Curt Cignetti is off to a good start in his first official offseason as Indiana’s head football coach. In just a few weeks, Cignetti has had nine announced commitments from the transfer portal, with most of them being highly sought after players by a multitude of teams.
The only catch? So far they’re all on offense, except for one.
Cignetti checked all of the boxes off on my offensive wish list that I came up with the day the portal opened. The coaching staff went out and strengthened their receiver room, added a quarterback with experience and the stats to prove it, and at least one big man up front to protect him.
However, with a lot of veterans ending their collegiate careers and players transferring out, there are still a lot of holes to fill with talent on the other side of the ball.
Here are the three biggest needs for the defense as the portal window continues on.
Click here for Indiana’s transfer portal announcements and other offseason activity.
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Safeties
Indiana already had a few questions heading into the past season with depth and experience with their safeties, and nothing will change heading into the next.
With Phillip Dunnam’s name remaining in the portal and Louis Moore committing to Ole Miss, Indiana could potentially lose both of their starters from last season. They led the team in interceptions with three a piece.
If Dunnam would return, that would give Indiana some breathing room at the position. However, even if they can’t retain Dunnam, they have a good chance in getting some talent due to the new staff.
New safeties and defensive backs coach Ola Adams joined Indiana after previously holding a defensive analyst position at Penn State. Adams also has some coaching experience in the NFL, as he spent time with the Broncos as a secondary assistant coach.
Similar to Bob Bostad on the offensive side, recruits may be more inclined to transfer due to the coaching experience. Adams certainly has the impressive background resume to bring in talent from the portal and help improve the Indiana defense.
The Hoosiers also have some promise with returners such as Josh Sanguinetti and Amare Ferrell, but it may not be enough for a Big Ten-worthy secondary.
If there is one position that Cignetti and his staff are looking for positional depth, the safety position is certainly one of them.
Defensive Line
As for a talent upgrade, the edge rushing situation in Indiana is one that is certainly being monitored already.
Earlier this week, Indiana got their first defensive commitment from the portal from Mikail Kamara from James Madison. Kamara had 17.5 TFLs last season along with 6.5 sacks and earned second team All-Sun Belt conference honors last season.
With Kamara, Indiana addresses a very big need for the replacement of Andre Carter. Swingman Lanell Carr also showed a lot of promise throughout last season and announced his intentions to stay at Indiana in a player interview during the season. However, it may be safe to add one more true edge rusher to provide some more pressure on opposing quarterbacks for next season.
As for the interior linemen, things look a bit more optimistic, but the Hoosiers could still see some more depth pieces added.
LeDarrius Cox, Nick James, and Patrick Lucas Jr. have all announced they will be moving on from Indiana and transferring to other programs. All three were key players a part of the rotation last season.
Philip Blidi and Marcus Burris Jr. have yet to announce any official plans to transfer, so if both come back, they will play significant roles. However, if Indiana plans to rotate players at the line as often as they did last year, it would be smart to add another experienced guy to their position.
Linebackers
There’s no question about it, Cignetti needs to find a defensive leader at linebacker for next season.
Aaron Casey was undoubtedly the best defensive player across the board last season for the Hoosiers. Casey surpassed the century mark on tackles, along with 20 TFLs and 6.5 sacks. His season was enough to get All-Big Ten recognition from multiple outlets.
Jacob Mangum-Farrar could return. He added just over 60 tackles last season and complemented Casey well at the position. Matt Holht, Josh Rudolph, and Kaiden Turner all saw action last season, but not enough for any of them to be named a go-to guy for next season.
As a result, Indiana definitely needs to take some extensive time trying to find a linebacker or two from the portal in order to round out their roster. If the portal momentum continues for Indiana on the defensive side of things, Cignetti could be building a powerful and talented squad on both sides of the ball.
