Countdown to Kickoff: 26 Days (Kiante Walton)

Written by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)

#26

There are only 26 days until September 1st. Hang in there Hoosier fans, the football season will be here before you know it. Today, our countdown focuses on a very interesting player that started the first two games of the 2015 season before missing the remainder of the year with an injury. His 2016 role is unclear but he will undoubtedly play a part in a new-look secondary. Let’s get to know redshirt sophomore defensive back Kiante Walton!

Kiante Walton (Redshirt Sophomore)

-Height: 6’2”
-Weight: 215 pounds
-Hometown: Columbus, Georgia (George Washington Carver High School)
-Position: Defensive Back

A native of Columbus, Georgia, Kiante Walton starred as a defensive back for George Washington Carver High School. He earned honorable mention all-state honors in the loaded state of Georgia and his team went 11-2 and won a regional championship. During his high school career, he also participated in track and clocked a 4.47 40-yard dash. He was a three-star prospect that chose Indiana over offers from Missouri, Kansas State, Vanderbilt and a prior commitment to Appalachian State University. After being recruited as a cornerback, Walton was quickly switched to safety upon arriving in Bloomington. 

He saw action in all 12 games as a freshman in 2014 and recorded eight tackles. After the dismissal of Antonio Allen prior to the 2015 season, Walton began the season as the starting safety next to Chase Dutra. He played well in the season-opener and came up with nine tackles against Southern Illinois. He had four tackles in the second game of the season (a victory over Florida International) but was unfortunately lost for the year to an injury. He did not waste his time on the sidelines though as his hard work in the classroom was honored with a selection to the Big Ten’s All-Academic team. Walton was granted a medical redshirt so he enters the 2016 campaign as a redshirt sophomore.

The secondary is loaded with bodies (the roster currently lists 19 players as “DBs”, roughly seven of those 19 are likely to be “safeties”) and the competition for playing time will be fierce. New defensive coordinator Tom Allen will have his hands full as he attempts to switch the defense to a 4-2-5 formation and decipher through the different personnel combinations to find the best players for the back five. It seems very likely that Jonathan Crawford will be starting as one of the safeties and Rashard Fant will be starting as one of the cornerbacks. Walton won’t be playing corner but he could be a fit at Husky or at the strong safety position. Since we don’t have a crystal ball, this is speculation, but I’m guessing the talented Jayme Thompson will start at Husky and the coaches like the reliability of redshirt junior Ben Bach as a back-up there. The most likely landing spot for Walton would seem to be strong safety where he will battle redshirt junior Chase Dutra. Dutra started seven games in 2015 and was fifth on the team in tackles despite missing five games due to injury. He’s very talented, but the Brownsburg native has struggled with injuries and he’s recovering from surgery. Walton’s size and physicality make him a good match for the position and he could pair quite well with the uber-athletic Jonathan Crawford. Whether or not he ends up starting, it looks likely that Kiante Walton will receive significant snaps as a part of a secondary hoping to dramatically improve after being picked apart for the majority of Kevin Wilson’s tenure. 

Share your thoughts on Kiante Walton and the secondary as a whole in our comments section (or on the message boards) and be sure to come back to Hoosier Huddle each day as the 2016 season inches ever closer!