After going 3-9 in 2023 with one of the worst defenses in the Big Ten, Indiana prioritized improvements across all levels of the defense. With high-level transfers and solid returning players, the defense is going to take a massive leap in 2024 and have the chance to be up there with some of the best defenses in the conference.
Defensive back room
One of the most important positions to upgrade for head coach Curt Cignetti was the secondary. Following the losses of Louis Moore to the University of Mississippi and Phillip Dunham to Florida Atlantic University, the Hoosiers head into the season without their two leaders in interceptions from a season ago. On top of that, Kobee Minor jumped ship to the University of Memphis, leaving Indiana without arguably its three best players in the secondary from a season ago.
Indiana does bring back some of its talent from last season, including redshirt-sophomore Jamari Sharpe, redshirt-junior JoJo Johnson, sophomore Amare Ferrell, redshirt-senior Nic Toomer and redshirt-senior Josh Sanguinetti. All four of those players appeared in all 12 games for the Hoosiers in 2023, accounting for four interceptions, eight pass deflections and 88 tackles. Utilizing the returnees is important for Indiana to be more successful defensively.
Beyond the returnees, Cignetti brought College Football Network’s ‘Freshman Cornerback of the Year’ and All-Sun Belt second team member D’Angelo Ponds with him from James Madison University. Cignetti didn’t stop there, also recruiting transfers Terry Jones Jr. and Shawn Asbury from Old Dominion University and DJ Warnell Jr. from the University of Arizona. These transfers not only improve the depth of the Indiana defense, but three of the four transfers could be starting Week 1. Expect Ponds, Warnell Jr. and Asbury to get most of the starting reps while Jones Jr. will see his fair share of important snaps as well.
Linebackers
If you’re looking for a quarterback on the defensive side of the ball for the Hoosiers in 2024, look no further than James Madison junior transfer Aiden Fisher. He was the leading tackler for the Dukes a season ago, finishing with 108, including four games where he posted double-digit tackles. He added six tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, one interception and eight pass breakups. All of this and more from Fisher earned him a spot on the All-Sun Belt third team.
Beyond the numbers, Fisher knows the defense that Cignetti runs and already fits well with the system. He has shown his ability to get to the quarterback, stop the run, and even disrupt the opposing team’s passing game.
Senior Jailin Walker is another name to watch out for in the linebacker room, as he too joins the Hoosiers from James Madison. He started in 10 games a season ago with the Dukes, finishing with 61 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and three forced fumbles. Standing at 6’1” and weighing 218 pounds, Walker has the speed and strength to be one of the best players on the Indiana defense. His surgery during the offseason on a torn labrum caused him to miss all of Spring Ball, which allowed him to hide in the weeds and maybe become an afterthought, but Walker will quickly become a key piece for the Hoosiers.
Senior Nahji Logan transferred in from the University of Massachusetts and is looking to provide great depth for the Hoosiers after being named second-team All-Independent by College Football Network and tied for the fewest missed tackles among linebackers in the FBS with a minimum of 400 snaps. Isaiah Jones is a returning redshirt sophomore and former three-star recruit from London, Ohio, who could also see a good bit of playing time after performing well in spring ball, despite only appearing in four games through his first two years in Bloomington.
D-line depth
Despite losing Aaron Casey, who led the Hoosiers in tackles, sacks and forced fumbles, and Andre Carter, who had a couple of sacks as well as 49 tackles, the Indiana defensive line has the potential to be one of the best in the Big Ten. It brought in three transfers who could immediately start in Mikail Kamara and James Carpenter from James Madison, as well as CJ West from Kent State University.
Kamara is the best of the bunch when it comes to sacking the quarterback, finishing with 7.5 in his 12 starts in 2023. He also forced four fumbles, with 51 total tackles, 17.5 (yes, you read that right) tackles for loss and two pass deflections. His stats were good enough to earn him second- team All-Sun Belt. However, his speed and talent are only going to open things up for his counterparts Carpenter and West.
Carpenter started in 13 games for the Dukes last season where he tallied 53 tackles, nine tackles for loss, four sacks, recovered two fumbles while forcing one and picked off a pass. This adds to his illustrious five-year career at James Madison, where he concluded with 141 career tackles, 28 tackles for loss, 11.5 sacks and two interceptions. Entering his final season of college football, expect those numbers to skyrocket.
West is also going to be a unit at nose tackle coming from Kent State where he played four seasons. Now at Indiana, the Chicago native looks to take yet another step from a solid season last year where he racked up 40 total tackles, two sacks and forced a fumble.
The Hoosiers bring back senior Lanell Carr Jr., who leads the returnees on defense with 5.5 sacks in his first season after transferring from West Virginia University. He’s coming off the best season of his college career, where he also had 33 total tackles in his first season as a starter. Graduate student Jacob Mangum-Farrar is another key piece back on defense, as he is the leading returning tackler with 62 a season ago. Redshirt-junior Marcus Burris Jr. is another player on the defensive line to keep an eye out for this season and will be a solid backup at the defensive tackle position.
The Indiana defense has a very high ceiling, with a great mixture of returning players and holes that were filled via the transfer portal. Coming off a season where the defense was ranked in the bottom half of nearly every category, this year provides a team with depth, talent, skill and an improved coaching staff that is going to take them to the next level.
Follow reporters Daniel Flick (@ByDanielFlick) and Dalton James (@DaltonMJames) and columnist Jhett Garrett (@jhettgarrett) for updates throughout the Indiana football season.
