With football season approaching, we’re going through Indiana’s roster to look at each position group going into fall camp.
Despite losing several good, experienced players, Indiana’s safety room is in good shape entering fall camp. Just like at cornerback, Curt Cignetti and safeties coach Ola Adams have a good mix of experience and youth at safety. Junior Amare Ferrell leads the group, but several others could emerge as key pieces to this year’s IU defense by the end of the season.
Roster turnover — who’s gone
- Shawn Asbury II (exhausted his eligibility)
- Terry Jones Jr. (exhausted his eligibility)
- Nic Toomer (exhausted his eligibility)
- Josh Sanguinetti (exhausted his eligibility)
- D.J. Warnell (transferred to North Texas, but re-entered portal after spring)
- Tyrik McDaniel (transfer — The Citadel)
Roster turnover — who’s back
- Amare Ferrell (junior)
- Bryson Bonds (redshirt senior)
- Jah Jah Boyd (redshirt freshman)
Roster turnover — who’s new
- Louis Moore (sixth-year senior; transfer — Ole Miss)
- Devan Boykin (sixth-year senior; transfer — NC State)
- Byron Baldwin Jr. (4-star, Baltimore, Md.)
- Garrett Reese (3-star, Chicago, Ill.)
Projected depth chart
Here’s our best estimate of Indiana’s safety starters and who the other key players will be.
- Strong safety: Amare Ferrell, junior, 6-foot-2, 200 pounds (13 career starts at IU)
- Byron Baldwin Jr., freshman, 6-foot-2, 195 pounds
- Free safety: Louis Moore, sixth-year senior, 5-foot-11, 200 pounds (12 career starts at IU and Ole Miss)
- Bryson Bonds, redshirt senior, 6 foot, 199 pounds (one career start at IU)
- Rover: Devan Boykin, sixth-year senior, 5-foot-10, 195 pounds (20 career starts at NC State)
- Jah Jah Boyd, redshirt freshman, 5-foot-11, 173 pounds
Ferrell and Moore are pretty set as Indiana’s safety tandem, and Boykin should be a safe bet to start at rover, given his experience. Bonds should see action if and when IU switches out of its base package. The rest of IU’s safety depth is inexperienced — Boyd spent the entire 2024 season rehabbing an injury, and Baldwin is a true freshman. But both are promising pieces going forward for the Hoosiers, and it wouldn’t be surprising if either of them earn bigger roles.
Why it will work
There’s so much talent in this room. Ferrell enjoyed a really strong sophomore year, with four interceptions, four tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks. He started last year at rover but moved to safety in the middle of the season, and he handled that change extremely well. Moore returns to Bloomington after one year at Ole Miss, and the Hoosiers will hope he’ll be a solid playmaker like he was in 2023. Moore led the Hoosiers with three interceptions in Tom Allen’s last season. Boykin missed 2024 with an injury, but in 2023, he graded extremely well in run defense and tackling, making him a good fit at rover. Bonds has a lot of experience in a secondary role, and IU should be able to count on him again. And Indiana has high-upside depth pieces in Baldwin and Boyd.
Why it won’t
Moore was less effective last season at Ole Miss than he was with the Hoosiers in 2023. IU is banking on him being at least closer to the 2023 version, but if 2024 Moore is more representative of what Cignetti is getting this year, that could be an issue. Ferrell also had some tackling issues at times last season that he needs to improve on. Additionally, there’s a reasonable question mark with Boykin after missing so much time with an injury. Cignetti hasn’t shied away from playing younger players who earn his trust, but what would he do if any situations arise with the starters and Boyd or Baldwin end up in the dog house?
Prior previews:
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