Raheem Layne Thriving in Safety Role After Move From Corner
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Image: Indiana University Athletics
Written by Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)
Raheem Layne was Indiana’s Defensive Newcomer of the Year as a freshman in 2017 as he played in all 12 games including one start. He was pretty productive with 13 tackles. He followed that up with a solid sophomore campaign as he played in 12 more games with seven starts and his production increased. As a junior Layne saw his starting spot slip away as freshman Tiawan Mullen burst onto the season and Layne was relegated to a backup role after starting the first five games of the year. Then in 2020, Layne missed the season due to an injury he decided to have surgery on as he thought the season was cancelled. This would be a crushing blow to anyone’s college career, but credit Layne and the coaching staff for finding a spot to plug him in and succeed.
Layne made the switch to safety in the spring as the Hoosiers needed to fill the void left by Jamar Johnson and the transition has gone well.
“The transition's been pretty smooth because our the coaching staff did a really good job of getting making sure we're prepared from week to week. Then just like being out there on Saturdays, it just feels natural back there being able to come down and make tackles and stuff. I have fun and i feel like the transition was like very smooth.” Layne said.
Thus far in 2021, Layne has made three starts at safety accounted for 17 total tackles, has forced a fumble and has broken up a pass.
“I thought Raheem Layne played pretty well” Indiana head coach Tom Allen said after the win over Idaho. “But he's rusty. He hadn't played in over a year. He was so excited, he made some mistakes, without question, but a lot of them were over-aggression and just energy. I think once he calmed down, he made fewer of those,”
Layne and the secondary will be facing the top passing attack in the nation in Western Kentucky on Saturday. The rust should be off as Layne led the team in tackles against Cincinnati and is thriving at his new home in the defensive back field.