By: Andy Graham
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Manning magic even extends, it seems, to the weather.
Indiana senior quarterback Richard Lagow, while serving as a counselor over the weekend at the prestigious Manning Passing Academy in Thibodaux, La., noticed a strange meteorological pattern.
"There was supposed to be a tropical storm (Cindy) while we were there, but we avoided it for the most part," Lagow recalled after returning to Bloomington. "It seemed to rain when we weren't doing anything scheduled out on the field.
"It'd be pouring for 15 minutes and then, when it was time for us to do something outside, suddenly it would be sunny. It would stop right when we started practice. We made jokes about it, as being just the magic of the Manning camp, but it was unbelievable."
The Mannings do tend to have things work out well. They reign as football's royal family.
Peyton Manning and younger brother Eli have a pair of Super Bowl rings apiece. Older brother Cooper, who was another fine prospect before spinal stenosis curtailed his playing career, hosts "The Manning Hour" for Fox Sports television. And dad Archie already resides in the NFL Hall of Fame.
Lagow hails from Plano, Texas, but is well aware what the surname Manning conjures up in Indiana, after Peyton Manning's stellar 14-season stint with the Indianapolis Colts.
"It's pretty special," Lagow said. "Obviously, growing up, Peyton and Eli were both guys every kid in the country looked at and idolized, and wanted to be like them – especially here, with Peyton up the road (in Indianapolis).
"It's priceless to be around those guys, even just for a weekend. To talk ball and hang out with them, and just be guys a little bit. Lots of memories. Lots of fun. It was a pretty special weekend. A lot of great friends among the other quarterbacks who were there."
That included five Big Ten counterparts -- David Blough (Purdue), Alex Hornibrook (Wisconsin), Clayton Thorson (Northwestern), Tanner Lee (Nebraska) and John O'Korn (Michigan.)
"There were a lot of pretty high-profile college quarterbacks from across the country, all in the same room," Lagow said, "but it was all about all of us being together as a quarterbacking family.
"Quarterbacks, in my experience, tend to get along really well. We've shared a lot of the same experiences and expectations. Even on your own team, when there is a lot of competition and everybody wants to play, there is kind of a quarterbacking brotherhood within that competition."
The college quarterbacks joined current and former NFL players at the camp instructing campers ranging from those entering eighth grade to those entering their senior year of high school in the quarterback, wideout, tight end and running back positions.
Sessions ran from 7 a.m. till 9 p.m., with three practices daily and some time, at the end, for the college quarterbacks to get some personal tips from the Mannings. Asked what he primarily took away from that experience, Lagow said:
"How close Peyton and Eli were, and how close their whole family was. How close they were and how they were able to make us feel like family with them, to feel right at home with them."
And that dovetails with the family-oriented approach Lagow sees from new IU head coach Tom Allen, to whose "Love Each Other" motto the Hoosiers aspire to adhere every day.
"LEO, to us, is not just a hashtag you can put on Twitter," Lagow said. "Not just a catchy phrase. It's not just LEO on the field, at practice and at games. We live that out every single day, off the field. It's who we are.
"You can be LEO when you're just by yourself, making the right decisions every day with your teammates' best interests in mind, with the best interests of the family in mind … it all comes back to Coach Allen."
???????Lagow also picked up additional philosophical underpinnings for leadership while with the Mannings, and he feels better equipped to put them into practice now that he's in his second full year at IU after previous stops at Connecticut, Oklahoma State and Cisco College.
"I think one of the bigger things I got from them concerned the leadership aspect of, you know, just being 'The Guy,' " Lagow said. "And it's like night and day for me, between this year and last. When I first got to campus last year, we'd be on the field and I'm still learning names. It's hard to lead everybody when I look at you and try to think of your name and where you're from and how I should talk to you.
"Different guys respond to leadership in different ways. Now I've been around all my guys for pretty much a year and a half. I'm just much more comfortable with every guy on the team. I really took a lot of time this off-season to get to know everybody in more detail – to learn about them, their family, their hometown, what makes them click, what motivates them."
That is also right out of the Tom Allen playbook. Allen, upon arriving as IU's new defensive coordinator in January, 2016, immediately set about conducting personal one-on-one interviews with every Hoosier defender, to begin cultivating the person, not merely the player.
Now, as head coach, Allen is extending that process to the entire roster, and his senior quarterback feels better equipped to pitch in.
"Having now played, after starting every game last year, that gives me a voice on the team," Lagow said. "And it's the senior year … when you run out of time, that's when you feel the greatest sense of urgency.
"That's how it felt right when the season ended last year. I knew this was the last go-round. And we needed more leaders to emerge."
