Indiana’s Kamara Earns Pair of National Defensive Player of the Week Honors

IU Athletics Release

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Maxwell Football Club and Walter Camp Football Foundation each named Indiana football’s Mikail Kamara as its National Defensive Player of the Week on Tuesday (Nov. 5) after his stout effort at Michigan State to help Indiana to a 9-0 start to the season for the first time in program history.

For the second straight week, Indiana’s defense earns a national award, as Kamara follows sophomore D’Angelo Ponds’ three national honors from Week 9 after his multi-interception game against Washington. The duo joins Micah McFadden (2020) as the only IU defenders tabbed as national defensive player of the week in program history.

The redshirt junior was a disruptive force in IU’s victory at Michigan State with seven tackles from his defensive line position. That total included 4.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. His 4.5 tackles for loss in the game tie for the No. 3 on the single-game IU charts and are the most since Damian Gregory against Michigan State in 1997. His 2.5 sacks are tied for No. 6 on the single-game ledger at IU and the highest single-game total since Tegray Scales had 3.0 against Penn State in 2017.

The 4.5 tackles for loss are tied for No. 2 on the single-game list in the FBS this season.

Kamara anchored a defense that held Michigan State to a program-record minus-36 rushing yards which is IU's sixth game in 2024 holding an opponent under 100-yards rushing, to tie the 1990 squad for the most such games in a single season since at least 1950.  After Michigan State gained 123 yards of offense over its first two drives, the defense allowed just 70 yards the remainder of the game.

His 2.5 sacks versus the Spartans move his season total to a Big Ten-best 9.5 and into a tie for No. 6 on the IU single-season list with Nick Mangieri (2015). He also leads the Big Ten in tackles for loss (14.5) and paces all FBS defenders in total pressure (49) per Pro Football Focus.

The Maxwell Football Club was founded in 1935 and is the oldest football organization of its kind in America. The Club recognizes excellence in performance at the high school, collegiate and professional levels of the game. The Maxwell Club is also deeply involved and fully vested in the community through programs to promote academic excellence, community volunteerism, and leadership.

This is the 21st year that the Walter Camp Football Foundation will honor one offensive and one defensive player

as its national Football Bowl Subdivision player of the week during the regular season. It is the nation’s longest running Player of Week award.