Indiana head football coach Curt Cignetti typically doesn’t shy away from utilizing freshmen he deems ready for collegiate game action.
In 2024, linebacker Rolijah Hardy and defensive lineman Mario Landino both saw meaningful playing time as true freshmen. Cignetti preaches a recruiting philosophy of preferring production over potential, but once players enter the building, he’s unafraid of using a less experienced player if he and his staff feel they’ve earned a role.
IU’s head coach acknowledged that he doesn’t recruit high school players thinking they’ll immediately contribute as freshmen, because most won’t be ready for that responsibility. True freshman have to overcome both mental and physical obstacles to be able to see the field.
“When they graduate, and they’re seniors or fifth-year seniors, their body’s going to look a lot different. But I guess the main thing would be maturity level and being able to handle all the things, especially when school starts,” Cignetti said. “Handling success, failure, being consistent, having good habits, and not getting caught up in things that freshmen get caught up in. We’ve got a couple freshmen doing fairly well. But we’ll see where we’re at.”
The Hoosiers have several freshmen showing promise in fall camp. Two, in particular, have stood out and look capable of handling real playing time this season. Wide receiver Lebron Bond’s speed is a real weapon that IU could utilize in the passing game. And safety Byron Baldwin Jr.’s practice reps have been strong, with the speed, physicality, and awareness to make an early impact in the secondary.
Kamara aiming big
Mikail Kamara is moving from defensive end to stud this season, but make no mistake: he still plans on being a major force for IU in the pass rush.
Kamara led the Hoosiers with 10 sacks in 2024, tied for the fifth-most in program history and the most since 2008. The redshirt senior has even bigger plans this year — he’s set his sights on breaking Greg Middleton’s program record of 16 sacks. Kamara said his goal for this year is 20 sacks.
“You’ve got to aim higher than you can even believe. I feel like if you aim higher, if you fall, it’s going to be still spectacular. So I set that goal at 20 sacks,” Kamara said. “Worst-case scenario, I fall and I break the sack record. … Every single time you set higher goals and higher expectations, when it starts to get hard, you realize why you’re doing it and what type of work (is) necessary to achieve it.”
It’s certainly a lofty goal, but given Kamara’s dominance throughout last season, it’s hard to completely discount him from pulling it off.
Left tackle Carter Smith has had a front-row seat to the MIkail Kamara show for the last year and a half, going back to spring ball in 2024. Smith and Kamara, two of the best at their positions in the Big Ten, have gone head-to-head in practice so many times in that span. Smith said those battles are intense, and they’ve helped both players reach their full potential.
“He gets better every day. Whether he’s a little bit faster off the edge, it’s always keeping me on my toes. He gets a little better, I get a little better, and it just keeps on stacking. I think that competition has been really good for both of us,” Smith said. “And I think it’s kind of rubbing off on some of the other players on the D-line, too. Some of the transfers that we got in, Stephen (Daley) and Kellan (Wyatt), they’re all kind of buying into his (Kamara’s) culture and just go as hard as you possibly can every play.”
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