2021 Countdown to Kickoff: 91 Days (Weston Kramer)

Written by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)

The 2021 Countdown to Kickoff is underway! There are still 91 days remaining before the Indiana Hoosiers battle the Iowa Hawkeyes and begin their 2021 campaign. Today’s profile features a recent addition at a position of need: defensive tackle Weston Kramer.

Name: Weston Kramer

Hometown: Summit Argo, IL (Northern Illinois University)

Position: Defensive Tackle

Year: Senior

Height/Weight: 6’1”/290 pounds

The Indiana Hoosiers lost Jerome Johnson to the NFL Draft and a couple of expected rotation players on the interior of the defensive line departed via the transfer portal. Tom Allen and his staff have to feel good about Demarcus Elliott and Sio Nofoagatoto’a but the depth of the interior defensive line had taken a real hit and the Hoosiers needed some help. The staff turned to the transfer portal and in late April, they received a commitment from Weston Kramer.

The Illinois native comes to Bloomington after a very successful four seasons as a Northern Illinois Husky. He played in every game as a freshman in 2017 and recorded 19 tackles. He then led interior defensive linemen with 38 tackles as he started every game in 2018. As a junior, he earned third-team All-MAC honors and started 11 of 12 games. The 2020 Mid-American Conference (MAC) season was shortened by COVID-19 so NIU only played six games. Kramer started each of those six contests and following the season, the senior was named All-MAC Second Team.

Kramer is adept at getting penetration through the interior of the line and finishing plays with tackles for loss. He is considered especially stout against the run and he’s the exact type of player the Hoosiers needed to help shore up the depth of the line behind Elliott and Nofoagatoto’a. He’ll now likely be in the rotation with those two plus CJ Person as the interior linemen for the Indiana. The staff could still look to add one more big body as the rugged schedule the Hoosiers face will certainly end up testing their depth.

The countdown continues with a new profile each and every day so come back to hoosierhuddle.com daily!