The loss of Stephen Daley after the Big Ten Championship game was massive in the eyes of the IU football coaching staff.
Immediately after the program’s first ever league championship game win, Indiana defensive coordinator Bryant Haines had no reason to suspect anything was wrong with his star defensive end.
After all, Haines had just seen Daley
“I hugged Stephen Daley as soon as the game ended. So I knew that the game was over, the clock said 00:00 and we were Big Ten champs,” Haines said on 103.7 The Buzz in Arkansas last week. “So I remember that, and then I was hugging my daughter and somebody came up to me and said ‘They just carted Stephen Daley out of here.’ And I said ‘Well what happened?’ And they said ‘I don’t know, he collapsed.'”
Daley had just finished doing what he’d come to be known for — living in the opposing backfield. He had a sack and a tackle for loss in IU’s 13-10 conference title win over Ohio State.
Unable to comprehend at the time how Daley could have been injured, Haines figured Daley had simply left it all out on the field.
“I thought it was a situation where it was an adrenaline dump, I don’t know, too exhausted to stand anymore,” Haines said.
He’d later learn what we’d all learn, that Daley had shockingly suffered a serious lower leg injury while celebrating on the field.
“Come to find out it was a knee. I ran through the bowels of the stadium looking for him because they had said where they carted him to and I wanted to see what was going on,” Haines said. “It wasn’t until later, maybe an hour or so after the game until I figured out what happened.
“Wasn’t quite the celebration I was hoping for.”
After transferring in from Kent State during the offseason, Daley became one of Indiana’s most valuable defensive players as the 2025 season progressed. He was rotating early in the season but saw his role progress over time, especially when starter Kellan Wyatt went down with a season-ending injury.
Through the end of the regular season, Daley led the Big Ten and was tied for the national lead in tackles for loss. He ended his 2025 campaign with 19 tackles for loss to go with 41 quarterback pressures, 5.5 sacks and two forced fumbles. He had 10 tackles for loss over the last three games of the regular season.
The loss of Daley, coming after the loss of Wyatt, had the fan base in a bit of a panic. How could Indiana replace that kind of production in the College Football Playoff?
It was legitimate concern.
Haines says Daley was at the top of the sport as he hit his stride late in the 2025 campaign.
“I think when he got hurt, and I’m biased, I think he was the best defensive end in college football,” Haines said. “I really believe that. Just the amount of disruption he was causing. You can look at the numbers if you wanted to argue that, but I think statistically what you’ll see is that was the best defensive end in college football when he got hurt.”
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