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One of Curt Cignetti's biggest victories this offseason was retaining defensive coordinator Bryant Haines. Heading into the 2025 season, Cignetti and Haines are in charge of a defense that has a TON of talent.
You know about Mikail Kamara, Aiden Fisher, and D'Angelo Ponds. Who else could make a big splash this upcoming season for the Hoosiers D?
There's a lot to discuss about IU's non-conference scheduling as well!
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One of Curt Cignetti's biggest victories this offseason was retaining defensive coordinator Bryant Haines. Heading into the 2025 season, Cignetti and Haines are in charge of a defense that has a TON of talent.
You know about Mikail Kamara, Aiden Fisher, and D'Angelo Ponds. Who else could make a big splash this upcoming season for the Hoosiers D?
There's a lot to discuss about IU's non-conference scheduling as well!
WEBSITE: https://www.indianahq.com/ • Twitter: https://twitter.com/thehoosiersound • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thehoosiersound/ • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/indiana.hq/ • iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1282226985?mt=2&ls=1 • Google Podcasts: https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5zcHJlYWtlci5jb20vc2hvdy8yNjc3NTkyL2VwaXNvZGVzL2ZlZWQ • Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0lk71fzLgbLP76iPNA14cP • iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/the-hoosier-sound-28550408/?cmp=web_share • TuneIn Radio: http://tun.in/pi2cE • Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-hoosier-sound
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Folks, it's the middle of July and all anyone wants
to do is talk about Indiana football. That's all anyone
wants to do. The online folks are upp a blaze
over I use non conference schedule in future years. How
is Indiana going to return to the CFP this upcoming season?
(00:29):
One hit wonder last year Matt and I talked about
last week. A couple of weeks ago, Matt and I
talked about i u's offense for this upcoming season. Now
we're going to dive into the defensive side of the ball,
talk about all this scheduling drama and so much more.
Here on episode three four eight of The Hoosier Sound,
where we're the official podcast of Indiana HQ. We're recording
(00:51):
this edition of The Hoosier Sound on Friday, July eighteenth,
twenty twenty five. Here I am your host, Nathan Christian.
With me is my normal co host, Matt Lukens. Matt
the sec mind cannot comprehend nine conference games. Let's just
start with the schedule stuff. It's what people are talking about.
(01:13):
We know, we know this IU defense is loaded. We'll
get to them in a minute. But once Indiana came
out with the news that the canceled the Virginia series
and it's gonna be just all fcs and group of
five teams in upcoming years. It sent Twitter ablaze. The
haters came out from behind the bushes with that said, like,
(01:40):
you can make an argument for both sides. Do you
like the fact that Indiana is focusing more on loading
up for Big Ten play, eliminating these tough non conference matchups,
or do you think Indiana should have one or two
Power Conference teams their non conference schedule.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
I think I'm in the minority here, but I think
Indiana should always have a Power five program.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
Minority.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
I look, I I completely understand wanting a easier schedule,
as I I get it. Trust me. I I I
watch the games, guys. I'm I follow the program I watched.
I watched the games at four in the morning. Okay,
(02:27):
you guys, I am committed to this team. I'm just saying,
if I'm gonna get up at four in the morning,
I don't want to be watching I don't want to
be watching us play against old dominion. Yeah, respectfully, I don't.
And I know some people are gonna be mad about that,
but that's whatever I I if you want to come
at us canceling this because they want extra home game,
(02:53):
by all means, that's fine. That's an acceptable argument for me,
because again, program needs to cat on having yeah, literally
needs to cash in on having a good program at
the moment. So any game you can take it home
for home revenue and and that purpose is you know,
so important moving forward.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
But that being.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
Said, I'm not getting up at four in the morning
to watch the old dominion. I'm sorry. I watched, I U,
I watched, no I will.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
I can't.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
I can't sleep knowing that they're playing right like, that's
the problem. So I would rather that be used to play.
If I was making the schedule, By the way, this
is what I would do, were gonna be from from
my perspective, I'm getting Louisville or Kentucky or who else
(03:48):
what I've put on, not Dame one of the four
Power five locals, right, that's not predue and sticking them
on the schedule. I think we could probably just make
it that we played Kentucky every year if I was
actually doing I think we just bring the IU UK
Kentucky rivalry. I think that would not be a problem
(04:09):
this year. I think Kentucky's gonna stink, right, But in
some years you actually earned the credit of playing an
SEC team without actually having to play a real SEC team.
So there's that.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
Sure. Yeah, it's funny because like Kurt Signetti, right, his
big thing going into year one was no self imposed limitations.
And and I actually think putting a power five team
of power forward team now on your schedule is a
self imposed limitation because we've seen We've seen Indiana has
(04:44):
some pretty traumatizing losses to the teams that you mentioned.
I remember watching that Louisville game just a couple of
years ago in Lucas Oil, and I'm sitting here and
I'm going, wow, this first half is awful. If you
want to see a first half or Indiana played terrible,
don't only look at the Louisville game. From a couple
of years ago. There was a road game against Cincinnati.
(05:06):
I don't remember it was twenty two or twenty three.
I think it was twenty two. Or Indiana goes into
Cincinnati and that first half is awful. I mean, I
don't want to make too large of a dramatization, but
like I think you can argue Taiwan Mallin is not
in the NFL because of that game, because it was
either Tyler Scott or TREYE. Tucker on Cincinnati that completely
(05:26):
wrecked destroyed him, Taiwan on double moves deep down the field,
and it was part of a broader season where Wallin
just struggled seriously. But he's always gonna be one of
my favorite players to watch it in I uniform. But
like Louisville first half, now, Indiana figured it out in
the second half against Louisville and made it close and
interesting until we found out that Indiana couldn't score from
(05:47):
the one yard line, and that was that was annoying too.
So not only is this a situation where I've seen
Indiana some awful games against Louisville, against Cincinnati, Shore, Indiana
did sweep Virginia and the Tom Allen era head to head.
So it's like, Okay, why do you drop Virginia. You
(06:09):
probably would beat him, and yeah, you probably would beat him,
but then you go into the Hey, I don't want
to sacrifice a home game, you know, I don't want
to have to play Virginia on the road, especially when
Indiana's got all this momentum. And then The other part
of this is just this past season, Indiana got out
of the Big Ten East where you played Michigan, Penn State,
(06:32):
and Ohio State every year. Yeah, only to face not
only the two teams who came off of a year
where they played in the National championship game in Washington
and Michigan, but you also face the two teams that
face each other in the upcoming national championship game in
Ohio State and then eventually Notre Dame in the CFP,
(06:55):
which goes to say Indiana made the College Football Playoff
in a year where they had Florida International, Western Illinois,
and Charlotte in their non conference and then Folks in
case you forgot the non conference slate for the two
last national champions not too impressive. Ohio State, their non
(07:24):
conference was putrid this past season because I think part
of the thought process is, look, Ohio State knows if
they take care of business in Big Ten play, they'll
get into the CFP, whether it's like through a top
four seed or through a top eight seed where you
host a home game. Last year, matt Akron, Western Michigan,
(07:45):
and Marshall were victims to playing as fodder at the
shoe in twenty twenty four, and look the Wolverines in
twenty three. It was a very similar story. It was
you know, yeah, it was East Carolina UNLV bowling Green.
(08:10):
I just saw Indiana make a college football playoff without
having to win a big non conference game. And by
the way, I've seen it on the other foot too.
Because the SEC only has eight only has eight conference games,
a team like LSU has to schedule USC. And LSU
(08:30):
lost the head to head game against USC on a
neutral site, and it wasn't really neutral, I feel. I
think that game was in Texas, but anyway, like that
game was in New Orleans, but yeah, even less neutral.
And so maybe ten years down the road, I would
love to see Indiana load up their non conference slate
(08:52):
with Texas and with oh okay, all right, so maybe
the previous year it was l you played a game
in Dallas, you want, so, all right, I'll turn down
my SEC shade just for that, just for that game.
But at the end of the day, in New Orleans,
that's the one, the Florida State one.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
That was a crazy game, That was an insane game.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
And hey, you know what, maybe in a handful of
years we get enough data on this, and we say, look, hey,
Indiana now has the home revenues, the stadium has expanded
a few extra thousand seats. The Hoosiers are you know,
they're doing what they've got to do against these group
of five teams. But hey, you know, a marquee non
(09:38):
conference game could push Indiana a little bit further to
the next level. So hey, let's go out and put
Florida State on there. Let's go and put some of
the teams you mentioned, like Louisville or Kentucky on there,
or hey, let's go out and put an SEC team
on there to increase the Big ten stronghold on that
waiting conference. So at that point, maybe, But I look
(10:01):
at what Michigan's non conference schedule looked like in twenty three.
I see what Ohio State their non conference schedule look
like in twenty four. I see what Indiana's non conference
schedule looked like in twenty four, and I don't want
to risk it. I mean, Illinois played Kansas last year
in Champagne won by like a possession, and now everyone's
talking about them as a college football playoff contender. Had
(10:25):
Illinois lost that game, I don't know. How I'd feel
about it. Of course, Illinois did lose to Kansas on
the road a couple of years ago, and who was ugly,
So like, I'm good, I'm good, Matt. Let the SEC
teams load up on these marquee games because they only
have eight They only have eight games. This conference that's
(10:47):
so proud of itself doesn't play each other nine times.
They only play each other eight times. What's up with?
Speaker 2 (10:52):
If it would be a blood bath if they played
each other nine times, would be a pillowpoint that would
be there would be bodies in the street if they
played oh, eight times enough? But I think the pretend,
honestly is ridiculous that we played nine conference games. I
think it should be eight, and then then you should
be able to schedule one non conference game.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
But again, think that.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
To me, the one of my favorite parts of the
sport is seeing those teams that don't normally play each
other playing each other in that first four weeks of
the season. It creates some really fun matchups and some
really fun storylines that come back even a couple of
years later. Right, we end up playing a team like
a Louisville or a Notre Dame in a in a
(11:37):
college football playoff, Right, you can go back to look
at non conference games you played previously. I like that part.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
So honestly, do you know what That's part of what
it is to me too, because last year we just
saw Indiana play Washington, U C.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
L A.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
And Notre Dame. And I'm like, that kind of feels
non conference. Still, you know, it doesn't feel is non conference.
It's not.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
None of that was non conference, except for obviously the playoff,
which is automatically non conference. But no, I I I
just I want ie you to to have a more
national platform, and I think playing games against other Power
five conference teams. I get Virginia was gonna be ass
all right, I understand that.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
Especially giving you know, having to go there.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
Yeah, but the going there, If you want to make
the argument that it's it's I you wanted another home
game for home game revenue purposes, fine, all by all means,
I give you that argument, but I just think it
looks super soft. One, you go out and do this
after the performance that they put on in the the
the most recent game that they played. And then secondly, like,
(12:50):
come on, you gotta if you want to play with
the big boys, you gotta swim with the big boys.
You gotta you gotta got a schedule like a big boy.
Now I understand the two last two previous national championships.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
Yeah, that's the thing. Yeah, right, like coming back.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
But it's let's not pretend like because at the end
of the day, like you're going to face You're gonna
face Oregon, Penn State, Illinois, and Iowa this year.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
You win three of those games, you're in the CFP.
