Indiana defensive coordinator heard the comments from former Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson about the teams’ matchup last season in the Rose Bowl and responded with his own observations this week.
Haines to call out Simpson for saying he didn’t think the Hoosiers’ defense was terribly complex in their Simpson was speaking on a podcast hosted by former Ohio State safety and ex-Tide teammate Caleb Downs.
Indiana handed Alabama the most lopsided bowl loss in program history while limiting the Crimson Tide to their lowest scoring total in a bowl game since the 1960 Bluebonnet Bowl against Texas ended in a 3-3 tie. Simpson was 12 of 16 for 67 yards and ran three times for 17 yards before leaving with a cracked rib. Alabama’s offense produced 193 yards and rushed for only 23.
As Simpson and Downs wait to Simpson took some time to explain what he thought happened in Pasadena, California.
鈥淔rom my point of view, I was like, they don鈥檛 do much,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey do the same thing every down. So when I got the ball, I knew exactly what was going to happen. They just didn鈥檛 mess up, bro. They were in the exact same spot they were supposed to be. They were so well-coached.
鈥淚t was so much different than the SEC. In the SEC, they鈥檒l play man, they鈥檒l do these unorthodox coverages. That鈥檚 kind of how it is. That game was crazy to me. Of course, I got hurt. So that was a bummer. I knew what they were going to do. We couldn鈥檛 really run the ball, didn鈥檛 really throw. It was just so crazy to me how it happened.鈥�
Haines then explained how it happened.
鈥淎dorable,鈥� Haines said in his social media post. 鈥淲e also saw everything they were doing, on every single snap… It鈥檚 just that we exploited those cues. And didn鈥檛 get frozen and crushed by them.鈥�
Alabama fans pushed back against Haines, the Broyles Award winner as the nation’s top assistant. He wasn’t impressed with what the Tide fans said, either.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 all it took to break your entire fanbase?鈥� Haines wrote. 鈥淲ow.. maybe I should鈥檝e just said 鈥楤oo.鈥� No apologies, no compliments. Grow up folks. He had a bad take and I said the painful truth. Bounce back better.鈥�
The Hoosiers beat Oregon in the next round of the College Football Playoff and then topped Miami in the Hurricanes’ home stadium to capture their first national championship. Quarterback Fernando Mendoza, the Heisman Trophy winner, is expected to be the first overall selection in Thursday night’s NFL draft.
A school-record nine Hoosiers, including receiver Omar Cooper Jr., attended the NFL scouting combine in February. Cooper and Downs are widely expected to be first-round picks.
Some analysts project Simpson as the No. 2 quarterback in this year’s class.
Indiana is preparing for its annual spring game Thursday night and opens the season Sept. 5, hosting North Texas. Alabama opens its season at home Sept. 5 against East Carolina.
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