Indiana football became Jacob Savage’s favorite program as his recruitment process went along, but he had one main concern.
The linebacker was well aware of IU’s history on the football field. Head coach Curt Cignetti and his staff were new at that point — they talked a big game, but they were up against a long, overwhelmingly rough track record.
So when Cignetti led the Hoosiers to a historic season in 2024, Savage watched from afar with increasing confidence of his eventual college decision.
“Ever since camp, I really fell in love with Bloomington as a whole, and the coaching staff, and the area at Indiana. Obviously, one of my big concerns was Indiana’s kind of been a losing team. So I was like, ‘Are they going to be able to do that, carry that forward?'” Savage told The Daily Hoosier in a phone interview. “Once they started winning in games and showing their success, that was big.”
Savage became the fifth member of Indiana’s class of 2026 when he committed in late April.
The Union, Ky. native quickly took a liking football when he started playing. Savage first took the field as a third grader living in West Virginia, playing running back and safety. He loved hitting people and scoring touchdowns, and he stuck with it.
Savage moved to linebacker in seventh grade, and that was a turning point in his football career. He realized that was where he belonged on the field, and he started to grasp his potential. He enjoyed the heightened responsibility that came with that position.
“I just felt like you’re the quarterback on the defense. You’re leading the guys — a big leadership kind of position, which really stood out to me,” Savage said. “And then also the physicality and tools needed to be a great linebacker — it’s not just physically, it’s mentally. Some of those aspects really led me to kind of love the position. There’s just so much about it, and it just takes such a great football player and such an intelligent person to really play it at a high level.”
After growing up as a Georgia fan, Savage’s favorite linebacker to watch on tape is Roquan Smith. He likes the way Smith carries himself as a leader and the physicality he plays the game with, which are both characteristics he tries to emulate.
He continued playing running back even after switching to linebacker, and had college interest to play offense as well. He rushed for 1,085 yards and 22 touchdowns for Ryle High in 2024. But Savage feels he’s a better linebacker — he recorded 141 tackles last season, including 17 tackles for loss and three sacks, and one interception. And that, along with his love for the complexities of the position, led him to forge his path at the next level on defense.
But the speed he weaponized at running back is one of his biggest strengths as a linebacker. Savage prides himself on covering the entire field and not just being a north-south player. He added that he wants to keep improving his game physically and mentally in the next year before he arrives in Bloomington.
“I just want to keep improving the block-shedding and the film-watching, for sure,” Savage said. “That’s something that’s going to carry on as long as I play football, the film studies and the film sessions. So keep doing that, and keep improving my craft mentally as well as physically.”
That sort of mentality aligns with Cignetti’s attitude and the sorts of players he typically builds his teams around. A constant drive to keep improving, and using off-the-field work like film study advantageously.
Savage had a strong impression of IU’s head coach from their interactions. He loves Cignetti’s confidence and the way he backed it up last season, along with his relatability and how personable he is.
“He’s not satisfied with not winning. That’s kind of way I am as well,” Savage said. “He’s definitely a winner. That’s obviously evident throughout his career.”
Savage will join Indiana’s linebacker room in a potentially transitioning state next year, as Hoosiers stalwart Aiden Fisher will exhaust his eligibility after the 2025 season. A lot could happen before the Kentucky native arrives — other IU players can make strides and emerge as leaders in the room, and the Hoosiers could add more at the position in the transfer portal.
But if nothing else, the Hoosiers are adding a player who thinks very similarly to Cignetti, Haines, Fisher, and many others in the program in 2026.
“(I’m) a really hard worker. Going to put, every day, all my effort into perfecting myself on and off the field. I see myself as a leader, again, on and off the field, that’s going to lead by example, but is also kind of going to vocally, as well, lead,” Savage said. “They’re just getting a team-first player. A lot of energy, very physical, and is going to be one of the hardest-working guys in the room, that has that goal in mind to win a national championship.”
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