That's it, yea. And what and what puts you in
the best position to face those teams? Is it you
can argue, you could argue it's Virginia or Kentucky. I
would argue it's Kennesaw State. So that you know you're
gonna win that game, You're gonna feel good going into
(13:35):
Week four rather than your season ending because I don't know,
it's monsooning in Charlottesville and you have a bad Saturday
because I don't know, Like for example, Matt, like, here's
a good Nebraska's playing Cincinnati week one this year. Nebraska's
feeling good about themselves. They should, right, they made a
bowl game last year, they won their bowl game last year.
It's been kind of a long road after the Scott
(13:57):
Frost debacle. If Nebraska is a bad Thursday Night in
Cincinnati and they lose twenty seven to ten, even though
Nebraska is a seven point favorite, that's like a realistic outcome.
It really sullies the rest of the season. Yeah and all.
(14:20):
And like I've seen, I've seen good teams go on
the road and you know, you play, you play somebody,
yet you think you're gonna be and it's just it's ugly. Now. Look,
if there's a Power five team, that's if there's a
power for a team that's linked to play Indiana at
(14:41):
home on a one off, that sign me, sign me up.
But you know, until then, By the way, Matt, you
want to just run through some of these non conference
games real quick. Week one, Nebraska Cincinnati. That's a true
road in uh in in uh actually sorry, that's a
neutral in Kansas City. Yeah, be a fun one. Texas,
(15:01):
Ohio State's the one everyone's gonna be talking about. Week one,
Big noon Columbus Clemson LSU. That's gonna be a fun one.
Utah ucla non conference game in this era, fun to
think about there. Week two, you got Illinois Duke. Of course,
(15:22):
the rivalry game Iowa, Iowa State, Oklahoma State, Oregon. By
the way, I don't know if you saw this, but
I believe Oklahoma is a favorite at home for their
Week two game against Michigan. Okay, it's gonna be a
fun one to keep an eye out for. I will
(15:44):
be painting maze and blue on my face. I will
be hoping that Michigan gets that non conference win over
Oklahoma in Norman to really plan, especially if Ohio State
beats Texas. Ohio State in Michigan beating Texas and Oklahoma,
that's gonna be real feather in the cap for the
(16:05):
Big Ten.
Speaker 2 (16:07):
I mean, it's the best conference in the country this year.
It's it's not a doubt to me.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
I'm gonna be pumped. I'm gonna be pumped to watch
that game. Especially if, like Oregon takes care of business
against Oklahoma State. I'll let all these other teams do.
Speaker 2 (16:19):
Better, take care against take care against Oklahoma State better.
Speaker 1 (16:23):
But when I were talking they win, you and I
were talking to the four matchups the marquee matchups in
Indiana has on their schedule. Oregon might sneakily be gettable, right,
we were talking a little bit, a little bit there.
Not easy, not easy, but no there.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
It's it's easier than it's easier than Penn State Oregon
last year. Exactly Again, I don't I don't trust Dante
more I think.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
And you're really into the recruiting because he was a
huge recruit coming out of high school.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
He's a huge recruit and he's going to be good.
I just don't think he's gonna be good this year.
And when you got a team and a defense, we're
gonna talk about it's built around a pass rush. Yeah right,
I'm getting to the QB and you got a young
freshman quarterback with the weight of the world on his
shoulders there in Eugene. Yeah, Like, I like Indiana's chances there.
(17:26):
It's the drew Allers of the world who are experienced,
been through this, done that have a world class offensive
line in front of them, and obviously that's probably that
might be like a pseudo white out at that point
for a state.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
Myers been around for a long time.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
Gollmyer's been around for a while.
Speaker 1 (17:45):
Andy at Iowa, he was at South Dakota State for years.
He's a sason, He's a season starter. All these guys
aren't gonna get as shaken as Dante mor Will. So
I think again, IU has a very very good chance
of pulling off an upset in Eugene, much more than
I think they have a chance of upsetting Penn State.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
I still think the Iowa game is more winnable than
than the Oregon game.
Speaker 1 (18:11):
But yeah, and of course Illinois Illinois at home. Uh So. Anyway,
so there's that. Yeah, you talked about the defense. Let's
talk about the defense. This is an IU defense that
had had such a special season last year. Yeah, we
do lose a few guys. Jalen Walker, who you know
(18:33):
out of line that he was such a he was
such a game changer last season. I can't wait to
see him step up here in the preseason, training camp,
preseason in the NFL, I believe with the Raiders, James
Carpenter on the d line. Of course we're gonna miss
Seawan Asberry out of safety, Jamir Johnson at corner c
(18:55):
J West NFL draft pick, such a success story for Kurtzig,
Brian Haynes, Pat Coons on the defensive line. But grand
scheme of things. Indiana I thought did a great job
as far as replacing those names and those faces and
those players across the defense. The newcomers include Steven Day
(19:20):
out of Kent State, Dominique Radcliffe out of Texas State,
Jose Wheeler out of Western Kentucky. All on the defensive line.
Kurtz Signetti loves his trenches. Those three guys all graded
out analytically very strong via PFF in their group of
five teams. We'll see if they can make the leap
up to Power Conference football. Other players that Indiana added
(19:43):
on defense include Kellen Wyatt from Maryland. I'm looking forward
to seeing him a Marion knighton corner from Northern Illinois,
bringing back Lewis Moore Ole Miss but of course previous
Who's You're there? Rylan Gandhi comes over from pitt Devin
Boykin comes over from NC State, but matn let's start
with a three A plus studs on this On this
(20:07):
defensive unit, Brian Haynes brings back Mikhail Kamara, Aiden Fisher
and D'Angelo Ponds. I remember watching an A plus player
in Micah McFadden take a step up in twenty twenty
one after his awesome season in twenty twenty Do you
(20:31):
think these three guys can improve on what they did
last year, because wow, last year, all three of those
players were unbelievable.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
Can I mean, I think Mikael Kamara could become one
of the best d linemen in the entire country. When
we're talking about just overall, it's just recklessness in the backfield, right,
like complete destruction of teams. Like he's a guy that
I think could single handedly win games on the defensive
(21:03):
line at like you know, like a like a Rutgers
if we're playing any any of the smaller teams, Like,
they're not gonna be able to handle him at all.
Aiden Fisher's one of he he might be the most
seasoned linebacker in the country.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
He's so good.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
He has so many games played under his belt. And
and and you know the it's so cliche, right, but
you know, the the quarterback of the defense is the linebackers.
And with every game that a quarterback plays the lot,
you know, the quarterback gets better. Well, it's the same
thing for a linebacker. You know, they might get a
(21:42):
little bit more CTE, but but other than that, you know,
the more games, the more snaps they see, right, the
better they are. And and that's not you can't say
the same about a running back. Right, you can't really
say the same about a wide receiver. You can't have
about a lot of positions, but for life back specifically,
especially on the defensive end, the more these guys see
(22:04):
the field, the more the smarter they are, the better
decisions they're going to make. I thought Fisher really struggled
and I used biggest games last year. You're right, and
I think that's something that he can really learn from
and and grow into being that senior leader on this
year's team.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
That's a great That's a great point because I was
actually gonna say something very similar in the sense that
I remember that Ohio State game, Notre Dame game. It
was a little bit rough. Now, I do remember Fisher
having a great game. It's Michigan. I feel like symbolically
that was a big game. Of course, Michigan went on
to beat Ohio State and Alabama before the season ended.
(22:44):
But you know, aiden Fisher I thought had a great game.
It's Michigan. Great game, it's Maryland. But at the end
of the day, yeah, though those two, those two premier matchups,
it was a little bit under underwhelming. I can't wait
to watch mkhal Kamara. I mean, I I went back
and watched some games from this past season, and even
when he's not making highlight plays, he's making highlight plays.
(23:08):
I mean, he's taking on two blockers and he's still
pressuring the quarterback, or he gets a key run stop
on first down to force a second and ten or
a second and nine instead of a second and four,
second and five. He is so good at affecting the
play even if he doesn't punctuate it with a sack
(23:28):
or a big hit. That's the type of production on
defense that makes such a big deal nowadays, I think
more than ever. I think several years ago people really
just looked at sacks and tackles and interceptions, and now
you're really digging into players that even when they're not
doing that, they're pressuring the quarterback, they're taking on a
(23:50):
couple of blockers, they're influencing the play even if they're
not landing it. I am so I am so proud
of what he's done in his career. Again, JM, you guy,
you know he he he was not one of the
He's one of the ogs.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
And like.
Speaker 1 (24:08):
There are several players on this defense, there's several pounds
a team that could that could break Indiana's drought of
not having a first round draft pick in the NFL
since two thousand, kil Kamara is one of them, no
question about it. He's definitely in the mix there as
far as the guy who could, who could? Who can
make that happen? Uh, di'angelo Pond's. It's tough at corner.
(24:34):
You do see ups and downs when it comes to
corners in college football in the NFL. We actually talked
about Taiwan Mall at the start of this. It looked
like he was going to be, you know, a lock
legend for years and it you know, it's hard man,
you know when other offenses, uh, sort of learn more
about you. And again you talked about the quarterbacks in
(24:55):
Indiana's going to play this upcoming season. You know, Luke
Almeyer drew several others on the Big ten slate that
are gonna be challenging Demon Willie sorryava U c l A.
You know, he could be, he could be, he could
be dangerous. You know, there are several players in that
(25:15):
category and if they sort of pick on you a
little bit, I got I'm gonna keep my eyes on
D'Angelo Pon's this upcoming season. I think He's gonna be great,
but corner is a position where you do see a
lot of variants here to year, So I'm looking forward
to uh to seeing him step up. There are a
lot of new names on this defensive line, Matt. We
talked about Jose Wheeler, Dominique Ratcliffe, and Steven Day. Uh.
(25:39):
It was funny as we were talking before starting recording.
It seems like Kurt Signetti, Bryant Haynes, pat Koons really
like players that step up. A group of five players
that step up in these non conference games against power
four teams. For example, my favorite step with Jose Wheeler
(26:01):
is that in twenty twenty three when Western Kentucky played
Ohio State, he sacked dripped Kyle McCord and forced the
fumble that Western Kentucky recovered. In twenty twenty four, Jose
Wheeler sacked Jalen Milroe and forced the fumble that Alabama recovered.
Stephen Day last season sacked Pitt's starting quarterback in the
(26:25):
non conference game that kent State played against Pitt and then,
by the way, he also sacked Curtis Rourke in a
Kent State Ohio game back in twenty twenty two, Dominique
Radcliffe is also a raw player. I don't know how
many snapskill get, but we'll keep an eye out for that.
And then you also have Tyreek Tucker, Mario Landino returning
to this defensive line. Matt Kurtzignetti Brian Haynes talked so
(26:48):
much about the importance of trenches. I feel like this
defensive line is going to be alright this upcoming season,
even after losing CJ. West and James Carpenter. Am I
putting too much stock in to these newcomers, guys like
Daily and Wheeler to fill in the gaps left by
West and Carpenter.
Speaker 2 (27:07):
I don't know if you are. I don't think if
you are putting enough stock in good they are actually
going to be. Like I'm a full on believer that
this defensive line is significantly upgraded. Oh wow, significantly upgraded.
