In 2025, Indiana won the national title by playing the most complete team football in the nation. While the offense grabbed the national praise, Indiana’s defense kept the offense in several games. Go back to the Iowa game, the Ohio State game, and the Miami game, even. The defense was the one that allowed the offense to stay in the game.
The safety position was perhaps the most undercovered position on that defense. They weren’t the most noticeable position because Indiana didn’t need their safeties to save them very often. However, whenever a play came for the safeties, they wouldn’t miss a beat.
The safety is asked to do it all in football. They need to be quick and agile in order to run east to west, while also being big enough to land crushing hits when asked to. Specifically, the rover needs to be able to do it all. They have to be able to play in coverage, while also being a linebacker who can stop the run.
The Leaders
Amare Ferrell – Senior/ Lake City, Florida
Amari Ferrell is the key piece to this safety unit. He has been a consistent starter under Bryant Haines’ defense the last two seasons, totaling 4 INT’s in each of the last two seasons. He is in his fourth season at Indiana and primed to make that next leap this year. The team needs him to be the vocal leader of the room.
Ferrell had a career-high six pass deflections in 2025, while also grabbing four interceptions. He had 48 total tackles, 26 of them being solo. He has shown consistent improvement every year in his college career, with his largest jump being from freshman to sophomore year.
At 6’2″, 202 pounds, Ferrell provides a very versatile look at the safety position. He has high-tier speed, combined with quality hit power, making him a valuable asset to Indiana’s defense.
Preston Zachman – Redshirt Senior/ Wisconsin
Preston Zachman comes to Indiana with a ton of experience in the Big Ten. At Wisconsin, Zachman has been a three-year starter, with 35 total games under his belt. His season was cut short due to a lower-body injury against Alabama. This gave him one more year to play football, and he chose to take his talents to Indiana.
Zachman will be the likely starter alongside Ferrell. He is a leader and a talented player. He is a natural ball hawk, as he has seven total interceptions in his career. He also brings elite tackling talent. The sign of a good college defense is how they tackle, and Zachman does that at the highest level. He even had a 10-tackle performance against Rutgers.
Zachman can play back or be trusted in the box, which makes him a weapon in Bryant Haines’ 4-2-5 scheme. Look for Zachman to be a vocal leader on the defense and be trusted anywhere on the field.
Depth Pieces
Seaonta Stewart – Redshirt Freshman/ Cincinatti, Ohio
Seanonta Stewart didn’t see any action in his first collegiate season, but he was able to learn from the best Indiana football team ever. This season, he seeks some rotational reps for Indiana.
Stewart was recruited by West Virginia, Purdue, Boston College, and Cincinnati, but ultimately chose Indiana. He is the right profile of safety for what Cignetti has shown he enjoys in the position. He was a three-star prospect according to 247, but Cignetti has shown that he can turn those prospects into superstars.
Garrett Reese – Sophomore/ Chicago, Illinois
Garrett Reese has already done the rotational role in his first collegiate season. He saw the field in 10 games for the Hoosiers last season, and now will seek the sophomore leap.
He was limited in his snaps and only grabbed one tackle, but ultimately the coaching staff showed that they have ultimate faith in Reese going forward. His 10 games played didn’t show up on the stat sheet, but there are hundreds of lessons to teach Reese from these plays. Reese will very likely be a rotational coverage safety for Indiana, taking up snaps when Ferrell and Zachman need rest. He is a vital depth piece to this roster.
Jamar Owens – Freshmen/ Jonesboro, Georgia
At 6’0″, 172 pounds, Jamar Owens is undersized for the college game. Luckily for him, he is only a true freshman, and Indiana strength and conditioning will surely work him up in weight. If the coaching staff deems that Owens can help out Indiana’s roster, then he will play, as the five-in-five rule eliminates redshirting.
Owens has elite speed, so while adding weight, he needs to maintain his athleticism. He cannot be a box safety right now, but might be able to grow into that role. For now, he is a coverage player only. Time will tell if he rotates onto the field, but the room is very young, so he has a chance.
Rover
The rover position is given unique freedom to roam around to multiple positions on the defense. Depending on whether a team is running or passing, a rover might look more like a linebacker. When you want to blitz, they are capable, and when you want to load the box, they are able.
Byron Baldwin Jr. – Sophomore/ Baltimore, Maryland
Byron Baldwin Jr. made his first appearance last year against UCLA, and then played for Indiana all the way down the stretch. He played in garbage time, and he played as a special teams player. Doing these roles is a sign that the coaching staff has put faith in you as a player.
He grabbed 11 tackles in his first year and also had one fumble recovery. Baldwin showed coach Haines what he needed to, as it seems that he will be moved to rover this season. He will be trusted to fill many roles, and he will also probably still play on special teams and help the team out there.
He has shown that he is a great tackler, while also being very athletic and fast. This season, he will be a very strong depth piece to the unit that only has two very experienced players.
Quan Sanks – Junior/ University of Cincinnati
Quan Sanks is very valuable to Indiana’s safety room, as he represents one of three upperclassmen in the room. His experience from Cincinnati will make him likely Indiana’s number one rover.
He has two career forced fumbles and fumble recoveries alongside his 92 career tackles. Cincinnati saw him as a special talent, giving him a home freshman season to play right away. He has been a dominant player ever since.
He is mainly a box safety and doesn’t have a career interception yet, but he could very well see one. He is a bit undersized compared to most of Indiana’s safeties at 5’10”, but he makes up for it with his unique instincts. Bryant Haines will likely see him as his number three guy in the safety room, which has a lot of questions.
D’Montae Tims – Freshman/ Tampa, Florida
D’Montae Tims is another true freshman safety on this team, alongside Owens. He will be given the same treatment, where the coaching staff will give him minutes only if they believe he is polished enough to play.
He was a consensus three-star prospect and a top-50 safety in high school. The 6’0″, 202-pound safety will need to add some strength, but not too much more weight. Because of this, he is more primed to play right away than his other freshman teammate, Owens. He has great tackling instincts, while also being very sound in coverage.
Final Assessment
The unit isn’t primed to be the strongest on the team, but has the potential to be. There is a clear top three in Zachman, Ferrell, and Sanks, and then all of the other players will be fighting for depth minutes. It is a unit that should be elite without any injury, but if one of the top three goes down, there will be a lot of questions.
In the 4-2-5 defensive scheme, Haines will want to rotate five defensive backs in and out, and while the group might be inexperienced, it can be trusted. Training camp will be a telling moment for whether any of these young players step up and take larger roles on the team than expected.
Indiana knew that this was a position of need and brought in two great transfers to help out. Now the safeties need to just keep doing what they do best: clean up for the rest of the team’s mistakes.
Other Position Previews:
Special Teams:
Defensive Ends:
Offensive Lineman:
Quarterback:
Tight Ends:
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