Indiana landed its first spring commit out of the transfer portal on Sunday morning.
6-foot-1 and 260-pound Kent State defensive lineman Stephen Daley announced his commitment to the Hoosiers.
In 2025 Daley started all 12 games for the Flashes. He recorded 51 tackles, tallied 9 tackles for loss for 27 yards, and 4 sacks for 16 yards.
Daley has played in 34 games over three seasons. He has 103 career tackles including 15.5 for loss, six career sacks, four passes defensed, two fumble recoveries, one forced fumble and an interception. 99 of his 103 career tackles came in the last two seasons.
A product of Winchester, Va., Daley has one season of eligibility remaining. He was offered by Curt Cignetti and the James Madison staff as a high school prospect. He was a teammate of IU starter C.J. West at Kent State in 2023.
Daley was the highest rated defensive player for Kent State in 2024 according to PFF, with an 81.0 overall grade. He was No. 1 for the Golden Flashes in pass rush (76.3), No. 2 in run defense (76.7) and No. 2 in coverage (78). He was not a good tackler according to PFF, with a 48.7 grade.
With one exception, Indiana doesn’t have a lot of proven production on the outside of its defensive line. And with All-American Mikail Kamar moving to Indiana’s stud position, Daley appears to be a contender to start or rotate at the vacated field end spot. He could also backup Kamara.
Lanell Carr, Jacob Mangum-Farrar and Venson Sneed are all gone from 2024. Daley will compete with Kamara and returners Andrew Turvy, Ta’Derius Collins, Mario Landino, Daniel Ndukwe, and William Depaepe for snaps, along with freshmen Tyrone Burris and Triston Abram.
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