IU football is one season removed from being the No. 81 team in the nation in scoring defense. The Hoosier defense, however, generated 2.2 turnovers per game last season, good for ninth best in the country.
Fast forward 10 months, and IU’s defense has a new look. Head coach Tom Allen handed over play calling responsibilities to defensive coordinator Kane Wommack, and IU’s highest-rated recruiting class in program history boasts a lot of talent on the defensive side of the ball.
There’s unquestioned depth at each position, and Wommack is exuberant about the potential and identity of his ‘Swarm D’ unit. Allen has never been shy of his lofty aspirations of coaching a Top 25 defense in the country, but this season could be his next step toward that. Here's how the defensive line and linebackers break down.
Defensive line
The Hoosier defense wasn’t stellar covering the opposing ground game in 2018, but the defensive line showed its flashes. IU let up 183.2 rushing yards per game last season but also averaged 1.1 fumble recoveries per game, one of the 11 teams in the nation with as many takeaways in that fashion.
The defensive line lost seven athletes, four of which started in multiple games last season, to graduation and they combined for 89 tackles and six sacks in 2018. Sophomore Alfred Bryant and senior Allen Stallings IV will likely slot in at the defensive end spots while junior Jerome Johnson returns to the interior. Beyond that, there are some holes to fill for the Hoosiers.
IU might not have as much of a veteran presence on its defensive line this season, but it’s a line with a sizeable short-list of young reserves waiting to get on the field and make a name for themselves.
Sophomore Juan Harris, who came back to IU after transferring to Independence Community College for the 2018 season, will surely factor into the rotation with sophomore Demarcus Elliot, a Garden City Community College transfer, right behind him.
Senior Gavin Everett and sophomore James Head Jr. will return to the fold with play time at the defensive end, but a number of others may decrease their play time. Redshirt freshman Madison Norris and freshman Beau Robbins have a lot to prove out of fall camp, and there’s a good group of underclassmen that can fill in at multiple spots on the line.
Linebackers
Allen likes to throw two linebackers out at opposing offenses. After making 10 starts and recording 36 tackles last season, it would be hard to imagine not seeing senior Reakwon Jones as a routine starter. Aside from Jones, however, IU’s linebacker room is left in a heated competition for play time.
The favorites to be the second starting linebacker are sophomores Thomas Allen, Cam Jones and Micah McFadden, in addition to redshirt freshman James Miller. McFadden exceeded expectations and played in all 12 games last season, but Miller shined in his three appearances before ending the season as a redshirt.
The Hoosiers will ultimately get all of those players involved and even leave some opportunities available for redshirt freshmen Aaron Casey and Robert Tolbert IV as well as freshman D.K. Bonhomme.
With Wommack set to take over on defensive play calling, Allen’s defense could begin using packages with additional linebackers.
It could be the only way to get all those players involved.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article misspelled the first name for Reakwon Jones. The IDS regrets this error.
