Hoosiers Spring Football Preview: Defensive Line

Written by: Nate Comp (@NathanComp1)

After a disappointing year on the defensive side of the ball, roster changes and a couple coaching changes will provide a nice refresh heading into 2023. Change was necessary; Indiana finished the year ranked 95th in tackles for loss, 104th in sacks, and 119th in total defense. Tom Allen will relinquish play calling duties for the upcoming season, opting to pass them on to new co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Matt Guerrieri rather than returning co-defensive coordinator Chad Wilt. The ultimate goal is to get back to the defensive success Indiana saw in the 2019 and 2020 seasons.

A key factor of this defensive success will come down to how well the Hoosiers are able to generate pressure without having to send extra blitzers from the secondary. While Indiana has had success with this strategy in the past, it also has left them exposed too many times in the secondary. With a better pass rush from the defensive line, IU’s could drop more men in coverage.

Today, we will preview the players tasked with generating the pressure up front, the Indiana defensive line.

Newcomers

If there was any question whether or not bolstering the defensive line was a priority for the Hoosiers heading into 2023, look no further than the Hoosiers participation in the transfer portal. After reeling in 18 commits and a top ten class from the portal, four of the 18 were on the defensive front. The refresh was needed; Demarcus Elliot, James Head Jr., and Sio Nofoagatoto'a all have either exhausted eligibility or left the program.

The best transfer commitment award would likely come down to either Andre Carter, a 4-star ranked transfer from Western Michigan, or Marcus Burris, another 4-star ranked transfer from Texas A&M. Burris may project as the better player long term, as he was the more heralded recruit out of high school and has two years of SEC experience under his belt, but with five years of college football experience under his belt already, Carter likely will be the standout player heading into 2023. Last season alone, Carter accumulated 70 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss, seven sacks, two forced fumbles, and was ultimately named second team All-MAC. On the other hand, Burris is just getting started in his college football career, having totaled just eight games of experience thus far. Had he committed to the Hoosiers out of high school, he would have been the third highest rated recruit of all time for the program (Dasan McCullough and Stephen Williams top the list).

The portal commits did not stop with these two, however. Indiana also added Lanell Carr from West Virginia and Philip Blidi from Texas Tech. Carr had spent three seasons at West Virginia and played the bandit position, WVU’s hybrid defensive line/linebacker position. Over his three seasons with the Mountaineers, Carr totaled 26 tackles and a sack. His most productive season came in 2022 when he played in 12 games and made 21 tackles. Carr could ultimately play Indiana’s bull position. Blidi played in 11 of Tech’s 13 games last season and made 16 total tackles including 1.5 tackles for loss. He was coached by IU defensive line coach Paul Randolph in 2020 and 2021 when he was with the Red Raiders.

Member of the 2023 recruiting class Tedarius Collins will join the Hoosiers for fall camp, but as this is a spring preview, that concludes the newcomers we will see in this stage of the offseason. Collins is a 3-star recruit, ranked in the top 500 of 247Sports recruiting rankings.

Returnees

There will also be a decent amount of production returning to the Hoosiers for 2023. The most effective returnee will be sixth-year senior JH Tevis, a newcomer to last year’s roster by way of the transfer portal from Cal. He appeared in all 12 games last year, recording 20 total tackles including two tackles for loss. He was joined last year by a pair of Ole Miss transfers, LeDarrius Cox and Patrick Lucas Jr., who both appeared in every game. Lucas had a bit more production on the season, his highlight game coming against Michigan State at the end of the season where he amassed seven tackles. Beau Robbins also returns this season; the former 2019 class 4-star recruit from Carmel finally began to flash production last season. He had a pivotal sack on Illinois’ final drive of the season opener that forced a third and long. He was named a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell trophy at the end of the year.

The Hoosiers have a number of younger guys returning that they are hopeful for their future. A guy like Cooper Jones has had the most production so far, having played in seven games last year and recording four tackles, but Indiana is probably more excited to see how a top recruit like Nick James has developed after a season under his belt. This will be James’ second spring with the Hoosiers after enrolling early last year, and the 4-star IMG Academy product was able to see the field in four games last season. At up around 300 pounds, Indiana could really use his presence at defensive tackle. Venson Sneed has the versatility to potentially play bull but is a strong candidate to get time at edge if not. He saw a couple games’ worth of action last year and was also a Rivals 4-star prospect. J’mari Monette rounds out the younger returnees, looking to see his first playing time this year after redshirting last season.

Final Analysis

Moving forward, Indiana needs to have much more success rushing with their front four so that they do not have to be as reliant on creative secondary blitzes to generate pressure. Tom Allen knew this, and he made it a point of emphasis in the transfer portal this offseason to go out and add players that he believes can have an impact in the Big Ten. On paper, it appears as if this room is in much better shape than it has been in years past. I believe the success of this room will fall on how well Indiana is able to develop their younger guys into reliable depth pieces. If there is a substantial drop off between the top couple players and the rest of the depth chart like there has been in years past, it will be hard to compete with the talent surplus in the trenches in the Big Ten. Watching the development of the up-and-comers will be a point of emphasis in spring ball.