Hoosiers Now

Tom Allen Highlights Freshmen Making Strong First Impressions

The Indiana football program began fall camp on Tuesday, and there were a handful of freshmen that made a strong impression on Tom Allen. With significant roster turnover from last season, Allen rattled off some newcomers that will push for playing time in 2022.

Jack Ankony

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Indiana lost its top four running backs, trio of leading pass catchers, starting quarterback and a handful of major defensive leaders from the 2021 roster. 

And that's just to name a few.

The Hoosiers will look vastly different in 2022, both in on-field personnel and thanks to five new coaches. Tom Allen added 13 players through the transfer portal, and welcomed 22 freshmen that complied Indiana's highest-ranked recruiting class in program history. With this change comes competition for playing time across the board. 

"Nobody's job is secured," Allen said. "I don't care who you are."

Eager to crack the Hoosiers' rotation is the record-setting freshman class that began its first fall camp on Tuesday. Much can change from now until Indiana's season opener against Illinois on Sept. 2, but a number of rookies opened Allen's eyes.

The first player that jumped out to Allen was Kamryn Perry, a 5-foot-9 wide receiver from Marietta, Ga. In the first practice of fall camp, Allen said Perry made a few notable catches thanks to strong burst and acceleration. Perry is a three-star recruit and chose Indiana over Kentucky. With the loss of leading receivers Ty Fryfogle and Miles Marshall, Indiana will need youngsters like Perry to compete for playing time right away.

Allen has also been impressed by a pair of Florida-based defensive linemen Venson Sneed and Nick James. Sneed arrives in Bloomington as a three-star recruit and the No. 515 player in his class out of Winter Park Fla. James is one of four four-star recruits in the 2023 class, coming in a No. 307 out of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. 

The Hoosiers will be without starting defensive tackle Weston Kramer and defensive end Ryder Anderson, and so far, Allen believes Sneed and James fit the bill of Big Ten linemen. 

"They don't look like freshmen the way they move and the way they do things," Allen said.

Perhaps no freshman has received more offseason hype than Dasan McCullough, Indiana's top-ranked recruit of all time. From coaches to teammates and even opposing Big Ten quarterbacks, McCullough is expected to make an instant impact in Indiana's group effort to replace leading Micah McFadden at linebacker. 

The son of former Indiana running backs coach Deland McCullough, Dasan is the No. 75 player in the class of 2023, standing at 6-foot-5, 230 pounds. He played everything from linebacker to safety, cornerback, defensive end and even wide receiver during his high school career at Blue Valley North and Bloomington South.

Another player that Allen said physically doesn't look like a freshman is Jamari Sharpe out of Miami, Fla. Sharpe ran a 10.41-second 100-meter dash to win the GMAC Championship as a senior at Miami Northwestern High School. He is a 6-foot-1, 180-pound cornerback who chose Indiana over Georgia Tech and LSU. He's listed as a three-star recruit in the No. 78 cornerback in his class. 

Jaylin Lucas was one of three true freshmen listed on Indiana's first two-deep depth chart, along with McCullough and defensive back James Monds III. Lucas joins the Hoosiers as a 5-foot-9, three-star running back from New Orleans, La. Allen said he's noticed a boost in confidence from Lucas from the spring to fall, and he's excited about his potential. There will be plenty of competition for carries during fall camp with the departure of leading rushers Stephen Carr, Davion Ervin-Poindexter, Chris Childers and Tim Baldwin Jr. from last season.

Allen bulked up Indiana's offensive line with the 2022 recruiting class, too, adding three-star offensive tackles Carter Smith and Bray Lynch. The 6-foot-5, 290-pound Smith played high school football at Olentangy Liberty in Powell, Ohio and is the No. 61 offensive tackle in his class. 

Despite not joining the Hoosiers until this summer, Allen thinks Lynch is among the most well-prepared freshmen on Indiana based on high school experience. Lynch is a 6-foot-5, 282-pound, three-star offensive tackle from Westlake High School in Austin, Texas, which produced Drew Brees, Nick Foles, Justin Tucker, Sam Ehlinger and other NFL talent.

"I don't think any of this stuff is fazing [Lynch] in regards to the environment and the way we do things," Allen said. "He's probably been prepared the closest collegiately than any of the other guys out of high school with where he's coming from."

During Indiana's first practice of the fall, Allen decided to rotate between four levels of the depth chart in order to get the freshmen acclimated to college football. It gives Allen a chance to evaluate the newcomers and see who has a chance to make immediate contributions. 

"Freshman or not, I don't care what grade you're in, it's your responsibility to prove to your coach you deserve to play," Allen said. "That's in practice, in meetings, in walk-through, and everything we do. I want those freshmen to figure that out and respond ... We got a lot of guys here that need to step up and contribute and help this team, especially in 2022."

Related stories on Indiana football: 

  • ALLEN, WILT BALANCING DEFENSIVE DUTIES: Following Day 1 of fall camp, Indiana football head coach Tom Allen reiterated what it's like to balance the head coaching position while calling the defensive plays in partnership with new defensive coordinator Chad Wilt. CLICK HERE
  • TOM ALLEN SETS THE TONE: Indiana football began fall camp on Tuesday, and coach Tom Allen is looking to set the tone that the 2022 season will be different from last year, demanding a sense of urgency, attention to detail and accountability. CLICK HERE
  • INDIANA DEPTH CHART ON FIRST DAY OF FALL CAMP: The Indiana football program had its first practice of fall camp on Tuesday. Tom Allen said every position is still up for grabs, but the team has released its first two-deep depth chart of the season. CLICK HERE
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Jack Ankony
JACK ANKONY

Jack Ankony is a Sports Illustrated/FanNation writer for HoosiersNow.com. He graduated from Indiana University's Media School with a degree in journalism. Follow on Twitter @ankony_jack.

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