For Overlooked Mikail Kamara, Beating Maryland Was Personal

Maryland did not offer a scholarship to Mikail Kamara out of Stone Bridge High School in Ashburn, Va. That made Saturday’s 42-28 win over the Terrapins extra special for the Hoosiers’ defensive lineman, who began his career at the FCS level at James Madison.

Indiana Hoosiers defensive lineman Mikail Kamara (6) celebrates a sack against Maryland at Memorial Stadium. / Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Mikail Kamara had been looking forward to Saturday’s game against Maryland.

The defensive lineman, like many of Indiana’s incoming transfers from James Madison and other Group of Five schools, came into the 2024 season with a chip on his shoulder and something to prove at the Big Ten level. Saturday was a prime example.

Kamara was an unranked recruit with zero stars next to his name when he attended Stone Bridge High School in Ashburn, Va., within an hour’s drive from the University of Maryland. 

Kamara visited Maryland but didn’t receive a scholarship offer. Those only came from James Madison, Kent State, Charlotte, Towson, Howard, Richmond, Morgan State, Furman, Delaware, Lafayette and Division II Notre Dame College, according to his Twitter account.

I had a great visit at the University of Maryland thanks to @CowsetteDel @CJOwens_umd @coachwill347 #GoTerps🐢🐢 pic.twitter.com/pyGlnw31Nt

— Mikail Kamara (@Mikail_kamara6) February 18, 2019

He decided on James Madison, an FCS school at the time. He battled injuries and was limited to 11 games across his first three seasons with the Dukes. But in 2023, Kamara was named second-team All-Sun Belt, recording 52 tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and two pass breakups.

When coach Curt Cignetti left James Madison after a 52-9 run, Kamara followed him to Indiana. On Saturday, Maryland may have regretted letting the 6-foot-265-pound Kamara leave the DMV.

In Indiana’s 42-28 win over Maryland, Kamara totaled seven tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and one sack. For Kamara, to do that against the Terrapins was extra special. 

“It meant a lot,” Kamara said postgame. “For me, personally, just Maryland being close to home and them not recruiting me, this was definitely personal.”

On the Maryland sideline stood Tai Felton, who entered the game second in the nation in catches, third in yards and tied for fourth in touchdown catches. Felton also attended Stone Bridge High School but is one year younger than Kamara. 

“This was something we’ve always talked about, always dreamt of,” Kamara said. “So it was a big game for me for sure.”

Felton finished the game with five receptions for 38 yards. In addition to a win that improved Indiana’s record to 5-0 and dropped Maryland to 3-2, Kamara won bragging rights over Felton, his high school teammate. 

“During the week [trash talk] was minimal, but out there on that field it was a lot,” Kamara said. “After, we’re friends again.”

Though Indiana’s offense scored 42 points, its four turnovers put the Hoosiers in precarious positions throughout the game. But at every stop, Indiana’s defense had the offense’s back. They forced a trio of three-and-outs after Indiana’s first three turnovers. After Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke was sacked, Kamara came up big. 

Kamara sacked Maryland quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. on 3rd and 5 with 1:28 left in the first half, which gave Indiana the ball back with time to score and take a 14-7 lead into halftime. 

“It was huge. It was just a staple, you know, just to tell Maryland they should have recruited me,” Kamara said, laughing.

Indiana’s defense totaled five sacks and eight tackles for loss, which Kamara felt resembled a 2023 James Madison defense that led the nation in tackles for loss and played fast and vertical.

There was another similarity Kamara recognized from his time with the Dukes. Maryland’s assistant offensive line coach, Damian Wroblewski, was the associate head coach and offensive line coach under Cignetti at James Madison from 2019-24. 

“We kind of knew the scheme they were gonna give us and the way they were gonna block things,” Kamara said. “So I was able to coach them up on some of those things, and we were able to just play.”

“The d-tackles were balling, CJ [West], [James] Carpenter, Lanell on the other end. I was balling. Tyrique [Tucker] coming in. Mario [Landino] coming in. I think it really started with the d-line, and then of course we got [Aiden] Fisher, we got [Jailin] Walker, we got the backers that were coming in to clean everything else up. But our backend, they were hooping. They were balling. Because we can’t get sacks if they’re not covering. So they were covering, and I think as a defense we played really well.”

With this win, Indiana is 5-0 for the first time since 1967. Kamara appreciated the support from the 48,323 fans at Memorial Stadium on Saturday and believes attendance will grow moving forward.

“Us winning this game, now they can actually think we’re legit,” Kamara said. “But we gotta keep our heads still locked in and continue to prove it every single week. But I know for sure, the crowds are going to start to sell out and it’s going to get even crazier.”

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