???????Lagow helped lead Indiana to a second straight bowl game last year. His 3,362 yards passing rank second on IU's all-time single-season list, and his 258.6 yards passing per game ranked second in the Big Ten and 28th nationally. But there was some inconsistency amid the impressive numbers.
While setting an IU single-game passing record of 496 yards against Wake Forest, Lagow's three touchdown throws were offset by five interceptions in a close loss. He threw 19 TDs for the season but also 17 picks.
"Of course, everybody knows that's definitely the area where I need to improve most, that stat," Lagow said. "And just, overall, being more consistent, more accurate.
"It just comes down to preparation, being comfortable with the offense, trusting my guys, trusting the coaching, checking down, not forcing things. We had a great spring and I've had a great summer, so far, in taking care of the football. So we're excited about it. We've just got a great unit (of receivers.) They're all working their tails off."
Working with his fifth offensive coordinator in as many years, Lagow is already an enthusiastic acolyte of Mike DeBord, and also of new quarterbacks coach Nick Sheridan.
"Coach DeBord and Coach Sheridan both did a great job coming in and understanding that there was a transition phase early in spring," Lagow said. "They were patient with us while also not allowing any mistakes to slide by.
"I think that says a lot, because it's hard to do. It's hard to be patient while also correcting guys, and understanding the difference. Coach DeBord is an awesome leader. Everybody on the team is eager to hear him after practice, to listen to what he has to say, the wisdom he dishes out. And he has fun. We love coming to work for him every day."
???????Lagow wishes he'd been able to attend Indiana, under the current coaching staff, right when coming out of Plano High School.
"I think this is the best school in the country," Lagow said of IU. "I really believe that. I wish I could have come here for four years. And I believe it's heading in such a positive direction with football.
"Coach Allen is going to be the perfect guy here. He will do it his way, the right way, and it you don't want to do it the right way, it's the highway. He's not going to put up with any nonsense, and that's how it has to be. That's how we want it to be.
"If I could have come straight out of high school and have played for Coach Allen for four years, man, that would have been living the dream. But everybody's path is different. I trust God that everything works out and it has for me. It's put me in this situation with Coach Allen and Coach DeBord and Coach Sheridan and I couldn't be more excited for this senior year, and how it's all coming together."
So Lagow's outlook is:
Sunny.
http://iuhoosiers.com/news/2017/6/2...ces-the-manning-magic-at-passing-academy.aspx
Go Hoosiers!
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Manning magic even extends, it seems, to the weather.
Indiana senior quarterback Richard Lagow, while serving as a counselor over the weekend at the prestigious Manning Passing Academy in Thibodaux, La., noticed a strange meteorological pattern.
"There was supposed to be a tropical storm (Cindy) while we were there, but we avoided it for the most part," Lagow recalled after returning to Bloomington. "It seemed to rain when we weren't doing anything scheduled out on the field.
"It'd be pouring for 15 minutes and then, when it was time for us to do something outside, suddenly it would be sunny. It would stop right when we started practice. We made jokes about it, as being just the magic of the Manning camp, but it was unbelievable."
The Mannings do tend to have things work out well. They reign as football's royal family.
Peyton Manning and younger brother Eli have a pair of Super Bowl rings apiece. Older brother Cooper, who was another fine prospect before spinal stenosis curtailed his playing career, hosts "The Manning Hour" for Fox Sports television. And dad Archie already resides in the NFL Hall of Fame.
Lagow hails from Plano, Texas, but is well aware what the surname Manning conjures up in Indiana, after Peyton Manning's stellar 14-season stint with the Indianapolis Colts.
"It's pretty special," Lagow said. "Obviously, growing up, Peyton and Eli were both guys every kid in the country looked at and idolized, and wanted to be like them – especially here, with Peyton up the road (in Indianapolis).
"It's priceless to be around those guys, even just for a weekend. To talk ball and hang out with them, and just be guys a little bit. Lots of memories. Lots of fun. It was a pretty special weekend. A lot of great friends among the other quarterbacks who were there."
That included five Big Ten counterparts -- David Blough (Purdue), Alex Hornibrook (Wisconsin), Clayton Thorson (Northwestern), Tanner Lee (Nebraska) and John O'Korn (Michigan.)
"There were a lot of pretty high-profile college quarterbacks from across the country, all in the same room," Lagow said, "but it was all about all of us being together as a quarterbacking family.
"Quarterbacks, in my experience, tend to get along really well. We've shared a lot of the same experiences and expectations. Even on your own team, when there is a lot of competition and everybody wants to play, there is kind of a quarterbacking brotherhood within that competition."
The college quarterbacks joined current and former NFL players at the camp instructing campers ranging from those entering eighth grade to those entering their senior year of high school in the quarterback, wideout, tight end and running back positions.
