first season was the Ohio State Buckeyes back in 2017. So, challenging, yes, but I would say it forces you to grow up real fast. So the urgency that the offseason is impacted by this reality of who you play September 2nd to open the season, I think it helps you. It helps you grow. It helps you have that attention to detail at a high level,” Allen said.

“Everybody’s excited about the start of the season, but I think when it’s that kind of opponent it all gets raised to another level. Our team knows that. We understand that. There’s an urgency that our staff has because of it, and fall camp is affected by that in a very positive way. So it’s a challenge we embrace, without question.”