Tom Allen named Broyles Award nominee

Tom Allen has been nothing short of spectacular this season for the Indiana football team, turning a habitually porous Hoosier defense into one of the best in the country.

His work has not gone unnoticed as Allen was named a Broyles Award nominee, an award given to the top assistant in the country.

Indiana associate head coach/defense Tom Allen is a nominee for the 2016 Broyles Award, the Frank & Barbara Broyles Foundation announced today. The 40 nominees in this year's class were chosen from almost 1,500 assistant coaches representing over 128 Division One college football programs.

The Broyles Award honors college football's top assistant coach. The award was established in 1996 to recognize legendary head football Coach Frank Broyles. Coach Broyles had a track record of producing some of the most successful assistant coaches in college football history.

Allen is the second Hoosiers assistant is as many years to earn a nomination for the prestigious honor. Assistant head coach/offensive line coach Greg Frey was a candidate in 2015.

Among notable past recipients of the Broyles Award is current Hoosier head coach Kevin Wilson, who won the award as offensive coordinator at Oklahoma in 2008.

Don’t be surprised if Allen gets attention from other programs this offseason, but maybe don’t worry too much. Allen is an Indiana native with an Indiana degree, and his son is a member of the Hoosiers’ 2017 recruiting class.