Hoosier Offensive Lineman Dylan Powell Granted Extra Year of Eligibility
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Written by Alex Compton
Indiana picked up a great piece of news on Monday morning, as graduate transfer Dylan Powell announced that he received a waiver that will grant him an extra year of eligibility at Indiana. The graduate transfer from Stanford will now be able to play two seasons at Indiana after previously expecting to be a Hoosier for just one season in 2020. He announced the news himself on Twitter, partially saying "I can’t wait to spend these next two seasons playing with my brothers and striving to take Indiana football to another level! LEO”
Powell appeared in 18 games at Stanford during his Sophomore and Junior seasons combined, starting three of them. He played both guard and center for the Cardinal, and was named to the Pac-12 All-Academic second team in 2018. He was initially ranked as the number 39 offensive guard prospect coming out of high school by Rivals, and was rated as the seventh-best offensive guard transfer prospect by 247 Sports.
Listed at 6’3”, 300 pounds, Powell is expected to be firmly in the mix for a starting spot at guard this season. With Hunter Littlejohn graduating and Simon Stepaniak heading to the NFL, 2019’s starting left guard Harry Crider is expected to shift back to center. This move likely opens up the starting spots at left and right guard to open the 2020 season. Powell, redshirt senior Mackenzie Nworah and redshirt freshman Mike Katic are the ones expected to be in the mix for the starting spots as it stands right now. If the season started tomorrow, Powell would likely start at right guard, but there is still a ton of time between now and Indiana’s opener at Wisconsin on September 4th. At the very least, Dylan Powell being in the rotation for the next two seasons will help add some stability to a very young group of interior offensive linemen. In addition to playing at a high level, Hoosier fans should look for Dylan Powell to use his experience to mentor some of the younger talent that is currently on the roster during his time at Indiana.
Powell is immediately eligible to play this season and will be joined by defensive tackle transfer Jovan Swann, who was his teammate at Stanford and is also immediately eligible to play for IU. Dylan Powell is expected to wear number 72 for the Hoosiers.