Everything Tom Allen told him is coming true.
Eavesdroppers may have thought the recruiting pitch the Indiana University football coach sold to Micah McFadden was as fanciful as a Disney movie.
But the fervor in his words rang of deep belief and lodged in the junior linebacker’s mind.
Indiana is going to be a Big Ten contender, Allen said with enthusiasm. Indiana is going to win a lot of games. You can be part of it.
"You could see it in his eyes," McFadden said. "It was so convincing."
And here’s McFadden, a cornerstone of the defense, with the Hoosiers 4-0, tied for the league lead, and ranked No. 9 in the country, on the cusp of its biggest football game in 53 years, just days shy of facing No. 3 Ohio State.
Allen promoted a vision of potential and he has made good on promises delivered to the young men he brought to Bloomington. This season the Hoosiers have knocked around Michigan and Michigan State and now come the Buckeyes, the Bullies of the Big Ten.
When it comes to rebuilding and resurrection, Saturday’s meeting with Ohio State could have historical significance. For decades, IU rarely gazed beyond the horizon to Columbus, Indiana. Now the Hoosiers hope to conquer Columbus, Ohio.
"This is part of it," Allen said in a press conference of Indiana being in a game featuring two teams ranked in the top 10 in the Associated Press poll. "That’s what this is all about. That’s never wavered for me."
The road to acclaim and championships runs through Ohio’s capital city. The loudest buzz surrounding any college game this week is OSU-IU. Allen tells his players they must metaphorically wear ear muffs to block out both the compliments of the giddy and the insults of doubters.
"But I understand reality," he said.
There is a no-respect chorus aching to make some bettors rich, oddsmakers who have made Ohio State a 21-point favorite. 21 points! It’s as if Heisman winners from Hopalong Cassady and Archie Griffin to Eddie George will line up simultaneously in the Buckeye backfield.
"It will be addressed," said Allen, taciturnly hinting that he shouldn’t say more.
If he was a different type of guy, Allen would have made sarcastic jokes about a point spread like that. Instead, he mentioned Ohio State’s strengths, quarterback Justin Fields and its notable defensive line.
And by the way, he noted shutting out Michigan State, 24-0, on the road, was an important win.
IU players like Stevie Scott, who professed "a great love for pass blocking," something that could get him expelled from the running-back fraternity, maintained their cool about being labeled three-touchdown underdogs.
"That just gets us fired up," he said, showing people how misguided they are about IU.
Ty Fryfogle, who caught 11 passes for 200 yards against the Spartans to earn league offensive player-of-the-week honors, said hearing about the 21-point odds comes under the heading of "block everything out."
Even in a bad year, and they have had their share over the last half century, the Hoosiers might not be viewed as such a patsy, so whether they acknowledge it publicly or not, the players must be whispering about the sting of such a slap across the face.
Allen called the number a symbol of "peoples’ opinion of where they think our team is, a perception" of the difference between IU and Ohio State.
As front man for a team, a program, a university, Allen projects the image of a difficult-to-ruffle leader. But this time his emotions were rawer than usual.
Son Thomas Allen, a linebacker for IU, suffered an injured hip against Michigan State requiring surgery. Speaking about the sacrifices his family has made for his career, Coach Allen choked up. He hurt for Thomas.
And abruptly, amidst his tears, Tom Allen let loose what he really thinks about playing Ohio State and the people who don’t think the Hoosiers have a prayer.
"We’re going to fight, man" he said. "I don’t care what anybody says about this stinking game. We’re going to compete. And good Lord willing, we’re going to find a way to keep proving everyone wrong."