Projected 2024 Indiana football defensive depth chart after spring practice
Michael Niziolek
BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football’s defense wasn’t going to have many familiar faces on its two-deep coming out of spring practice, but that number got even smaller over the last two weeks.
The Hoosiers have prioritized adding immediate contributors on the defensive side of the ball in the spring portal window.
They also lost an expected starter in the secondary.
Here’s where things stand going into the team’s summer workout program:
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Defensive tackle
- James Carpenter and Marcus Burris Jr.
- Tyrique Tucker and Robby Harrison
This could change in a matter of hours with Indiana expected to land Kent State defensive tackle CJ West, one of the most highly coveted players at high position in the portal. West has seven sacks, 19.5 tackles for loss and 58 quarterback pressures in his career. He would immediately vault into a starting role alongside Carpenter.
The expected two-deep didn’t get a single practice rep together during the spring since Tucker was another post-spring addition and Carpenter sat out while recovering from offseason surgery.
The portal additions give IU the depth it needed at the position, but this group won’t have a ton of time to develop chemistry in the fall.
Defensive ends
- Mikail Kamara and Lanell Carr
- Jacob Mangum-Farrar and Venson Sneed Jr.
Indiana is expecting big things from Kamara. The JMU transfer was healthy for the first time in his career last season and put up 41 quarterback pressures with eight sacks. It wouldn’t be all that surprising to see him have a similar workload (680 snaps) as well leaving Carr, Mangum-Farrar and Sneed splitting reps opposite him.
Mangum-Farrar showed the athleticism needed to thrive coming off the edge at linebacker, but he’s still learning the finer details of the position.
Carr, who sat out spring recovering from an injury, will be a steadying veteran presence with 39 career games (14 starts). Defensive coordinator Bryant Haines could take some pressure off his defensive ends if he blitzes as much as he did in the spring game.
Linebacker
- Aiden Fisher and Jaylin Walker
- Isaiah Jones and Nahji Logan
The coaching staff feels pretty good about its starting linebacker tandem. Fisher and Walker started alongside each other last year and both earned All-Sun Belt honors. Fisher slid right into Aaron Casey’s spot in the middle defense and displayed the same kind of leadership qualities the defender was known for.
Walker, who was one of JMU’s top playmakers last year, sat out spring recovering from an injury, but their experience working together in Haines defense will make his transition into the starting lineup pretty seamless this fall.
The second-team linebackers are in flux with the addition of Logan, a recent signee out of the portal from UMass. Jones really shined in the spring game playing with the second-team defense.
Rover
- Amare Ferrell
- Terry Jones Jr.
Ferrell was one of the few true freshmen who didn’t redshirt last year. After IU lost multiple starting safeties in the first half against Rutgers, Ferrell only allowed three catches for 20 yards and had eight tackles playing a season-high 58 snaps.
Jones will push for playing time if he plays like he did in the spring game this fall, but they will both have a role considering the lack of depth at safety.
Cornerback
- D’Angelo Ponds and Jamari Sharpe
- Jamier Johnson and JoJo Johnson
The addition of Ponds softened the impact of Minor’s surprise exit. Ponds was a freshman All-American last year with 51 tackles (32 solo) with two tackles for loss, two interceptions and 13 pass breakups.
According to Pro Football Focus, opposing quarterbacks had a 59.7 quarterback rating when targeting him last year. He only allowed 32 catches on 65 targets for 259 yards.
That’s a No. 1 corner.
The experience Sharpe got last year should help him take another step forward as well. He’s a good-sized corner at 6-foot-1, 185-pounds and spent spring working with the first-team defense.
Safety
- Shawn Asbury II and Josh Sanguinetti
- Nic Toomer and Bryson Bonds
Asbury is on the firmest ground here after having what Cignetti described as a “consistent’ spring camp. He played more in the box last year for ODU and the sure-tackling he displayed in the spring game highlighted that experience.
It wouldn’t be all that surprising to see Toomer jump into the starting lineup as he continues to get comfortable at safety. He had some standout games for IU last year at corner, but various injuries limited his snaps. He made it through spring practice without any issues and the Hoosiers could use his size at the position.
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.