'Shocked' Hoosiers pull closer together after Antonio Allen arrest

• Season opener: Southern Illinois at Indiana, 4 p.m. Sept. 5

CHICAGO – Indiana quarterback Nate Sudfeld said he and his teammates were "shocked" by Antonio Allen's arrest on drug-dealing charges.

Sudfeld also said the Hoosiers pulled closer together in the aftermath.

"We were very disappointed in what we learned," Sudfeld said Thursday at Big Ten football media days. "We don't condone anything he did.

"But we were all surprised because he never showed anything like that. But I think that's helped us grow. Just kind of, 'Hey, we're in this together. We've got to link arms.' It's not about one individual player. It's about the team. So we can't let that affect us. We've just got to be in a greenhouse, not affected by outside."

Indiana coach Kevin Wilson called Allen's arrest "an isolated incident." He said he used the incident to urge the Hoosiers to become a better team. He said there was "a lot of buy-in" and embracing of what the coaching staff was trying to do.

Allen, 20, a safety from Ben Davis High School, was the Hoosiers' top tackler last season.

He was arrested June 16 while leaving Memorial Stadium – a block away from his Bloomington apartment – and charged with dealing cocaine and with dealing heroin (over 10 grams) with a firearm. Both are felony charges. He also was charged with dealing methamphetamine, a lesser charge.

Indiana State Police have video of Allen selling drugs to an informant, according to court documents. They executed a search warrant at his apartment and reported finding a Colt .45 handgun, 47 grams of cocaine, 13 grams of heroin, three half-smoked blunts and $920 in cash.

Allen was kicked off the team June 17, shortly after he was released from the Monroe County Jail on $75,000 bond. A judge has set a pretrial date of Aug. 13.

"My immediate thing when everything happened was to turn directly to our team," Wilson said. "We've had a very, very strong … we've moved forward very quickly, very strong, very positive from it. I'm very confident, very comfortable with our group right now. Have a lot of respect for those men."

Offensive tackle Jason Spriggs said coaches and players met with each other the day after Allen's arrest.

"I wish the best for him and his family," Spriggs said of his teammate. "We came together as a team and kind of moved past that. Now we're looking forward to the season. I feel like it even brought the team closer together because we had to get through something like that."

HOOSIERS' RECEIVING CORPS JOLTED

If you can identify the top returning receiver for Indiana, you know your college football.

Therein lies a problem for the Hoosiers: the great unknown of who will catch passes from senior quarterback Nate Sudfeld.

Wide receiver J-Shun Harris II will be out for the season because of an injured anterior cruciate ligament, according to an announcement coinciding with Big Ten media days.

Harris, a Fishers graduate, will require surgery. During his freshman season, he caught 18 passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns, including one TD in the 31-27 upset victory at Missouri.

Also, touted junior college transfer Camion Patrick hasn't yet been declared eligible to play this season, coach Kevin Wilson said. Patrick is enrolled at IU and had a great offseason, according to Wilson.

Patrick caught 42 passes for 631 yards and 12 touchdowns last year for East Mississippi, the national junior college champion.

Those absences, combined with graduation losses and Tevin Coleman's departure for the NFL, leave Dominique Booth as Indiana's top returning receiver. Booth, a Pike High School graduate, caught eight passes for 70 yards as a freshman.

Nevertheless, Wilson asserted that Indiana's "skill group" is much improved over last season.

"I think we've got some kids on par with (Cody) Latimer and (Kofi) Hughes and that crowd," Wilson said, referring to two tall receivers from 2013. "They've got a great quarterback who can deliver. They've got a great offensive line."

Missing from that line will be Ralston Evans, an Arlington High School graduate. He has been granted a medical hardship ending his football career. He is to be a student assistant coach.

Elsewhere:

>> Defensive lineman Ralph Green III is back on the team and listed No. 2 on the depth chart. He had been suspended following an April arrest on a battery charge. Wilson was vague in addressing additional punishment faced by Green from the university and athletic department.

>> Cornerback Kenny Mullen graduated and bypassed a final season of eligibility.

>> Sophomore cornerback Donovan Clark will be limited in camp because of a back injury.

>> Incoming freshman Donavan Hale of Largo, Fla., has qualified for admittance and will report to camp. He had not been listed in the media guide.

>> Junior cornerback Laray Smith, defensive lineman Nick Carovillano and wide receiver Coray Keel left the program.

The Hoosiers open training camp Aug. 6. Newcomers report Tuesday and returnees on Wednesday.

A preseason media poll assembled by Cleveland.com picked Indiana for last place in the Big Ten East. The Hoosiers have a conference record of 6-26 in Wilson's four seasons.

Call Star reporter David Woods at (317) 444-6195. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.