It's Time For the Hoosier Defense to Connect the Missing Link, A Consistent Pass Rush

Written by Juliet Gahan

The Indiana Hoosiers have been searching for an elite pass rusher since Jammie Kirlew graduated in 2010. There have been games and individual performances where the Hoosiers got into an opponents’ backfield, but it has not been consistent in a very long time. Last season the Hoosiers were tied for eighth in the Big Ten with 27 sacks and ninth in sacks per game with 2.08 per contest. In 2018 the Hoosiers ranked 10th with just 22 sacks in 12 games.

The Hoosiers ability to consistently get after the quarterback has been the missing link from taking a good defense and making it great. Under new defensive line coach Kevin Peoples and with a more veteran group, the Hoosiers could be ready to find that link. 

Peoples joined the Hoosiers in March after Mark Hagen left for Texas. Peoples coached at Tulane prior to arriving in Bloomington and has a history of getting the best out of what he has. \

Mission one: Find a way to get to the quarterback.

“I think we are doing a good job. That is obviously a point of emphasis for us. We have got several guys that have stood out, pass rush wise.” Peoples said of generating a pass rush.. In past seasons Indiana’s pass rush average has been lower than their opponents. 

“We have got several guys that have stood out, pass rush wise. I do not want to name every single one, but Michael Ziemba has done a really nice job” People said of the senior.  Last year Ziemba had 33 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and shared the team lead with two fumble recoveries. However, Ziemba failed to record a sack, so there are improvements to be made.

“I think he has improved his pass rush ability” Peoples said. “We have some inside guys that can pass rush.“

The Indiana defensive line is not a one-man wrecking crew though. The Hoosiers bring back defensive tackle Jerome Johnson, who led the team with five sacks, and Demarcus Elliott who added three sacks of his own. 

Defensive end James Head is another player who needs to have a breakout season after posting 2.5 sacks last season. Ziemba said James Head “is raw. He is raw, I am not going to lie. He is making plays every day. We all are. I feel that we have all gotten so much better. He is about to have a huge year. He definitely is.”

Head built on his freshman season in 2019, but still has work to do. “I need to focus on the details” Head said. “That is what Coach Peoples is focused on. He is worried about technique all of the time. Working on my fundamentals, getting back to square one and working on my fundamentals.”

The Hoosiers get some veteran help as well in graduate transfer Jovan Swann who comes to Bloomington from Stanford with 11.5 career sacks and 18.5 tackles for loss. 

“He is a better player when you put pads on than when you are walking through” Peoples said. “We spent a lot of time without shoulder pads, but he has really been impressive the last week and a half or two weeks. You can see a drastic improvement from him. I think it has been a little adjustment for him because he did not go through spring ball, which a lot of guys did not. He has been a really pleasant player and his progress has been what we are looking for. We are looking very, very much forward to what he can do when next Saturday comes.”

I’ll let James Head state the mission again:

“We are trying to get as many sacks as possible. Every time the quarterback drops back to pass, we are trying to get a sack. However many times that quarterback steps back to pass, that is how many sacks that we want.”

The Hoosiers know what they have to do. Get to the quarterback.