(27:27):
I think it's much deeper than it was last year.
I think it's more has more diversity and the players
that are there. I think you can use a bunch
of the guys very differently than how you could use
the guys last year. And I think where I really
struggled was down the stretch last year in the most
important games yea, they looked gassed now to be fair,
(27:51):
and the two most important games we play last year,
which was Ohio State and there Dame, the defense was
on the field for a majority, right, Yeah, And so
that's on the offense to get that stuff working out,
which obviously we've talked about it. The offense is also upgraded.
Speaker 1 (28:05):
And then you also talked about offense this year, just
like you're talking about defense having some more versatility to it.
So that's an interesting theme throughout. I like, I like
that point.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
Yeah, it's this team up and down the roster, and
I mean again, it's just giving Signetti another year of
kind of tinkering with the little you know, the gears,
the knobs and the switches that go behind this program,
right and yeah, the the team itself is just so
much more dynamic all across the board. More depth, more talent,
(28:39):
more high level talent. We're we're gonna talk about some
guys in a in a second here that come over
from Power five level teams and whatnot. Guys are talking
Power four five. You've talked about guys from the G
five sorry, that have you know, significant experience and highlights
against the Power and so this up and down this roster,
(29:05):
there's just so many more players that can you can
plug and play. So if you lose a guy for
three games like last year, if we lost anybody for
three games or at all, it was a struggle. We
lost Rourke for like what two games last year, three games,
it was a struggle. It's going to be the same
way forever. If it wasn't for Signetty going through and
(29:30):
actually filling in, you know, we have we can go
to the second depth chart, and I like almost all
of the guys except for offensive line, sure, and at
every other position on the team, I don't mind. I
guess q QP be an office line other than that
the guy that's second in fiddle like. I like those guys.
I like their promise, I like the possibility of them playing.
Speaker 1 (29:54):
Yeah, it's funny you mentioned our backup, our backup quarterback
Grant Wilson, who h He's gonna face his old foe,
old friends with old dominion in week one, and then
in week two, Indiana is going to face Dexter Williams,
who of course used to wear the Indiana uniform and
now Dexter Williams Atkennesaw States, So early September is going
to be all about backup quarterback reunions. It's also going
(30:16):
to be about letting some of these players compete against
each other. Right, we talked about the non conference slate
three cupcake wins for Indiana at the start of the season.
You get to see some of these guys who are
penciled in as starters face off against guys who are
penciled in his backups. And there's no better competition than
real game competition. And you talked about, Hey, someone like
(30:38):
Mario Landino. We saw him step up in some moments
last year as a as a freshman, homegrown in this defense.
Now he's back for year two, Hey can he step up?
And you know in those non conference games, can he
make a big splash so that when Lou Gallmeyer comes
to Bloomington, Hey, maybe Mario Landino's out on the field
(30:59):
for a little bit more than you would expect. Jamario Monette,
same situation. Tyreek Tucker Og from JMU. He really stood
out to me last year when he got snaps. But
you're gonna have to earn them in this in this
coaching staff. You're gonna have to earn them in the
system over guys like Jose Wheeler. You're gonna have to
compete with Dominie Gratcliffe in order to get onto the field.
(31:22):
Kellen Wyatt, We'll talk about the linebacker position a little bit,
but you know, how does he fare in this defense?
Is he gonna start? Is he gonna come in off?
The's gonna be a backup, He's gonna be rotational. This
defensive line, to me, did lose Linnell Carr as a
pass rusher. You're gonna call them defensive line, linebacker or whatever,
but you do lose Linnel Carr as a pass rusher.
But with that said, I do like seeing some of
(31:43):
these second third stringers having an extra year of experience,
like you mentioned, you know, having Mario Landino, Jamario Monette,
They're in the system for another year. I think that's
gonna make a big difference. But as we saw last year,
you know CJ. West, he made the lead up to
Power conference football, James Carpenter made the step up to
Power conference football. You're gonna have to take on NFL
(32:08):
Interier your offensive line linemen at least pretty much every
week now, especially once you start Week four. I'm looking
forward to seeing Dominie Gradcliffe, Stephen Daily do those type
of things this upcoming season. Jose Wheeler as well, because
they did splash last year against Power Conference opponents. Looking
forward to seeing them keep that going here as Brian
(32:30):
Haynes and Pat Poons keep leading this defensive line. We're
gonna talk about linebackers, pass rushers, secondary coming up in
just a second, but first it's time for who won
the week this past week in i U Sports And
we're gonna make some history on our podcast three hundred
and forty eight episodes in. We're not giving this award
to a human. Huh, We're not gonna give this to
(32:52):
a human. Who's You're the Bison? Is? Is? Who who
on the week? This fast weekend? I USE Sports? Are
you breaking? Uh? Breaking the mold here? First time in
sixty years with the mascot Who's Your the Bison is
(33:15):
going to debut on August thirtieth in the football season
open against the Old Dominion Buffalo Wild Wings is already
in the quote tweets already in the mentions Indiana football
is so back?
Speaker 2 (33:28):
Does Buffalo Wild Ones get to own just everything? Buffalo?
Speaker 1 (33:33):
You know how that works? Between them and Josh Allen.
I guess that that's all the Buffalo ownership. But you
know what, Hey, I'll I'll take I'll take beat Ubs.
You know what, Jeff Goodman, he's strained our relationship with
Buffalo Wild Wings. Let's not let's not pick fights with restaurants.
(33:54):
You know what I'm saying. If bet Ubs, nationally known
wants to, you know, lock arms with our football program,
I'm in. I'm in, Matt, Why are you come on?
Have you ever had a bad experience at beat Ups?
Speaker 2 (34:12):
Have you ever had a good experience at beat Ubs? Look,
I've never had a bad experience. I've never had a
bad experience at Beatubs, But I've also conversely never had
a good experience and beat Ups either. I'm not picking fights.
I just don't think that they should be able to
own everything Buffalo. They are a They're a wing chain
(34:34):
that's based that's a there's a it's it's a mockery
of Buffalo Wings.
Speaker 1 (34:42):
I can't wait. I can't wait to see who's in
the Bison storm the field Week one against old Dominion
Indiana football again breaking the mold, bucking the trend, setting
a new setting, a new path forward for this university.
Speaker 2 (34:58):
Uh, does the just the does the mascot also go
for basketball? Is it just in general?
Speaker 1 (35:03):
I think so? I think so. The official release from
IU is actually pretty elaborate and talking about some of
the history with the Bison School. William Henry Harrison got
a shout out former President of the United States. I
believe he got assassinated in office here.
Speaker 2 (35:21):
Yeah and fun fun, so great fun.
Speaker 1 (35:26):
How many podcasts talk about talk about beat ups, William
Henry Harrison and the importance of defensive line play all
but in like five minutes. Take that. Take that everyone. Yeah,
(35:46):
So that press release pret elaborate not I don't believe it.
There was a basketball mentioned in there. I can't imagine
they leave out basketball. So looking forward to see who's
your the Bison everywhere starting August thirtieth, I guess old
dominion folks are a quick reminder if you like what
you're hearing, if you enjoy our show, leave us a review,
tell a friend, share our links. Your support really helps
us grow this podcast and reach more passionate I you
(36:09):
fans such as yourself, Matt, this pass rush linebacking crew,
A lot of names you talked about, Aiden Fisher leading
the way Mikhail Kamara is going to be a primary
pass rusher, but there is room here for somebody to
step up. So whether it's Kellen Wyatt who comes over
(36:29):
from Maryland, whether it's Elijah Hardy who had a couple
of big pick sixes last season, whether it's Isaiah Jones
who stepped in last year when either Aiden Fisher or
Jalen Walker went down. We saw plenty of Isaiah Jones
last year. He held his own. This is to me,
this is a camp battle. This is a fall camp
(36:51):
battle to watch out for coming up in August. Who's
gonna step up here next to Aiden Fisher and Mikail Kamara.
Is there a player here of this g even Kayden Turner,
whoever we haven't talked about much, Like, is there somebody
here who you think could potentially step up next to
Aiden Fisher because there is room here for somebody to
(37:11):
make a difference and make a splash.
Speaker 2 (37:13):
I I don't have an opinion on this because I'm
not I don't think I'm well informed about these guys
specifically in their games. I've watched their stuff, but I don't.
I don't I'm not good enough to compare them and
be like I think this guy's better than them, So
I'm a but I will say it's nice to have
these conversations that we're having competition. How many years do
(37:37):
we go into to the first game and we just
kind of know what the starting lineup is going to
be based off of Well.
Speaker 1 (37:44):
It's almost yeah, I was gonna say most like more
more like attrition. Right, it's just like, well, this guy
is freshman or whatever, he's not, there's no way he
can start. Yeah, it is when he can start here.
Speaker 2 (37:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (37:59):
It is funny though, Like we talked about some of
the defensive line guys, you know, jose Wheeler, Stephen Day,
They've played thirty five plus games in their collegiate careers
coming into this season. You know, Kellen Whitt's played a
lot of college football, thirty five games over multiple seasons
at Maryland. Of course, Aiden Fisher is going to be
the focal point of the linebacking group here on Indiana.
(38:23):
Michael Kamara's played a ton of games as well, So
if Signetti Lean's experience, I think you're going to see
a little bit more of Kellen Wyatt than you might
expect if he leans some of the more. But with
that said, like, if you know, I could easily see
Signetti going, hey, you know what, Isaiah Jones last year
stepped up for us in multiple situations. He's been here
(38:44):
multiple years in the system. I could really see him deliver.
We talked about Holden Stace last week at tight end
or maybe a couple weeks ago at tight end, and
how he's kind of the unique player on this offense.
As far as Signetti truly going potential over production with
(39:05):
Holden states, I think that's Relijah Hardy on this defense.
And I know he had two pick six's last year,
but you know what, they came in sort of lopsided matchups.
Of course, every game for Indiano is lopsided except Michigan.
But with that said, like thiss Indiana team, if Kurtz
(39:30):
Signetti sort of wants to raise the ceiling of this defense,
that's like an overused sentence, this floor ceiling stuff, but
I'll say it, I think it does apply here. If
you want to add sort of an X factor, wild card,
big play element to this defense, that means you'll see
(39:55):
a lot more Relijah Hardy on the field. This is
a guy who's a sophomore. There aren't many sophomores or
freshmen on Indiana's too deep right now. It's a lot
of seniors sprinkling some juniors. Elijah Hardy is the guy.
If you see Elijah Hardy play a lot the first
few games of the season, those three non conference games,
(40:16):
that to you should be an indication that Kurt Signetti
is saying, I want to add a little bit more
big play explosiveness to my defense. I might concede a
couple things here and there, but I'm getting this possibly
where Elijah Hardy blind side Blitz as a quarterback and
(40:40):
sacks him into next Wednesday, or Rolijah Hardy gets a
deflection tips the ball into the into the hands of
Ponds or or Knighton or or Devin Boyke. Right Like,
that's the type of element there to keep an eye
out for it. On the other hand, if you see
a lot more of Wyatt Isaiah Jones, that to me
(41:03):
is like, hey, those players have stood out to Signetti.
