Amare Ferrell Talks About the Adjustment to Rover

Written By: Nick Gonzales (@nrgonzales_)

Amare Ferrell, a holdover from the Tom Allen regime, has emerged as a star in the Hoosiers defense. Last week against UCLA, Ferrell made the only interception of the game and also recorded a sack and 6 tackles. As a sophomore, Ferrell has really stood out as a defensive threat for the Hoosiers.

When Indiana brought in Coach Cignetti from JMU, he brought along several coaches from his staff, including defensive coordinator Bryant Haines. With a new defensive coordinator, a new defensive scheme came too which opened some new positions like rover. The rover is similar to a safety but with more responsibilities.

“In the rover spot, you’re covering the run and pass more while in the high safety spot, you’re covering a lot of field.” Ferrell said during an interview Tuesday.

 After showing his capabilities, the coaches decided that Ferrell would be perfect for the position and in Tuesday’s player interviews, Ferrell shined some light on how he’s adjusting.

“It feels really good playing DB. It gives you a chance to really show off your versatility and play different spots on the field. I feel like I’ve been doing a good job in learning those responsibilities.”

Ferrell definitely has been doing a good job with 9 tackles and two interceptions in the first three games of the season. He didn’t magically adapt to the position overnight though. It took a lot of time and practice. Ferrell said that during spring camp, everyone had something to learn before they started to feel some comfort in their positions. Ferrell noticed that he started to feel better about the position near the end of spring camp and felt even better during fall camp. Cignetti has also noticed his improvement.

“You see him building weekly on his successes and playing with more confidence.” Cignetti stated in his press conference Monday.

Ferrell still has a lot of the season left, plus at least another year of college football left to play. Who knows how good he’ll end up being. For now, Ferrell is getting ready to disrupt Charlotte’s game plan with his playmaking abilities.