IU head coach Tom Allen confirmed Monday during a Zoom call that senior safety Raheem Layne will miss a portion of the Hoosiers’ 2020 football season due to injury. There is no timetable for his return to the field, and Allen did not disclose the nature of his injury.
“It definitely won’t be any time soon that he’ll be back,” Allen said. “But I just know that I feel really good about the fact that he’s able to get everything taken care of.”
Allen said the injury did not occur during practice, but it was an issue that was persistently nagging Layne this offseason. IU defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said Friday that Layne underwent a surgical procedure as a result of the injury.
Layne is now the second player from the IU secondary who will miss time this year. Senior defensive back Marcelino Ball suffered a torn ACL and will likely be out for the entire 2020 season.
“You lose guys like that, man it’s tough to deal with,” Wommack said. “I think Raheem Layne is another guy that is doing a really good job there, or was, on the back end. So we’ll move forward without those guys.”
Layne spent his first three years in Bloomington playing cornerback but made the position change to safety during spring practice.
He’s recorded 82 total tackles, six pass deflections and one forced fumble in 37 career games. Layne was the IU Special Teams Player of the Year in 2019 and the IU Defensive Newcomer of the Year in 2017.