They're reliable, they're solid, they're consistent. That's where Elijah Hardy
could be in a couple of years. But going into
a sophomore season, I don't see that. So that's going
to be a really intriguing development to watch during fall camp.
During those three non conference games to start the season,
(41:23):
I'm probably gonna be paying attention to that group more
than any as far as the early part of the
season is concerned. The secondary is going to be awesome, Matt.
I love makeup. I love this makeup. In the secondary,
it's going to be a big time I believe Buddah
Williams is the defensive back coach still on this on
this football team. DiAngelo Pals. We've talked about him. But
(41:44):
outside of Ponds, you're penciled in. Starters are Jamari Sharp
at the other corner, Devin Boykin, the transfer FROMENCI stayed
at nickel, Amari Ferrell and Lewis Moore at safety. Of course,
Amari Ferrell and Lewis Moore are both players who can
do a few things defensively. They can down the corner,
they can come in, blitz off the edge, and then
you have backups penciled in right now, all penciled in.
(42:06):
Omaron knighton from Northern Illinois Byron Baldwin, true freshman who
decommitted and recommitted. Ryland Gandhi, who has plenty of games
under his belt, is a corner from Pitt, Bryce and Bonds.
We've seen him do some important things both in the
Tom Allen and the Kurtz Signetti era. This secondary, Matt
just go off because because Indiana is going to be
(42:28):
playing some tough offenses, this secondary is you know, there's
there aren't many better secondaries you'd like to go to
battle with than these guys.
Speaker 2 (42:36):
I think this might legitimately be the best secondary IU
has ever had as a program, like Top Down, And
I think we've said that before on this podcast, because
I'm pretty sure we said that with Taiwan Mullage.
Speaker 1 (42:50):
Yeah, honest, Jamar Johnson that year.
Speaker 2 (42:54):
Mar Johnson, Taiwan Mullin, God, who are there safe? Jalen
Willie j Williams.
Speaker 1 (43:02):
Yeah, you know, like you know, there have been some
great secondaries.
Speaker 2 (43:05):
And you've said this too, that this secondary play is
kind of up and down right, Just I don't see
that with this this group, like they're so seasoned at
this point. Seriously. I mean, again, we're returning people and
I can't believe I'm saying this, but we're returning a
ton of people from a playoff team.
Speaker 1 (43:29):
And then, as you mentioned, Power five, incoming transfers Devin Boykin,
NC State, Rylan Gandy out of pitt Lewis Moore, Ole, Miss.
That's an additions to Marion Nighten from Northern How often
does has I you gotten Power five transfers that are
(43:50):
going to come in and be played back ups? And
if they're not backups, you know they'll they'll get playing time.
At otational piece says they're gonna compete for starting for
starting reps.
Speaker 2 (44:02):
Like, hell, yeah, they're gonna play. They're gonna play. They're
gonna play, but they're just not They're not gonna play
like starter minutes. Right? And who uh? Who's the safety
from u NC State whose name is slipping my mind?
Speaker 1 (44:15):
I've been Boyken he might safety?
Speaker 2 (44:18):
Yeah, he plays the he uh, I can avert this
team like all over the board, first first title. He's
been off of football for a year and a half now, injury.
I guess again he his injury came in prep for
the Pop Tart Bowl, I believe, right, yes, for NC
(44:40):
State in the twenty twenty season and the twenty three season.
He didn't even played last year. He's completely fresh ready
to go. So I'm I'm super excited. I mean again,
I legitimately think they're the best secondary I use ever had.
Speaker 1 (45:00):
It's crazy. I think p f F graded I you
out as a top ten secondary in college football. I
said Buddha Williams. By the way, he's a defensive ends coach.
We got to give our shout out to Ola Adams here.
Speaker 2 (45:09):
Who's been so good as far as Adams.
Speaker 1 (45:11):
Secondary is great name, great follows on on social media too.
Rodo Jong's really good as far as the social media
stuff as well. He's the corners coach. So Ola Adams
Rodo Jong both important fare as far as developing the secondary.
You talked about Indiana returning a lot of good players
(45:32):
from the CFP team. They returned their entire defensive staff
from the CFP team. Absolutely enormous there to bring back
Bryant Haynes. Nice try poaching him, all of you bloodthirsty
Power Conference jerks trying to steal our defensive coordinator. He's back.
In addition to the rest of that, you know, support
(45:53):
positional staff, Ola Adams, Pat Koons, roto John, Buddha Williams.
It's it's it's in a really healthy spot right now.
And uh, you know, I talked about my favorite stat
with Jose Wheeler. My second favorite stat is with Devin Boykin, who,
like you said, mister year college football. He has four
career picks during his four years of college football at
(46:16):
NC State. They came against Clem, Florida State, Clemson, Miami,
and North Carolina, so all quality ACC opposition. They all
came in wins for NC State against quality ACC opposition.
And the four quarterbacks are Jordan Travis, Kate klub, Nick, Tyler, Vandyke,
(46:42):
and Drake May. That's pretty good, pretty good hit list.
Speaker 2 (46:46):
That's a pretty good list.
Speaker 1 (46:48):
For for Devin Boykin. So hey, hopefully he can take
uh take Dante Moore or Drew Aller or Luke Altmeyer
Adam Adam to that list. I know we all are
huge fans of di' angelo Pons. I think there's a chance,
Matt that by the end of the year, I feel
the same way about di Angelo Pons. I'll feel the
(47:11):
same way about Amari Ferrell as I do about D'Angelo Pons.
Right now, I can see that, Yeah, the way he's
so you know, versatile, he can manipulate his coverage, his blitz,
his his tackling like he is capable of doing so
much on the football field. He had some massive plays
(47:35):
last year, and I think refs gave him a bit
of a harsh whistle. I think now in his you know,
second year, is a prominent player in the Big Ten.
I think they'll understand how he plays a little bit more.
I feel like the UCLA game he got a bad
penalty called against him. Maybe was the Michigan State game.
But I liked watching him so much last year, and
(47:55):
I think this is a player who when you think
about emerging threats on this football team. I felt this
way about Omar Cooper on offense. I think I was
sitting here saying, hey, Omar Cooper might be the most
underrated receiver into Big ten. I feel like maybe said
something like that. I think Amari Ferrell is in that
(48:17):
same conversation on the defensive side of the ball, where
we sit here and say, hey, we watched this dude
make a big player to every game last season. But
now I'm looking forward to seeing him start. I'm looking
forward him to seeing him play every snap. Sees the
opportunity get into NFL draft conversation, talk about all conference
(48:38):
type of performance throughout the year, make a big splash
as far as the postseason, is concerned as well. I
am a huge fan of players that can do several
things on the football field. I feel like Penn State
has developed a reputation of that on their defense. You know,
(48:58):
we just watched you know, Duel Carter, for example. He
wasn't just a pass rusher. He was somebody who was
able to drop back in coverage. He was able to
stop the run, he was able to affect the game
in numerous different ways. They've got plenty of those guys
in their secondary over the years as well at Penn State.
And I think Amari Ferrell, you know, in another universe
he's playing college football for Penn State right now in
(49:20):
Joe Paterno, but we have him instead and I'm really
looking forward to seeing him do numerous things on defense.
By the way, we also talked about the Group of
five trend, where Kurt Signetti and Brian Haynes like to
see guys who make splash plays against Power conference teams.
(49:41):
Marion Knighton picked off Riley Leonard last year in South
Bend to put Norder in Illinois in position to beat
the Fighting Irish, which they ended up doing. So Hey,
maybe when it's all said and done by mid season.
We're talking about Amaron Knighton as a as a key
player in the secondary. He's a junior, so he has
a couple of years left, but there are a lot
There are a lot of quality players in the secondary,
(50:02):
and I agree completely with what Matt said. I can
definitely see this being the best secondary in school history
and one of the best in college football. We're gonna
wrap this thing up in just a second, folks. A reminder,
a social media shout out. You can find us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram,
wherever you want. On Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, you can
find us at the Who's your Sound in Indiana HQ?
(50:24):
But on Instagram We're not Indiana HQ? But what are we?
Speaker 2 (50:27):
Indiana dot HQ can find us there.
Speaker 1 (50:30):
A reminder if you enjoy our show again, folks, leave
us a review, tell a friend, share our links. That
kind of support, just algorithmically, is what really helped prop
up our podcast reach more passionate IU fans. We got
football season coming up. Man soccer gonna kick off in
the fall. You know who's your the Bison. Let's go.
I mean, there are big things happening here, so so
(50:52):
give us a follow. I know there's a lot. Hey,
big ten media days are coming up. You know, we'll
we'll keep you off the speed on everything you need
to know coming out of that fall camp. Any key storylines,
anything that you're interested about as at least to a
football We're going to be talking about it here, So
make sure you grow the masses. A lot of fun
(51:13):
stuff to discuss here, Matt. We dove into Indiana's schedule.
We talked about some big, big ten non conference games,
big ten media days around the corner. Anything you expect
to see coming out of that, you know, let me know,
or you can just wrap it up whatever you want.
Of course, this II football team is primed to have
(51:34):
a pretty big season. Anything on your mind as we
wrap up on this Friday.
Speaker 2 (51:40):
No, nothing new on my mind other than just super
excited football season start. I think I said it's every
single podcast, but like I am so ready to watch
the shoo's your team hit the field, like they're going
to be so good. I'm so excited. Really, that's it.
Speaker 1 (52:01):
It's uh, it's a new era for sure, because it's
just we have not said that going into every college
football season at Indiana. All we've tried to pick out
a couple of things to watch for. Hey, if Indiana
does this, this and this, hey they can get the
six wins. Hey, maybe they can win the bucket game.
(52:22):
This is a new era and uh yeah and uh
and on both sides of the ball here, Indiana is
set up to do some really really big things. By
the way, as far as Big ten Media Day is concerned,
I believe Kurt Signetti will be stepping up to the
podium on Tuesday, so keep an eye out for that. Fisher, Kamara,
(52:47):
and Surat will be there for Indiana three day event
in Las Vegas.
Speaker 2 (52:57):
That's the one they get a free trip to Las Vegas.
Speaker 1 (53:00):
H Well, I mean, do you you know, do you
think anyone who attends Big ten Media Days makes a
regrettable mistake and serves a suspension for the upcoming season?
That would be so so don't drive right, designated drivers
and ubers everywhere. Yeah you know that includes coaches, Mark
(53:24):
Few following his place, Bob Huggins right him too, I think,
oh yeah, yeah, yeah, So don't you know, you know,
coaches and players everyone here, staff Big ten network folks,
you know, get your drivers, no regrettable mistakes. It's a test,
(53:47):
it's a preseason test media days in Vegas. I'm looking
forward to hearing that there's plenty of SEC conspiracy coming
out from this week media days for them. So looking
forward to seeing the Big Ten return the favor next week.
Just make the AP top twenty five all Big ten teams.
(54:09):
That's what I say, preseason AP Top twenty five all
Big Ten teams, throwing seven group of five and there
you go. I don't know, like I can see the
argument on both sides as far as non conference scheduling
is concerned, but like I'm good with this, Like I'm fine.
(54:29):
And you know what, as I mentioned, maybe in ten
years we come back and we say, hey, look, Indiana
should put a Marquee Power Conference opponent under schedule. But
you know what, we'll see Kurt Signetti. We'll see how
Kurd Signetti handles these things over the next several years.
