Curt Cignetti Provides Injury Updates After Indiana Football's First Scrimmage

Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti said defensive lineman Andrew Depaepe and cornerbacks Josh Philostin and JoJo Johnson have suffered injuries during fall camp.

Indiana cornerback JoJo Johnson pictured during fall camp. / Indiana Athletics

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana football held its first scrimmage of fall camp on Saturday, exactly three weeks before the season opener on Aug. 31 against Florida International.

The Hoosiers' new head coach Curt Cignetti said they only "thudded" on Saturday, meaning there was no live tackling during the scrimmage. That made it difficult for him to fully evaluate the team's ability to run the football because he couldn't take into account broken tackles or perimeter tackles.

But on both sides of the ball, Cignetti said there were good, bad and ugly moments. And overall, he has seen progress with his new team.

"It's significantly better than it was in the spring," Cignetti said Monday. "Which the goal coming into fall camp, the second time through it, more consistency in performance play in, play out at a high level. We're not there yet, and we still have things to install."

Fall camp has also come with a few injuries to players Cignetti called "depth guys."

"Josh Philostin injured his knee. He'll be out a while. Same with [Andrew] Depaepe, the transfer from Michigan State," Cignetti said. "JoJo Johnson will be out a couple weeks. Other than that, we got some minor things but nothing significant."

Philostin is a 5-foot-10, 180-pound true freshman cornerback from Cardinal Newman High School in West Palm Beach, Fla. He committed to Indiana as a three-star recruit ranked No. 524 overall, No. 48 among cornerbacks and No. 66 in Florida, per the 247Sports Composite.

Johnson enters his second season with the Hoosiers. The 6-foot, 184-pound cornerback joined Indiana before the 2023 season as a transfer from Iowa Western Community College, where he made 16 tackles, three interceptions and two pass breakups across nine games during the 2022 season.

Johnson appeared in all 12 games for the Hoosiers in 2023, making 12 total tackles and one pass breakup at cornerback and on special teams. He began his career at Notre Dame but missed the entire 2021 season due to a knee injury.

At cornerback, Jamier Johnson and Jamari Sharpe had starting experience with the Hoosiers during the 2023 season. Cignetti also landed cornerback D'Angelo Ponds in the transfer portal, who was a freshman All-American at James Madison last season.

Depaepe committed to Indiana during the transfer portal's spring cycle with four years of remaining eligibility. At 6-foot-5 and 260 pounds, he was ranked eighth among all defensive line transfers this offseason by On3.

Depaepe played 11 snaps in one game in 2023 as a true freshman at Michigan State while maintaining redshirt status. His younger brother, William, is a 6-foot-6, 244-pound defensive lineman entering his true freshman season at Indiana in 2024.

On the edge, Cignetti has been impressed with James Madison transfer Mikail Kamara. He also mentioned returning Hoosier Lanell Carr Jr. has been on the field for fall camp after missing spring practices. Jacob Mangum-Farrar played middle linebacker for Indiana last season, but he moved to the "stud" position on the defensive line in the spring and brings versatility to the group.

"I think the one guy that's really upped his game is Kamara," Cignetti said. "Saw that in spring, it's continued in the fall. He's just playing at another level. ... Carr, we're just getting back into the swing of things. He didn't practice in the spring, missed a couple early practices, but he's been out there the last six, seven days. I like the way he's progressing. JMF can play on either side."

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