Entering National Signing Day on Wednesday IU has five recruits — linebackers Mike McGinnis and Thomas Allen, defensive tackle Juan Harris, offensive tackle Tyler Knight and Australian punter Haydon Whitehead — that have already signed their letters of intent.
The Hoosiers will look to sign at least 17 more recruits to their 2017 recruiting class, as 17 high school prospects have verbally committed to IU and the possibility remains more might join them. IU Coach Tom Allen has said he expects a signing class in the “low 20s.”
That’s a lower number than many programs across the nation, but barring 2014’s 28 enrollees, is nearly even with 2016’s 20, 2015’s 23 and 2013’s 23.
Early in the recruiting season, IU earned plenty of defensive recruits. However, in the last two months, IU has earned six offensive commitments, and Knight signed his letter of intent Dec. 14. Here are some committed recruits expected to sign with IU fans should be aware of.
Offense
Juwan Burgess made a splash when he flipped his commitment from USC to IU on Jan. 20. The top recruit of the Hoosier class of 2017 played a dynamic role in the offense of Plant High School (Florida) at the running back and wide receiver positions. Burgess is the only commit in espn.com’s top 300.
Florida quarterback Nick Tronti was committed to North Carolina-Charlotte before he committed to IU on Jan. 24. Florida’s Mr. Football Award winner shares the same award as collegiate greats Tim Tebow, Derrick Henry and Dalvin Cook.
Caleb Jones stands at 6-foot-9, 380-pounds. The Lawrence North (Indiana) tackle will try to bolster an IU offensive line that saw All-American guard Dan Feeney and fifth-year seniors Dimitric Camiel, Wes Rogers and Jacob Bailey all graduate. Jones would likely back up tackles Coy Cronk and Brandon Knight.
Defense
Bryant Fitzgerald has been committed to IU for more than a year and has visited Bloomington 10 times throughout his recruiting process. The Avon, Indiana, athlete is ranked by 247Sports as the ninth-best athlete in the state. Fitzgerald played running back, linebacker and some defensive back for Avon and was recruited by IU linebackers coach William Inge.
Georgia linebacker De’Morreal “Mo” Burnam was committed to Tennessee for nearly 10 months before he took an official visit to Bloomington in early December. Burnam decommitted three days after his visit and committed to IU on Christmas Day 2016.
LeShaun Minor is the only player committed to IU from Ben Davis High School, where Allen coached before he jumped to the college ranks. Minor will fill a hole in the IU roster that Ralph Green left when he graduated after the 2016 season. Minor had offers from eight other schools, including Illinois, Minnesota and Western Michigan, but has been committed to IU since June 2016.
Wisconsin tackle Juan Harris received plenty of attention from Power 5 schools. He received an offer from Texas has at times been committed to Iowa. Harris committed to the Hoosiers and signed his letter of intent Dec. 30. At 293 pounds, Harris will be the fourth-heaviest defensive lineman on the IU roster.
Alfred Bryant is called “QB nightmare” by his high school teammates in Manvel, Texas. The 240-pound defensive end recorded 12 sacks in addition to 20 tackles for loss during his senior year at Manvel High School. Bryant received offers from Kansas State, Arkansas and Colorado. He is one of five defensive line commitments recruited by IU defensive line coach Mark Hagen.
Who else to watch
IU swooped in and made an offer to Ohio 3-star running back Morgan Ellison three days after he decommitted from Ohio. Ellison then made a visit to Bloomington and received a visit from IU running backs coach Deland McCullough in the next two days. Ellison, according to cleveland.com, is considered Ohio’s “best kept secret” after he suffered a fractured right leg in his sophomore year and missed both that year and his junior year.
Devan Barrett’s visit to Bloomington was one of the most well-known among the fan base for the 2017 class because he was committed to Auburn while taking the visit. The 4-star running back visited IU on Jan. 27. McCullough is regarded as one of the best running backs coaches in the nation, and former Hoosiers Jordan Howard and Tevin Coleman are playing well in the NFL. Devine Redding also just declared for the draft, so it would make sense for the running back to visit such a place, and whether he was impressed or not may have an influence on a possible flipped commitment on National Signing Day.
Bobby Roundtree could be yet another addition to the defensive line for Mark Hagen. With the help of IU Coach Tom Allen and former offensive line coach Greg Frey, Hagen has Roundtree very interested in IU but not yet committed. Roundtree also has offers from Michigan State, Illinois and Louisville, but two of his former Largo High School teammates — sophomores wide receiver Donavan Hale and safety Jonathan Crawford — are playing for IU.
Alabama running back Jaylond Adams is also looking at IU as a potential landing spot. The 170-pound back last took a visit to Bloomington on Jan. 14 and visited Missouri on Jan. 27. Adams is leaning toward Missouri as National Signing Day approaches. IU and Rutgers are his only Big Ten offers, but it appears Adams will be deciding between IU, Missouri and Southern Mississippi on Wednesday.
Others:
Derrius Mullins, a 324-pound defensive tackle out of Columbus, Ohio, was recruited by Wilson and Johns and committed in July 2016. Mullins remained committed to IU after Wilson and Johns left the program and was open on social media about his commitment to the Hoosiers. He received interest from Purdue, Louisville, Wisconsin, Ohio State and Rutgers. However, Mullins didn’t meet NCAA core GPA requirements and will not be able to play NCAA football. He said via Twitter that he intends to attend prep school for a semester and sign with IU in the 2018 class. Mullins was one of the top recruits of the class of 2017 before his ineligibility.
Carmel tight end Kurt Rafdal committed to IU in October 2016 before Wilson resigned as head coach in early December. Shortly after Allen’s hiring, tight ends coach James Patton was relieved of his duties at IU, and Rafdal consequently decommitted Jan. 4. The 6-foot-7 tight end is now committed to play at Nebraska.
National Signing Day
IU will introduce the signing class to the media at 2 p.m. Wednesday, and the public IU Football Signing Day Showcase will take place at 4:30 p.m. in Memorial Stadium.Taylor Lehman