Speaker 2 (54:50):
They should, they should.
Speaker 1 (54:51):
Well they shouldn't. All right, folks. That wraps it up
for a three hundred and forty eth episode of the
Hoosier Sound They Sandwich for joining us, I really appreciate
your support to hear more fantastic episodes like the one
you heard today. Be sure to follow us in Indiana HQ.
We're at the Hoo's your sound to make sure you
don't miss any in the future. You can also go
to our website indianhq dot com to find it all
(55:13):
in one place. But as always, thank you for listening.
Who's your nation and we will see you next time.
Face love goo
Folks, it's the middle of July and all anyone wants
to do is talk about Indiana football. That's all anyone
wants to do. The online folks are upp a blaze
over I use non conference schedule in future years. How
is Indiana going to return to the CFP this upcoming season?
(00:29):
One hit wonder last year Matt and I talked about
last week. A couple of weeks ago, Matt and I
talked about i u's offense for this upcoming season. Now
we're going to dive into the defensive side of the ball,
talk about all this scheduling drama and so much more.
Here on episode three four eight of The Hoosier Sound,
where we're the official podcast of Indiana HQ. We're recording
(00:51):
this edition of The Hoosier Sound on Friday, July eighteenth,
twenty twenty five. Here I am your host, Nathan Christian.
With me is my normal co host, Matt Lukens. Matt
the sec mind cannot comprehend nine conference games. Let's just
start with the schedule stuff. It's what people are talking about.
(01:13):
We know, we know this IU defense is loaded. We'll
get to them in a minute. But once Indiana came
out with the news that the canceled the Virginia series
and it's gonna be just all fcs and group of
five teams in upcoming years. It sent Twitter ablaze. The
haters came out from behind the bushes with that said, like,
(01:40):
you can make an argument for both sides. Do you
like the fact that Indiana is focusing more on loading
up for Big Ten play, eliminating these tough non conference matchups,
or do you think Indiana should have one or two
Power Conference teams their non conference schedule.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
I think I'm in the minority here, but I think
Indiana should always have a Power five program.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
Minority.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
I look, I I completely understand wanting a easier schedule,
as I I get it. Trust me. I I I
watch the games, guys. I'm I follow the program I watched.
I watched the games at four in the morning. Okay,
(02:27):
you guys, I am committed to this team. I'm just saying,
if I'm gonna get up at four in the morning,
I don't want to be watching I don't want to
be watching us play against old dominion. Yeah, respectfully, I don't.
And I know some people are gonna be mad about that,
but that's whatever I I if you want to come
at us canceling this because they want extra home game,
(02:53):
by all means, that's fine. That's an acceptable argument for me,
because again, program needs to cat on having yeah, literally
needs to cash in on having a good program at
the moment. So any game you can take it home
for home revenue and and that purpose is you know,
so important moving forward.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
But that being.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
Said, I'm not getting up at four in the morning
to watch the old dominion. I'm sorry. I watched, I U,
I watched, no I will.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
I can't.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
I can't sleep knowing that they're playing right like, that's
the problem. So I would rather that be used to play.
If I was making the schedule, By the way, this
is what I would do, were gonna be from from
my perspective, I'm getting Louisville or Kentucky or who else
(03:48):
what I've put on, not Dame one of the four
Power five locals, right, that's not predue and sticking them
on the schedule. I think we could probably just make
it that we played Kentucky every year if I was
actually doing I think we just bring the IU UK
Kentucky rivalry. I think that would not be a problem
(04:09):
this year. I think Kentucky's gonna stink, right, But in
some years you actually earned the credit of playing an
SEC team without actually having to play a real SEC team.
So there's that.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
Sure. Yeah, it's funny because like Kurt Signetti, right, his
big thing going into year one was no self imposed limitations.
And and I actually think putting a power five team
of power forward team now on your schedule is a
self imposed limitation because we've seen We've seen Indiana has
(04:44):
some pretty traumatizing losses to the teams that you mentioned.
I remember watching that Louisville game just a couple of
years ago in Lucas Oil, and I'm sitting here and
I'm going, wow, this first half is awful. If you
want to see a first half or Indiana played terrible,
don't only look at the Louisville game. From a couple
of years ago. There was a road game against Cincinnati.
(05:06):
I don't remember it was twenty two or twenty three.
I think it was twenty two. Or Indiana goes into
Cincinnati and that first half is awful. I mean, I
don't want to make too large of a dramatization, but
like I think you can argue Taiwan Mallin is not
in the NFL because of that game, because it was
either Tyler Scott or TREYE. Tucker on Cincinnati that completely
(05:26):
wrecked destroyed him, Taiwan on double moves deep down the field,
and it was part of a broader season where Wallin
just struggled seriously. But he's always gonna be one of
my favorite players to watch it in I uniform. But
like Louisville first half, now, Indiana figured it out in
the second half against Louisville and made it close and
interesting until we found out that Indiana couldn't score from
(05:47):
the one yard line, and that was that was annoying too.
So not only is this a situation where I've seen
Indiana some awful games against Louisville, against Cincinnati, Shore, Indiana
did sweep Virginia and the Tom Allen era head to head.
So it's like, Okay, why do you drop Virginia. You
(06:09):
probably would beat him, and yeah, you probably would beat him,
but then you go into the Hey, I don't want
to sacrifice a home game, you know, I don't want
to have to play Virginia on the road, especially when
Indiana's got all this momentum. And then The other part
of this is just this past season, Indiana got out
of the Big Ten East where you played Michigan, Penn State,
(06:32):
and Ohio State every year. Yeah, only to face not
only the two teams who came off of a year
where they played in the National championship game in Washington
and Michigan, but you also face the two teams that
face each other in the upcoming national championship game in
Ohio State and then eventually Notre Dame in the CFP,
(06:55):
which goes to say Indiana made the College Football Playoff
in a year where they had Florida International, Western Illinois,
and Charlotte in their non conference and then Folks in
case you forgot the non conference slate for the two
last national champions not too impressive. Ohio State, their non
(07:24):
conference was putrid this past season because I think part
of the thought process is, look, Ohio State knows if
they take care of business in Big Ten play, they'll
get into the CFP, whether it's like through a top
four seed or through a top eight seed where you
host a home game. Last year, matt Akron, Western Michigan,
(07:45):
and Marshall were victims to playing as fodder at the
shoe in twenty twenty four, and look the Wolverines in
twenty three. It was a very similar story. It was
you know, yeah, it was East Carolina UNLV bowling Green.
(08:10):
I just saw Indiana make a college football playoff without
having to win a big non conference game. And by
the way, I've seen it on the other foot too.
Because the SEC only has eight only has eight conference games,
a team like LSU has to schedule USC. And LSU
(08:30):
lost the head to head game against USC on a
neutral site, and it wasn't really neutral, I feel. I
think that game was in Texas, but anyway, like that
game was in New Orleans, but yeah, even less neutral.
And so maybe ten years down the road, I would
love to see Indiana load up their non conference slate
(08:52):
with Texas and with oh okay, all right, so maybe
the previous year it was l you played a game
in Dallas, you want, so, all right, I'll turn down
my SEC shade just for that, just for that game.
But at the end of the day, in New Orleans,
that's the one, the Florida State one.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
That was a crazy game, That was an insane game.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
And hey, you know what, maybe in a handful of
years we get enough data on this, and we say, look, hey,
Indiana now has the home revenues, the stadium has expanded
a few extra thousand seats. The Hoosiers are you know,
they're doing what they've got to do against these group
of five teams. But hey, you know, a marquee non
(09:38):
conference game could push Indiana a little bit further to
the next level. So hey, let's go out and put
Florida State on there. Let's go and put some of
the teams you mentioned, like Louisville or Kentucky on there,
or hey, let's go out and put an SEC team
on there to increase the Big ten stronghold on that
waiting conference. So at that point, maybe, But I look
(10:01):
at what Michigan's non conference schedule looked like in twenty three.
I see what Ohio State their non conference schedule look
like in twenty four. I see what Indiana's non conference
schedule looked like in twenty four, and I don't want
to risk it. I mean, Illinois played Kansas last year
in Champagne won by like a possession, and now everyone's
talking about them as a college football playoff contender. Had
(10:25):
Illinois lost that game, I don't know. How I'd feel
about it. Of course, Illinois did lose to Kansas on
the road a couple of years ago, and who was ugly,
So like, I'm good, I'm good, Matt. Let the SEC
teams load up on these marquee games because they only
have eight They only have eight games. This conference that's
(10:47):
so proud of itself doesn't play each other nine times.
They only play each other eight times. What's up with?
Speaker 2 (10:52):
If it would be a blood bath if they played
each other nine times, would be a pillowpoint that would
be there would be bodies in the street if they
played oh, eight times enough? But I think the pretend,
honestly is ridiculous that we played nine conference games. I
think it should be eight, and then then you should
be able to schedule one non conference game.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
But again, think that.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
To me, the one of my favorite parts of the
sport is seeing those teams that don't normally play each
other playing each other in that first four weeks of
the season. It creates some really fun matchups and some
really fun storylines that come back even a couple of
years later. Right, we end up playing a team like
a Louisville or a Notre Dame in a in a
(11:37):
college football playoff, Right, you can go back to look
at non conference games you played previously. I like that part.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
So honestly, do you know what That's part of what
it is to me too, because last year we just
saw Indiana play Washington, U C.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
L A.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
And Notre Dame. And I'm like, that kind of feels
non conference. Still, you know, it doesn't feel is non conference.
It's not.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
None of that was non conference, except for obviously the playoff,
which is automatically non conference. But no, I I I
just I want ie you to to have a more
national platform, and I think playing games against other Power
five conference teams. I get Virginia was gonna be ass
all right, I understand that.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
Especially giving you know, having to go there.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
Yeah, but the going there, If you want to make
the argument that it's it's I you wanted another home
game for home game revenue purposes, fine, all by all means,
I give you that argument, but I just think it
looks super soft. One, you go out and do this
after the performance that they put on in the the
the most recent game that they played. And then secondly, like,
(12:50):
come on, you gotta if you want to play with
the big boys, you gotta swim with the big boys.
You gotta you gotta got a schedule like a big boy.
Now I understand the two last two previous national championships.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
Yeah, that's the thing. Yeah, right, like coming back.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
But it's let's not pretend like because at the end
of the day, like you're going to face You're gonna
face Oregon, Penn State, Illinois, and Iowa this year.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
You win three of those games, you're in the CFP.
That's it, yea. And what and what puts you in
the best position to face those teams? Is it you
can argue, you could argue it's Virginia or Kentucky. I
would argue it's Kennesaw State. So that you know you're
gonna win that game, You're gonna feel good going into
(13:35):
Week four rather than your season ending because I don't know,
it's monsooning in Charlottesville and you have a bad Saturday
because I don't know, Like for example, Matt, like, here's
a good Nebraska's playing Cincinnati week one this year. Nebraska's
feeling good about themselves. They should, right, they made a
bowl game last year, they won their bowl game last year.