Sessions ran from 7 a.m. till 9 p.m., with three practices daily and some time, at the end, for the college quarterbacks to get some personal tips from the Mannings. Asked what he primarily took away from that experience, Lagow said:
"How close Peyton and Eli were, and how close their whole family was. How close they were and how they were able to make us feel like family with them, to feel right at home with them."
And that dovetails with the family-oriented approach Lagow sees from new IU head coach Tom Allen, to whose "Love Each Other" motto the Hoosiers aspire to adhere every day.
"LEO, to us, is not just a hashtag you can put on Twitter," Lagow said. "Not just a catchy phrase. It's not just LEO on the field, at practice and at games. We live that out every single day, off the field. It's who we are.
"You can be LEO when you're just by yourself, making the right decisions every day with your teammates' best interests in mind, with the best interests of the family in mind … it all comes back to Coach Allen."
???????Lagow also picked up additional philosophical underpinnings for leadership while with the Mannings, and he feels better equipped to put them into practice now that he's in his second full year at IU after previous stops at Connecticut, Oklahoma State and Cisco College.
"I think one of the bigger things I got from them concerned the leadership aspect of, you know, just being 'The Guy,' " Lagow said. "And it's like night and day for me, between this year and last. When I first got to campus last year, we'd be on the field and I'm still learning names. It's hard to lead everybody when I look at you and try to think of your name and where you're from and how I should talk to you.
"Different guys respond to leadership in different ways. Now I've been around all my guys for pretty much a year and a half. I'm just much more comfortable with every guy on the team. I really took a lot of time this off-season to get to know everybody in more detail – to learn about them, their family, their hometown, what makes them click, what motivates them."
That is also right out of the Tom Allen playbook. Allen, upon arriving as IU's new defensive coordinator in January, 2016, immediately set about conducting personal one-on-one interviews with every Hoosier defender, to begin cultivating the person, not merely the player.
Now, as head coach, Allen is extending that process to the entire roster, and his senior quarterback feels better equipped to pitch in.
"Having now played, after starting every game last year, that gives me a voice on the team," Lagow said. "And it's the senior year … when you run out of time, that's when you feel the greatest sense of urgency.
"That's how it felt right when the season ended last year. I knew this was the last go-round. And we needed more leaders to emerge."
???????Lagow helped lead Indiana to a second straight bowl game last year. His 3,362 yards passing rank second on IU's all-time single-season list, and his 258.6 yards passing per game ranked second in the Big Ten and 28th nationally. But there was some inconsistency amid the impressive numbers.
While setting an IU single-game passing record of 496 yards against Wake Forest, Lagow's three touchdown throws were offset by five interceptions in a close loss. He threw 19 TDs for the season but also 17 picks.
"Of course, everybody knows that's definitely the area where I need to improve most, that stat," Lagow said. "And just, overall, being more consistent, more accurate.
"It just comes down to preparation, being comfortable with the offense, trusting my guys, trusting the coaching, checking down, not forcing things. We had a great spring and I've had a great summer, so far, in taking care of the football. So we're excited about it. We've just got a great unit (of receivers.) They're all working their tails off."
Working with his fifth offensive coordinator in as many years, Lagow is already an enthusiastic acolyte of Mike DeBord, and also of new quarterbacks coach Nick Sheridan.
"Coach DeBord and Coach Sheridan both did a great job coming in and understanding that there was a transition phase early in spring," Lagow said. "They were patient with us while also not allowing any mistakes to slide by.
"I think that says a lot, because it's hard to do. It's hard to be patient while also correcting guys, and understanding the difference. Coach DeBord is an awesome leader. Everybody on the team is eager to hear him after practice, to listen to what he has to say, the wisdom he dishes out. And he has fun. We love coming to work for him every day."
???????Lagow wishes he'd been able to attend Indiana, under the current coaching staff, right when coming out of Plano High School.
"I think this is the best school in the country," Lagow said of IU. "I really believe that. I wish I could have come here for four years. And I believe it's heading in such a positive direction with football.
"Coach Allen is going to be the perfect guy here. He will do it his way, the right way, and it you don't want to do it the right way, it's the highway. He's not going to put up with any nonsense, and that's how it has to be. That's how we want it to be.
"If I could have come straight out of high school and have played for Coach Allen for four years, man, that would have been living the dream. But everybody's path is different. I trust God that everything works out and it has for me. It's put me in this situation with Coach Allen and Coach DeBord and Coach Sheridan and I couldn't be more excited for this senior year, and how it's all coming together."
So Lagow's outlook is:
Sunny.
http://iuhoosiers.com/news/2017/6/2...ces-the-manning-magic-at-passing-academy.aspx
Go Hoosiers!
