Indiana football: Tom Allen visited Jaylin Lucas after 2022 to talk NIL

It’s not exactly normal to have to conduct an in-home visit with a player already on your roster, but Indiana’s Tom Allen isn’t operating under normal circumstances anymore.

During this past offseason, much has been made of players receive NIL offers outside of their programs in order to transfer to another. Allen never needed to sit down to ask Lucas if he received such an offer.

... Because he already knew he had.

“I was born at night but not last night,” Allen said on Thursday at Big Ten Media Days.

Lucas is a special kind of player, nobody else in all of FBS had two kick return touchdowns this past season. For this, he was named a First Team All-American by outlets such as CBS Sports, Pro Football Focus and USA Today.

Obviously a major asset for any team. Allen wanted to make sure that team was Indiana.

So, the Hoosiers’ coach took a flight to New Orleans to meet with Lucas and his parents at their home in Louisiana. Once there, Allen went to work letting Lucas and his family know that work was being done to reward him for his play on the field.

Lucas’ opportunities with NIL have made a difference for his family, Allen said.

“They’re really good people, it’s been a huge blessing for them to be able to have this opportunity,” Allen said. “I knew what I had to do.”

Allen added that he wants to be able to do the same for as many guys as possible.