It's been kind of a long road after the Scott
(13:57):
Frost debacle. If Nebraska is a bad Thursday Night in
Cincinnati and they lose twenty seven to ten, even though
Nebraska is a seven point favorite, that's like a realistic outcome.
It really sullies the rest of the season. Yeah and all.
(14:20):
And like I've seen, I've seen good teams go on
the road and you know, you play, you play somebody,
yet you think you're gonna be and it's just it's ugly. Now. Look,
if there's a Power five team, that's if there's a
power for a team that's linked to play Indiana at
(14:41):
home on a one off, that sign me, sign me up.
But you know, until then, By the way, Matt, you
want to just run through some of these non conference
games real quick. Week one, Nebraska Cincinnati. That's a true
road in uh in in uh actually sorry, that's a
neutral in Kansas City. Yeah, be a fun one. Texas,
(15:01):
Ohio State's the one everyone's gonna be talking about. Week one,
Big noon Columbus Clemson LSU. That's gonna be a fun one.
Utah ucla non conference game in this era, fun to
think about there. Week two, you got Illinois Duke. Of course,
(15:22):
the rivalry game Iowa, Iowa State, Oklahoma State, Oregon. By
the way, I don't know if you saw this, but
I believe Oklahoma is a favorite at home for their
Week two game against Michigan. Okay, it's gonna be a
fun one to keep an eye out for. I will
(15:44):
be painting maze and blue on my face. I will
be hoping that Michigan gets that non conference win over
Oklahoma in Norman to really plan, especially if Ohio State
beats Texas. Ohio State in Michigan beating Texas and Oklahoma,
that's gonna be real feather in the cap for the
(16:05):
Big Ten.
Speaker 2 (16:07):
I mean, it's the best conference in the country this year.
It's it's not a doubt to me.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
I'm gonna be pumped. I'm gonna be pumped to watch
that game. Especially if, like Oregon takes care of business
against Oklahoma State. I'll let all these other teams do.
Speaker 2 (16:19):
Better, take care against take care against Oklahoma State better.
Speaker 1 (16:23):
But when I were talking they win, you and I
were talking to the four matchups the marquee matchups in
Indiana has on their schedule. Oregon might sneakily be gettable, right,
we were talking a little bit, a little bit there.
Not easy, not easy, but no there.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
It's it's easier than it's easier than Penn State Oregon
last year. Exactly Again, I don't I don't trust Dante
more I think.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
And you're really into the recruiting because he was a
huge recruit coming out of high school.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
He's a huge recruit and he's going to be good.
I just don't think he's gonna be good this year.
And when you got a team and a defense, we're
gonna talk about it's built around a pass rush. Yeah right,
I'm getting to the QB and you got a young
freshman quarterback with the weight of the world on his
shoulders there in Eugene. Yeah, Like, I like Indiana's chances there.
(17:26):
It's the drew Allers of the world who are experienced,
been through this, done that have a world class offensive
line in front of them, and obviously that's probably that
might be like a pseudo white out at that point
for a state.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
Myers been around for a long time.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
Gollmyer's been around for a while.
Speaker 1 (17:45):
Andy at Iowa, he was at South Dakota State for years.
He's a sason, He's a season starter. All these guys
aren't gonna get as shaken as Dante mor Will. So
I think again, IU has a very very good chance
of pulling off an upset in Eugene, much more than
I think they have a chance of upsetting Penn State.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
I still think the Iowa game is more winnable than
than the Oregon game.
Speaker 1 (18:11):
But yeah, and of course Illinois Illinois at home. Uh So. Anyway,
so there's that. Yeah, you talked about the defense. Let's
talk about the defense. This is an IU defense that
had had such a special season last year. Yeah, we
do lose a few guys. Jalen Walker, who you know
(18:33):
out of line that he was such a he was
such a game changer last season. I can't wait to
see him step up here in the preseason, training camp,
preseason in the NFL, I believe with the Raiders, James
Carpenter on the d line. Of course we're gonna miss
Seawan Asberry out of safety, Jamir Johnson at corner c
(18:55):
J West NFL draft pick, such a success story for Kurtzig,
Brian Haynes, Pat Coons on the defensive line. But grand
scheme of things. Indiana I thought did a great job
as far as replacing those names and those faces and
those players across the defense. The newcomers include Steven Day
(19:20):
out of Kent State, Dominique Radcliffe out of Texas State,
Jose Wheeler out of Western Kentucky. All on the defensive line.
Kurtz Signetti loves his trenches. Those three guys all graded
out analytically very strong via PFF in their group of
five teams. We'll see if they can make the leap
up to Power Conference football. Other players that Indiana added
(19:43):
on defense include Kellen Wyatt from Maryland. I'm looking forward
to seeing him a Marion knighton corner from Northern Illinois,
bringing back Lewis Moore Ole Miss but of course previous
Who's You're there? Rylan Gandhi comes over from pitt Devin
Boykin comes over from NC State, but matn let's start
with a three A plus studs on this On this
(20:07):
defensive unit, Brian Haynes brings back Mikhail Kamara, Aiden Fisher
and D'Angelo Ponds. I remember watching an A plus player
in Micah McFadden take a step up in twenty twenty
one after his awesome season in twenty twenty Do you
(20:31):
think these three guys can improve on what they did
last year, because wow, last year, all three of those
players were unbelievable.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
Can I mean, I think Mikael Kamara could become one
of the best d linemen in the entire country. When
we're talking about just overall, it's just recklessness in the backfield, right,
like complete destruction of teams. Like he's a guy that
I think could single handedly win games on the defensive
(21:03):
line at like you know, like a like a Rutgers
if we're playing any any of the smaller teams, Like,
they're not gonna be able to handle him at all.
Aiden Fisher's one of he he might be the most
seasoned linebacker in the country.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
He's so good.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
He has so many games played under his belt. And
and and you know the it's so cliche, right, but
you know, the the quarterback of the defense is the linebackers.
And with every game that a quarterback plays the lot,
you know, the quarterback gets better. Well, it's the same
thing for a linebacker. You know, they might get a
(21:42):
little bit more CTE, but but other than that, you know,
the more games, the more snaps they see, right, the
better they are. And and that's not you can't say
the same about a running back. Right, you can't really
say the same about a wide receiver. You can't have
about a lot of positions, but for life back specifically,
especially on the defensive end, the more these guys see
(22:04):
the field, the more the smarter they are, the better
decisions they're going to make. I thought Fisher really struggled
and I used biggest games last year. You're right, and
I think that's something that he can really learn from
and and grow into being that senior leader on this
year's team.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
That's a great That's a great point because I was
actually gonna say something very similar in the sense that
I remember that Ohio State game, Notre Dame game. It
was a little bit rough. Now, I do remember Fisher
having a great game. It's Michigan. I feel like symbolically
that was a big game. Of course, Michigan went on
to beat Ohio State and Alabama before the season ended.
(22:44):
But you know, aiden Fisher I thought had a great game.
It's Michigan. Great game, it's Maryland. But at the end
of the day, yeah, though those two, those two premier matchups,
it was a little bit under underwhelming. I can't wait
to watch mkhal Kamara. I mean, I I went back
and watched some games from this past season, and even
when he's not making highlight plays, he's making highlight plays.
(23:08):
I mean, he's taking on two blockers and he's still
pressuring the quarterback, or he gets a key run stop
on first down to force a second and ten or
a second and nine instead of a second and four,
second and five. He is so good at affecting the
play even if he doesn't punctuate it with a sack
(23:28):
or a big hit. That's the type of production on
defense that makes such a big deal nowadays, I think
more than ever. I think several years ago people really
just looked at sacks and tackles and interceptions, and now
you're really digging into players that even when they're not
doing that, they're pressuring the quarterback, they're taking on a
(23:50):
couple of blockers, they're influencing the play even if they're
not landing it. I am so I am so proud
of what he's done in his career. Again, JM, you guy,
you know he he he was not one of the
He's one of the ogs.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
And like.
Speaker 1 (24:08):
There are several players on this defense, there's several pounds
a team that could that could break Indiana's drought of
not having a first round draft pick in the NFL
since two thousand, kil Kamara is one of them, no
question about it. He's definitely in the mix there as
far as the guy who could, who could? Who can
make that happen? Uh, di'angelo Pond's. It's tough at corner.
(24:34):
You do see ups and downs when it comes to
corners in college football in the NFL. We actually talked
about Taiwan Mall at the start of this. It looked
like he was going to be, you know, a lock
legend for years and it you know, it's hard man,
you know when other offenses, uh, sort of learn more
about you. And again you talked about the quarterbacks in
(24:55):
Indiana's going to play this upcoming season. You know, Luke
Almeyer drew several others on the Big ten slate that
are gonna be challenging Demon Willie sorryava U c l A.
You know, he could be, he could be, he could
be dangerous. You know, there are several players in that
(25:15):
category and if they sort of pick on you a
little bit, I got I'm gonna keep my eyes on
D'Angelo Pon's this upcoming season. I think He's gonna be great,
but corner is a position where you do see a
lot of variants here to year, So I'm looking forward
to uh to seeing him step up. There are a
lot of new names on this defensive line, Matt. We
talked about Jose Wheeler, Dominique Ratcliffe, and Steven Day. Uh.
(25:39):
It was funny as we were talking before starting recording.
It seems like Kurt Signetti, Bryant Haynes, pat Koons really
like players that step up. A group of five players
that step up in these non conference games against power
four teams. For example, my favorite step with Jose Wheeler
(26:01):
is that in twenty twenty three when Western Kentucky played
Ohio State, he sacked dripped Kyle McCord and forced the
fumble that Western Kentucky recovered. In twenty twenty four, Jose
Wheeler sacked Jalen Milroe and forced the fumble that Alabama recovered.
Stephen Day last season sacked Pitt's starting quarterback in the
(26:25):
non conference game that kent State played against Pitt and then,
by the way, he also sacked Curtis Rourke in a
Kent State Ohio game back in twenty twenty two, Dominique
Radcliffe is also a raw player. I don't know how
many snapskill get, but we'll keep an eye out for that.
And then you also have Tyreek Tucker, Mario Landino returning
to this defensive line. Matt Kurtzignetti Brian Haynes talked so
(26:48):
much about the importance of trenches. I feel like this
defensive line is going to be alright this upcoming season,
even after losing CJ. West and James Carpenter. Am I
putting too much stock in to these newcomers, guys like
Daily and Wheeler to fill in the gaps left by
West and Carpenter.
Speaker 2 (27:07):
I don't know if you are. I don't think if
you are putting enough stock in good they are actually
going to be. Like I'm a full on believer that
this defensive line is significantly upgraded. Oh wow, significantly upgraded.
(27:27):
I think it's much deeper than it was last year.
I think it's more has more diversity and the players
that are there. I think you can use a bunch
of the guys very differently than how you could use
the guys last year. And I think where I really
struggled was down the stretch last year in the most
important games yea, they looked gassed now to be fair,
(27:51):
and the two most important games we play last year,
which was Ohio State and there Dame, the defense was
on the field for a majority, right, Yeah, And so
that's on the offense to get that stuff working out,
which obviously we've talked about it. The offense is also upgraded.
Speaker 1 (28:05):
And then you also talked about offense this year, just
like you're talking about defense having some more versatility to it.
