Guys like senior left tackle Jason Spriggs say Frey is so good at reading players — regardless of the type of person — and identifying exactly how to get them to their potential. Some people need to be yelled at. Others need to be talked to.
“I definitely needed a kick in the rear,” Spriggs said.
Now, despite the different roads they might have taken, Spriggs and junior guard Dan Feeney are both second team All-Americans, and the coach who helped them get to that point was a semifinalist for an award honoring the best assistant coach in college football.
Spriggs is one of the best examples of development under Frey. IU Coach Kevin Wilson recollected eating lunch with Spriggs before his first game as a freshman.
Spriggs was a 6-foot-6 true freshman who moved from tight end to left tackle before the season. He was about to play against Indiana State, which Wilson said had a highly-touted defensive end facing off with Spriggs.
“I go, ‘Four years from now when you’re playing in the NFL you’re going to go back and remember how bad you were crapping your pants before you played your first game,’” Wilson remembered telling him.
Forty-seven games later, Spriggs is an All-American, and NFL Draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. ranks him as the fifth-best left tackle going into the draft this spring.
Spriggs said he wouldn’t be anywhere near where he is now if he didn’t have a coach like Frey who is prepared to stand up and yell at a player for the player’s benefit. He said Frey doesn’t gain anything from yelling at players, he just likes them enough to push them to improve.
“It can get frustrating, but it’s good,” Feeney said. “You want a coach like that will keep pushing you, that will keep wanting you to do better for yourself.”
But Frey’s techniques are not always aggressive. Sometimes, Frey will bring in milkshakes to reward a good performance on Saturdays. It can be a motivational tool.
“Definitely wanted to get that milkshake,” Feeney said.
Feeney is a player who Wilson often calls the most consistent player on the team.
He came in with the same class as players like Spriggs and senior quarterback Nate Sudfeld. Just like Spriggs, he started all 12 games on the line as a true freshman. But Feeney suffered a season-ending foot injury during the preseason of what would have been his sophomore season.
So he might still have another year playing under Frey.
Frey coaches the offensive line under a man whose reputation began with the same thing. Wilson came up as an offensive line coach at Miami of Ohio University and coached the position group at Oklahoma as well.
Wilson said many people think it can be difficult to coach the area the head coach is known for, but he doesn’t think that’s the case with Frey.
“Greg does an awesome job,” Wilson said. “I don’t walk into his wheelhouse.”
When sitting in front of the media Saturday to discuss Spriggs’ and Feeney’s honors as well as the upcoming bowl game against Duke, Frey joked about how he wished his other linemen were up there with Spriggs and Feeney.
Gone are the days of true freshmen like Spriggs and Feeney starting the whole season. Now, Frey and Wilson have recruited well enough to have depth and a culture of guys who are capable of stepping in when someone goes down or graduates.
Yes, there are two All-Americans now, but there is also junior right tackle Dimitric Camiel, who has at least appeared in 36 straight games. There is senior center Jake Reed, who has been entering games at several different positions in his time at IU.
“I know you guys are talking about what it’s like having two All-Americans,” Frey said. “Well, it’s competitive. It’s who gets the most knockouts? Who has the best bench? Who ran the fastest? Who jumped the highest?”
Spriggs and Feeney smirked at each other as he said this.
Frey talked about the culture of people learning under some of the veterans. He said freshmen often come in thinking they work hard and play hard, then realize they aren’t even close.
But then come the moments like earlier Saturday, when Frey said freshman lineman Simon Stepaniak had an unbelievable one-on-one block in practice.
“I’m talking about firing up some fifth-year seniors, which is hard to do,” Frey said.
Part of why the honors for Spriggs and Feeney are considered so impressive is that were awarded to two offensive linemen on a 6-6 team.
Wilson said offensive line honors often go to players on really good teams because people don’t truly study linemen as much. There are hardly any statistics quantifying their production.
“I think it just shows that our team is doing well enough and growing on that people got some respect for them,” Wilson said. “Those are two really, really good players.”
It is the first time since 1945 that IU has two All-American offensive linemen. And when Frey talks about the development of these guys, he gives credit to them for coming in with self-confidence.
“They came in, they had a vision and a dream, and man they pursued it,” he said. “And it was fun to be a part of.”
