IU standout Jaylin Lucas is key to Coach Allen's offense. Here's how he kept him

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana football coach Tom Allen spoke candidly about his fears of losing Jaylin Lucas to the transfer portal at Big Ten Media Days. Lucas reiterated what he told reporters in January that he planned to build a legacy in Bloomington at Lucas Oil Stadium, but Allen knows in the current landscape of college football that a freshman All-American was going to draw plenty of interest from teams across the country. Interest that went well beyond what's allowed under NCAA rules.

"I never said have you gotten an offer from somebody else, I knew he did," Allen said, on Thursday. "I was born at night, but not last night. That's exactly what happened.

" It's why the first piece of business for Allen after the season was to get on a plane headed for New Orleans to visit Houma, La. , to sit down with Lucas and his parents. "Usually you do that with recruits, we had to make sure he knew we were going to do a great job of helping him be rewarded for his performance," Allen said.

More: Tom Allen doesn't plan on publicly announcing starting QB before Indiana faces Ohio State Lucas, who also earned first-team All-Big Ten honors, finished his freshman year with 944 all-purpose yards. He rushed for 271 yards, caught 16 passes for 82 yards and was one of the most electric kick returners in the country. He averaged 28.

1 yards per return and returned a pair of kicks for touchdowns. On Thursday, he told The Herald-Times the GPS tracker players wear showed him topping out at 23 mph on those returns. The Hoosiers plan on featuring even more of Lucas in their game plan this season by expanding his special teams role — he will likely get opportunities returning punts — and playing him more at slot receiver.

Allen expanded on what he said in an interview last week about the offensive coaching staff even having a specific number of touches they want to get him per game. Lucas will be a driving force on Indiana's offense, but none of that would have been possible if Lucas had hit the transfer portal. More: Everything Indiana football coach Tom Allen said on the main stage at Big Ten Media Days "The tampering piece is going on and it is bad," Allen said.

". . .

When we have an individual like that we have to make sure we are being proactive. That's just the nature of how it is right now. We have to be aggressive and not assume anything.

" Lucas benefited from Indiana's two collectives (Hoosiers for Good and Hoosiers Connect) raising more than $1 million in donations, sponsorships and memberships, a figure that was matched with an additional $1 million contribution from an anonymous donor. He was part of the Hoosiers for Good's winter class that connected 19 athletes with 11 different charities. "He's being able to be a part of some things now to help his family, it's been a huge blessing for them," Allen said.

Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on Twitter @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here. .