So that's an interesting theme throughout. I like, I like
that point.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
Yeah, it's this team up and down the roster, and
I mean again, it's just giving Signetti another year of
kind of tinkering with the little you know, the gears,
the knobs and the switches that go behind this program,
right and yeah, the the team itself is just so
much more dynamic all across the board. More depth, more talent,
(28:39):
more high level talent. We're we're gonna talk about some
guys in a in a second here that come over
from Power five level teams and whatnot. Guys are talking
Power four five. You've talked about guys from the G
five sorry, that have you know, significant experience and highlights
against the Power and so this up and down this roster,
(29:05):
there's just so many more players that can you can
plug and play. So if you lose a guy for
three games like last year, if we lost anybody for
three games or at all, it was a struggle. We
lost Rourke for like what two games last year, three games,
it was a struggle. It's going to be the same
way forever. If it wasn't for Signetty going through and
(29:30):
actually filling in, you know, we have we can go
to the second depth chart, and I like almost all
of the guys except for offensive line, sure, and at
every other position on the team, I don't mind. I
guess q QP be an office line other than that
the guy that's second in fiddle like. I like those guys.
I like their promise, I like the possibility of them playing.
Speaker 1 (29:54):
Yeah, it's funny you mentioned our backup, our backup quarterback
Grant Wilson, who h He's gonna face his old foe,
old friends with old dominion in week one, and then
in week two, Indiana is going to face Dexter Williams,
who of course used to wear the Indiana uniform and
now Dexter Williams Atkennesaw States, So early September is going
to be all about backup quarterback reunions. It's also going
(30:16):
to be about letting some of these players compete against
each other. Right, we talked about the non conference slate
three cupcake wins for Indiana at the start of the season.
You get to see some of these guys who are
penciled in as starters face off against guys who are
penciled in his backups. And there's no better competition than
real game competition. And you talked about, Hey, someone like
(30:38):
Mario Landino. We saw him step up in some moments
last year as a as a freshman, homegrown in this defense.
Now he's back for year two, Hey can he step up?
And you know in those non conference games, can he
make a big splash so that when Lou Gallmeyer comes
to Bloomington, Hey, maybe Mario Landino's out on the field
(30:59):
for a little bit more than you would expect. Jamario Monette,
same situation. Tyreek Tucker Og from JMU. He really stood
out to me last year when he got snaps. But
you're gonna have to earn them in this in this
coaching staff. You're gonna have to earn them in the
system over guys like Jose Wheeler. You're gonna have to
compete with Dominie Gratcliffe in order to get onto the field.
(31:22):
Kellen Wyatt, We'll talk about the linebacker position a little bit,
but you know, how does he fare in this defense?
Is he gonna start? Is he gonna come in off?
The's gonna be a backup, He's gonna be rotational. This
defensive line, to me, did lose Linnell Carr as a
pass rusher. You're gonna call them defensive line, linebacker or whatever,
but you do lose Linnel Carr as a pass rusher.
But with that said, I do like seeing some of
(31:43):
these second third stringers having an extra year of experience,
like you mentioned, you know, having Mario Landino, Jamario Monette,
They're in the system for another year. I think that's
gonna make a big difference. But as we saw last year,
you know CJ. West, he made the lead up to
Power conference football, James Carpenter made the step up to
Power conference football. You're gonna have to take on NFL
(32:08):
Interier your offensive line linemen at least pretty much every
week now, especially once you start Week four. I'm looking
forward to seeing Dominie Gradcliffe, Stephen Daily do those type
of things this upcoming season. Jose Wheeler as well, because
they did splash last year against Power Conference opponents. Looking
forward to seeing them keep that going here as Brian
(32:30):
Haynes and Pat Poons keep leading this defensive line. We're
gonna talk about linebackers, pass rushers, secondary coming up in
just a second, but first it's time for who won
the week this past week in i U Sports And
we're gonna make some history on our podcast three hundred
and forty eight episodes in. We're not giving this award
to a human. Huh, We're not gonna give this to
(32:52):
a human. Who's You're the Bison? Is? Is? Who who
on the week? This fast weekend? I USE Sports? Are
you breaking? Uh? Breaking the mold here? First time in
sixty years with the mascot Who's Your the Bison is
(33:15):
going to debut on August thirtieth in the football season
open against the Old Dominion Buffalo Wild Wings is already
in the quote tweets already in the mentions Indiana football
is so back?
Speaker 2 (33:28):
Does Buffalo Wild Ones get to own just everything? Buffalo?
Speaker 1 (33:33):
You know how that works? Between them and Josh Allen.
I guess that that's all the Buffalo ownership. But you
know what, Hey, I'll I'll take I'll take beat Ubs.
You know what, Jeff Goodman, he's strained our relationship with
Buffalo Wild Wings. Let's not let's not pick fights with restaurants.
(33:54):
You know what I'm saying. If bet Ubs, nationally known
wants to, you know, lock arms with our football program,
I'm in. I'm in, Matt, Why are you come on?
Have you ever had a bad experience at beat Ups?
Speaker 2 (34:12):
Have you ever had a good experience at beat Ubs? Look,
I've never had a bad experience. I've never had a
bad experience at Beatubs, But I've also conversely never had
a good experience and beat Ups either. I'm not picking fights.
I just don't think that they should be able to
own everything Buffalo. They are a They're a wing chain
(34:34):
that's based that's a there's a it's it's a mockery
of Buffalo Wings.
Speaker 1 (34:42):
I can't wait. I can't wait to see who's in
the Bison storm the field Week one against old Dominion
Indiana football again breaking the mold, bucking the trend, setting
a new setting, a new path forward for this university.
Speaker 2 (34:58):
Uh, does the just the does the mascot also go
for basketball? Is it just in general?
Speaker 1 (35:03):
I think so? I think so. The official release from
IU is actually pretty elaborate and talking about some of
the history with the Bison School. William Henry Harrison got
a shout out former President of the United States. I
believe he got assassinated in office here.
Speaker 2 (35:21):
Yeah and fun fun, so great fun.
Speaker 1 (35:26):
How many podcasts talk about talk about beat ups, William
Henry Harrison and the importance of defensive line play all
but in like five minutes. Take that. Take that everyone. Yeah,
(35:46):
So that press release pret elaborate not I don't believe it.
There was a basketball mentioned in there. I can't imagine
they leave out basketball. So looking forward to see who's
your the Bison everywhere starting August thirtieth, I guess old
dominion folks are a quick reminder if you like what
you're hearing, if you enjoy our show, leave us a review,
tell a friend, share our links. Your support really helps
us grow this podcast and reach more passionate I you
(36:09):
fans such as yourself, Matt, this pass rush linebacking crew,
A lot of names you talked about, Aiden Fisher leading
the way Mikhail Kamara is going to be a primary
pass rusher, but there is room here for somebody to
step up. So whether it's Kellen Wyatt who comes over
(36:29):
from Maryland, whether it's Elijah Hardy who had a couple
of big pick sixes last season, whether it's Isaiah Jones
who stepped in last year when either Aiden Fisher or
Jalen Walker went down. We saw plenty of Isaiah Jones
last year. He held his own. This is to me,
this is a camp battle. This is a fall camp
(36:51):
battle to watch out for coming up in August. Who's
gonna step up here next to Aiden Fisher and Mikail Kamara.
Is there a player here of this g even Kayden Turner,
whoever we haven't talked about much, Like, is there somebody
here who you think could potentially step up next to
Aiden Fisher because there is room here for somebody to
(37:11):
make a difference and make a splash.
Speaker 2 (37:13):
I I don't have an opinion on this because I'm
not I don't think I'm well informed about these guys
specifically in their games. I've watched their stuff, but I don't.
I don't I'm not good enough to compare them and
be like I think this guy's better than them, So
I'm a but I will say it's nice to have
these conversations that we're having competition. How many years do
(37:37):
we go into to the first game and we just
kind of know what the starting lineup is going to
be based off of Well.
Speaker 1 (37:44):
It's almost yeah, I was gonna say most like more
more like attrition. Right, it's just like, well, this guy
is freshman or whatever, he's not, there's no way he
can start. Yeah, it is when he can start here.
Speaker 2 (37:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (37:59):
It is funny though, Like we talked about some of
the defensive line guys, you know, jose Wheeler, Stephen Day,
They've played thirty five plus games in their collegiate careers
coming into this season. You know, Kellen Whitt's played a
lot of college football, thirty five games over multiple seasons
at Maryland. Of course, Aiden Fisher is going to be
the focal point of the linebacking group here on Indiana.
(38:23):
Michael Kamara's played a ton of games as well, So
if Signetti Lean's experience, I think you're going to see
a little bit more of Kellen Wyatt than you might
expect if he leans some of the more. But with
that said, like, if you know, I could easily see
Signetti going, hey, you know what, Isaiah Jones last year
stepped up for us in multiple situations. He's been here
(38:44):
multiple years in the system. I could really see him deliver.
We talked about Holden Stace last week at tight end
or maybe a couple weeks ago at tight end, and
how he's kind of the unique player on this offense.
As far as Signetti truly going potential over production with
(39:05):
Holden states, I think that's Relijah Hardy on this defense.
And I know he had two pick six's last year,
but you know what, they came in sort of lopsided matchups.
Of course, every game for Indiano is lopsided except Michigan.
But with that said, like thiss Indiana team, if Kurtz
(39:30):
Signetti sort of wants to raise the ceiling of this defense,
that's like an overused sentence, this floor ceiling stuff, but
I'll say it, I think it does apply here. If
you want to add sort of an X factor, wild card,
big play element to this defense, that means you'll see
(39:55):
a lot more Relijah Hardy on the field. This is
a guy who's a sophomore. There aren't many sophomores or
freshmen on Indiana's too deep right now. It's a lot
of seniors sprinkling some juniors. Elijah Hardy is the guy.
If you see Elijah Hardy play a lot the first
few games of the season, those three non conference games,
(40:16):
that to you should be an indication that Kurt Signetti
is saying, I want to add a little bit more
big play explosiveness to my defense. I might concede a
couple things here and there, but I'm getting this possibly
where Elijah Hardy blind side Blitz as a quarterback and
(40:40):
sacks him into next Wednesday, or Rolijah Hardy gets a
deflection tips the ball into the into the hands of
Ponds or or Knighton or or Devin Boyke. Right Like,
that's the type of element there to keep an eye
out for it. On the other hand, if you see
a lot more of Wyatt Isaiah Jones, that to me
(41:03):
is like, hey, those players have stood out to Signetti.
They're reliable, they're solid, they're consistent. That's where Elijah Hardy
could be in a couple of years. But going into
a sophomore season, I don't see that. So that's going
to be a really intriguing development to watch during fall camp.
During those three non conference games to start the season,
(41:23):
I'm probably gonna be paying attention to that group more
than any as far as the early part of the
season is concerned. The secondary is going to be awesome, Matt.
I love makeup. I love this makeup. In the secondary,
it's going to be a big time I believe Buddah
Williams is the defensive back coach still on this on
this football team. DiAngelo Pals. We've talked about him. But
(41:44):
outside of Ponds, you're penciled in. Starters are Jamari Sharp
at the other corner, Devin Boykin, the transfer FROMENCI stayed
at nickel, Amari Ferrell and Lewis Moore at safety. Of course,
Amari Ferrell and Lewis Moore are both players who can
do a few things defensively. They can down the corner,
they can come in, blitz off the edge, and then
you have backups penciled in right now, all penciled in.
