LOS ANGELES — If the spotlight of being thrust into a bigger role on a stage like the Rose Bowl and the College Football Playoff is a lot to handle, Daniel Ndukwe doesn’t show it.
Top-ranked Indiana football will likely turn to the sophomore defensive end in a large capacity on New Year’s Day against No. 9 Alabama, after Stephen Daley suffered a knee injury during postgame celebrations at the Big Ten Championship Game. Ndukwe has seen the field in all but two games for the Hoosiers over the last two years, but most of that action came on special teams.
But the Lithonia, Ga. product doesn’t come off like someone intimidated by the weight of this moment. Ndukwe talks like someone who’s played all season, and has already shaken off any jitters.
“Getting the nerves out is very important,” Ndukwe said on Tuesday. “Your mind can go anywhere before you actually step on the field. And I think just being on the field and getting the hang of it, like, ‘Man, this just feels like practice.’ So now, it’s a confidence level that I have that I didn’t have before.”
Ndukwe, standing 6-foot-3 and 244 pounds, exclusively played special teams during the first half of this season. He started to get some defensive snaps after Kellan Wyatt went down with a season-ending injury against Michigan State, and as Mikail Kamara dealt with some health issues in the second half of the season. Ndukwe played a career-high 35 defensive snaps at Purdue, lining up more as an outside linebacker than a defensive end.
Now, with Daley lost for the season along with Wyatt, “Duke” is next in line at defensive end. Indiana has other options to fill the void, namely shifting Mario Landino out wider and plugging Hosea Wheeler or Dominique Ratcliff in at defensive tackle.
But the Hoosiers see Ndukwe as more than just an underclassman being thrown into a tough spot. They see a talented player who’s been waiting in the wings to get a chance like this.
“This been a (work in) progress moving forward. I always have had belief in Duke. We were just kind of stacked in that position,” defensive ends coach Buddha Williams told The Daily Hoosier. “You always want to be playing on this stage, in the spotlight. You always want this moment, especially as a competitor. I think he’s embraced it. He’s ready for that. And I got nothing but trust and belief that he can go out there and play well, and do his job.”
Director of athletic performance Derek Owings was the one who first informed Ndukwe of Daley’s injury in Indianapolis.
The Hoosiers were riding high after defeating Ohio State to win the Big Ten title. Ndukwe saw Owings amidst the celebration, and he could tell something was off.
“I see coach Owings, and I’m like, ‘Yeah man, we did it!” Ndukwe said. “He’s like, ‘Man, Stephen just hurt his knee.’ Like straight-faced.”
Initially, Ndukwe’s sole concern was about Daley. After all, the Kent State transfer finished the regular season as the nation’s leader in tackles for loss. He knew losing Daley for the CFP would be a huge blow.
The resulting impact and opportunity sunk in for Ndukwe in the following days and weeks. He didn’t have any individual meetings with coaches as the situation became apparent; Indiana’s coaches had conversations with Ndukwe throughout the season preparing him in case a circumstance like this occurred. He knew his time was coming.
“I knew what it (Daley’s injury) meant for me. I knew I would have to step up,” Ndukwe said. “I knew the next few weeks, during this bye week period, whatever you want to call it, I knew I would have to really lock in.”
Ndukwe was one of four class of 2024 recruits committed to James Madison to follow head coach Curt Cignetti to Indiana, along with Landino, quarterback Alberto Mendoza, and defensive back Jah Jah Boyd. At the time, Ndukwe cited his existing relationships with the coaches joining Cignetti in Bloomington — along with the immediate connection he created with Williams — for his decision to become a Hoosier.
Just over two years later, he’ll play a significant role for IU for the first time — and it’s happening in the Rose Bowl. Ndukwe is ready for that challenge, and his teammates share that confidence in him.
“He can drop (into coverage) really well. He can pass rush really well. He can be in the run. He does everything very, very well. There’s really nothing in his game that makes me even a tad bit nervous,” Kamara said. “He really cares. He gets extra work with me after practice. We watch film, and whenever he makes a mistake, he understands how big that could have been in the game. So for me, it’s the care factor (that makes Ndukwe a good player).”
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