Indiana football: Tom Allen not naming starting quarterback vs. Penn State

In his weekly press conference, Indiana football head coach Tom Allen declined to name a starting quarterback for Indiana’s upcoming matchup against Penn State.

Here’s what he was asked and how he responded:

Q: “I think at the end of the game you said everybody was going to be up for evaluation. What was your evaluation of the quarterback position? Same place it was?”

Allen: “Yeah, we’re definitely going to be able to do that. Already done that. We will move forward with that position. I guess we’ll have to see how that plays itself out when it comes to game day. At the same time every position, as I said, is up for evaluation. That was the case. We’re just trying to find the best combination to be able to give us a spark on offense and allow our guys to be able to move the football and score points. Didn’t do that in the second half. Not done that well in the second half in several different games here recently. Definitely need to get some different product, different output of our offense in the second half for sure. Everybody is up for evaluation, yes.”

Q: “ I wanted to go back to the question on quarterbacks to put a fine point on it. Are you saying there’s a chance Connor won’t be the guy on Saturday?” (via Dustin Dopirak)

Allen: “I’m just saying that you’ll have to wait till Saturday to see who our starting quarterback is going to be, so...”

Missouri transfer Connor Bazelak has been the starter for all eight of Indiana’s games so far after beating out Jack Tuttle during fall camp.

Indiana’s options aside from Bazelak are as follows:

• Redshirt senior Jack Tuttle
• Redshirt sophomore Dexter Williams II
• Freshman Brendan Sorsby

Tuttle entered the transfer portal on Oct. 17, but is remaining with the team for the duration of the 2022 season. Williams II has yet to see true game action. Sorsby, a former 247Sports 3-star, was the No. 13 dual-threat quarterback in the class of 2022, according to ESPN.

Indiana held a scrimmage for younger players on Wednesday, with graduate assistants calling plays on offense and defense. When asked about who stood out, Allen mentioned Sorsby and had this to say:

“Brendan Sorsby is a really talented football player that didn’t get here until the summer. Really just learned our offense, got a chance to be our scout team quarterback every day. Seeing him throw, he’s just a really, really, really talented football player.”