(42:06):
Omaron knighton from Northern Illinois Byron Baldwin, true freshman who
decommitted and recommitted. Ryland Gandhi, who has plenty of games
under his belt, is a corner from Pitt, Bryce and Bonds.
We've seen him do some important things both in the
Tom Allen and the Kurtz Signetti era. This secondary, Matt
just go off because because Indiana is going to be
(42:28):
playing some tough offenses, this secondary is you know, there's
there aren't many better secondaries you'd like to go to
battle with than these guys.
Speaker 2 (42:36):
I think this might legitimately be the best secondary IU
has ever had as a program, like Top Down, And
I think we've said that before on this podcast, because
I'm pretty sure we said that with Taiwan Mullage.
Speaker 1 (42:50):
Yeah, honest, Jamar Johnson that year.
Speaker 2 (42:54):
Mar Johnson, Taiwan Mullin, God, who are there safe? Jalen
Willie j Williams.
Speaker 1 (43:02):
Yeah, you know, like you know, there have been some
great secondaries.
Speaker 2 (43:05):
And you've said this too, that this secondary play is
kind of up and down right, Just I don't see
that with this this group, like they're so seasoned at
this point. Seriously. I mean, again, we're returning people and
I can't believe I'm saying this, but we're returning a
ton of people from a playoff team.
Speaker 1 (43:29):
And then, as you mentioned, Power five, incoming transfers Devin Boykin,
NC State, Rylan Gandy out of pitt Lewis Moore, Ole, Miss.
That's an additions to Marion Nighten from Northern How often
does has I you gotten Power five transfers that are
(43:50):
going to come in and be played back ups? And
if they're not backups, you know they'll they'll get playing time.
At otational piece says they're gonna compete for starting for
starting reps.
Speaker 2 (44:02):
Like, hell, yeah, they're gonna play. They're gonna play. They're
gonna play, but they're just not They're not gonna play
like starter minutes. Right? And who uh? Who's the safety
from u NC State whose name is slipping my mind?
Speaker 1 (44:15):
I've been Boyken he might safety?
Speaker 2 (44:18):
Yeah, he plays the he uh, I can avert this
team like all over the board, first first title. He's
been off of football for a year and a half now, injury.
I guess again he his injury came in prep for
the Pop Tart Bowl, I believe, right, yes, for NC
(44:40):
State in the twenty twenty season and the twenty three season.
He didn't even played last year. He's completely fresh ready
to go. So I'm I'm super excited. I mean again,
I legitimately think they're the best secondary I use ever had.
Speaker 1 (45:00):
It's crazy. I think p f F graded I you
out as a top ten secondary in college football. I
said Buddha Williams. By the way, he's a defensive ends coach.
We got to give our shout out to Ola Adams here.
Speaker 2 (45:09):
Who's been so good as far as Adams.
Speaker 1 (45:11):
Secondary is great name, great follows on on social media too.
Rodo Jong's really good as far as the social media
stuff as well. He's the corners coach. So Ola Adams
Rodo Jong both important fare as far as developing the secondary.
You talked about Indiana returning a lot of good players
(45:32):
from the CFP team. They returned their entire defensive staff
from the CFP team. Absolutely enormous there to bring back
Bryant Haynes. Nice try poaching him, all of you bloodthirsty
Power Conference jerks trying to steal our defensive coordinator. He's back.
In addition to the rest of that, you know, support
(45:53):
positional staff, Ola Adams, Pat Koons, roto John, Buddha Williams.
It's it's it's in a really healthy spot right now.
And uh, you know, I talked about my favorite stat
with Jose Wheeler. My second favorite stat is with Devin Boykin, who,
like you said, mister year college football. He has four
career picks during his four years of college football at
(46:16):
NC State. They came against Clem, Florida State, Clemson, Miami,
and North Carolina, so all quality ACC opposition. They all
came in wins for NC State against quality ACC opposition.
And the four quarterbacks are Jordan Travis, Kate klub, Nick, Tyler, Vandyke,
(46:42):
and Drake May. That's pretty good, pretty good hit list.
Speaker 2 (46:46):
That's a pretty good list.
Speaker 1 (46:48):
For for Devin Boykin. So hey, hopefully he can take
uh take Dante Moore or Drew Aller or Luke Altmeyer
Adam Adam to that list. I know we all are
huge fans of di' angelo Pons. I think there's a chance,
Matt that by the end of the year, I feel
the same way about di Angelo Pons. I'll feel the
(47:11):
same way about Amari Ferrell as I do about D'Angelo Pons.
Right now, I can see that, Yeah, the way he's
so you know, versatile, he can manipulate his coverage, his blitz,
his his tackling like he is capable of doing so
much on the football field. He had some massive plays
(47:35):
last year, and I think refs gave him a bit
of a harsh whistle. I think now in his you know,
second year, is a prominent player in the Big Ten.
I think they'll understand how he plays a little bit more.
I feel like the UCLA game he got a bad
penalty called against him. Maybe was the Michigan State game.
But I liked watching him so much last year, and
(47:55):
I think this is a player who when you think
about emerging threats on this football team. I felt this
way about Omar Cooper on offense. I think I was
sitting here saying, hey, Omar Cooper might be the most
underrated receiver into Big ten. I feel like maybe said
something like that. I think Amari Ferrell is in that
(48:17):
same conversation on the defensive side of the ball, where
we sit here and say, hey, we watched this dude
make a big player to every game last season. But
now I'm looking forward to seeing him start. I'm looking
forward him to seeing him play every snap. Sees the
opportunity get into NFL draft conversation, talk about all conference
(48:38):
type of performance throughout the year, make a big splash
as far as the postseason, is concerned as well. I
am a huge fan of players that can do several
things on the football field. I feel like Penn State
has developed a reputation of that on their defense. You know,
(48:58):
we just watched you know, Duel Carter, for example. He
wasn't just a pass rusher. He was somebody who was
able to drop back in coverage. He was able to
stop the run, he was able to affect the game
in numerous different ways. They've got plenty of those guys
in their secondary over the years as well at Penn State.
And I think Amari Ferrell, you know, in another universe
he's playing college football for Penn State right now in
(49:20):
Joe Paterno, but we have him instead and I'm really
looking forward to seeing him do numerous things on defense.
By the way, we also talked about the Group of
five trend, where Kurt Signetti and Brian Haynes like to
see guys who make splash plays against Power conference teams.
(49:41):
Marion Knighton picked off Riley Leonard last year in South
Bend to put Norder in Illinois in position to beat
the Fighting Irish, which they ended up doing. So Hey,
maybe when it's all said and done by mid season.
We're talking about Amaron Knighton as a as a key
player in the secondary. He's a junior, so he has
a couple of years left, but there are a lot
There are a lot of quality players in the secondary,
(50:02):
and I agree completely with what Matt said. I can
definitely see this being the best secondary in school history
and one of the best in college football. We're gonna
wrap this thing up in just a second, folks. A reminder,
a social media shout out. You can find us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram,
wherever you want. On Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, you can
find us at the Who's your Sound in Indiana HQ?
(50:24):
But on Instagram We're not Indiana HQ? But what are we?
Speaker 2 (50:27):
Indiana dot HQ can find us there.
Speaker 1 (50:30):
A reminder if you enjoy our show again, folks, leave
us a review, tell a friend, share our links. That
kind of support, just algorithmically, is what really helped prop
up our podcast reach more passionate IU fans. We got
football season coming up. Man soccer gonna kick off in
the fall. You know who's your the Bison. Let's go.
I mean, there are big things happening here, so so
(50:52):
give us a follow. I know there's a lot. Hey,
big ten media days are coming up. You know, we'll
we'll keep you off the speed on everything you need
to know coming out of that fall camp. Any key storylines,
anything that you're interested about as at least to a
football We're going to be talking about it here, So
make sure you grow the masses. A lot of fun
(51:13):
stuff to discuss here, Matt. We dove into Indiana's schedule.
We talked about some big, big ten non conference games,
big ten media days around the corner. Anything you expect
to see coming out of that, you know, let me know,
or you can just wrap it up whatever you want.
Of course, this II football team is primed to have
(51:34):
a pretty big season. Anything on your mind as we
wrap up on this Friday.
Speaker 2 (51:40):
No, nothing new on my mind other than just super
excited football season start. I think I said it's every
single podcast, but like I am so ready to watch
the shoo's your team hit the field, like they're going
to be so good. I'm so excited. Really, that's it.
Speaker 1 (52:01):
It's uh, it's a new era for sure, because it's
just we have not said that going into every college
football season at Indiana. All we've tried to pick out
a couple of things to watch for. Hey, if Indiana
does this, this and this, hey they can get the
six wins. Hey, maybe they can win the bucket game.
(52:22):
This is a new era and uh yeah and uh
and on both sides of the ball here, Indiana is
set up to do some really really big things. By
the way, as far as Big ten Media Day is concerned,
I believe Kurt Signetti will be stepping up to the
podium on Tuesday, so keep an eye out for that. Fisher, Kamara,
(52:47):
and Surat will be there for Indiana three day event
in Las Vegas.
Speaker 2 (52:57):
That's the one they get a free trip to Las Vegas.
Speaker 1 (53:00):
H Well, I mean, do you you know, do you
think anyone who attends Big ten Media Days makes a
regrettable mistake and serves a suspension for the upcoming season?
That would be so so don't drive right, designated drivers
and ubers everywhere. Yeah you know that includes coaches, Mark
(53:24):
Few following his place, Bob Huggins right him too, I think,
oh yeah, yeah, yeah, So don't you know, you know,
coaches and players everyone here, staff Big ten network folks,
you know, get your drivers, no regrettable mistakes. It's a test,
(53:47):
it's a preseason test media days in Vegas. I'm looking
forward to hearing that there's plenty of SEC conspiracy coming
out from this week media days for them. So looking
forward to seeing the Big Ten return the favor next week.
Just make the AP top twenty five all Big ten teams.
(54:09):
That's what I say, preseason AP Top twenty five all
Big Ten teams, throwing seven group of five and there
you go. I don't know, like I can see the
argument on both sides as far as non conference scheduling
is concerned, but like I'm good with this, Like I'm fine.
(54:29):
And you know what, as I mentioned, maybe in ten
years we come back and we say, hey, look, Indiana
should put a Marquee Power Conference opponent under schedule. But
you know what, we'll see Kurt Signetti. We'll see how
Kurd Signetti handles these things over the next several years.
Speaker 2 (54:50):
They should, they should.
Speaker 1 (54:51):
Well they shouldn't. All right, folks. That wraps it up
for a three hundred and forty eth episode of the
Hoosier Sound They Sandwich for joining us, I really appreciate
your support to hear more fantastic episodes like the one
you heard today. Be sure to follow us in Indiana HQ.
We're at the Hoo's your sound to make sure you
don't miss any in the future. You can also go
to our website indianhq dot com to find it all
(55:13):
in one place. But as always, thank you for listening.
Who's your nation and we will see you next time.
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