How Indiana’s Defense, Special Teams Shape Up For 2025

Indiana returns pillars at each level of the defense and has filled in the gaps through the transfer portal.

Indiana's Aiden Fisher (4) celebrates against Michigan at Memorial Stadium. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana received a major boost shortly after the 2024 season when All-American defenders Mikail Kamara, Aiden Fisher and D’Angelo Ponds announced their return for the 2025 season.

Those three headlined Indiana’s transfer portal class last offseason, and now they’re staples of the defense for coordinator Bryant Haines to build around. Indiana lost several key defenders from a unit that led the nation in run defense and ranked sixth in points allowed, but head coach Curt Cignetti and his staff have addressed those areas of need.

The transfer portal closed Dec. 28, so no more players can enter the portal for now. But many players in the portal remain uncommitted, and there is no deadline to decide on a new school. The portal will open again from April 16-25 following spring practice.

Indiana’s work in the transfer portal is not over, but Cignetti and his staff have done a lot in recent weeks to reload their roster after reaching the College Football Playoff in 2024

Here’s a position-by-position breakdown of how Indiana’s defense is shaping up for 2025.

Defensive line

Indiana’s two portal additions here include Texas State transfer Dominique Ratcliff and Western Kentucky transfer Hosea Wheeler. The 6-foot-3, 285-pound Ratcliff played almost strictly defensive tackle in 2024, totaling 22 tackles and two sacks. He should help fill the big holes left behind by James Carpenter and CJ West, who exhausted their collegiate eligibility.

At 6-foot-3 and 300 pounds, Wheeler brings versatility to the group, having played over 200 snaps at defensive tackle and defensive end in 2024, when he made the first-team All-Conference USA. He and Ratcliff could be seen as one-for-one replacements of Carpenter and West. But Wheeler’s experience at defensive end could also help replace graduating Hoosiers Lanell Carr Jr. and Jacob Mangum-Farrar and give Indiana another talented pass rusher opposite Kamara.

Merry Christmas 🎄 🫶🏾 pic.twitter.com/4AJ1ZZuGmv

— Mikail Kamara (@Mikail_kamara6) December 25, 2024

Tyrique Tucker played a valuable role in Indiana’s defensive tackle rotation last season, and he’s back for 2025. Mario Landino saw the field more than any true freshman in 2024, logging snaps at tackle and end. Marcus Burris Jr. brought similar versatility to Landino, and both are set to return. 

Indiana also has a group of young defensive linemen like Ta’Derius Collins and Daniel Ndukwe, who could be ready for larger roles in their third and second seasons in the program, respectively. Incoming freshmen edge rushers Tyrone Burrus and Triston Abram were two of Indiana’s three highest-ranked recruits in the class of 2025.

Indiana liked to frequently rotate defensive linemen in 2024, so there could be room for another portal addition to create a similar dynamic next season. But with a potential Big Ten defensive player of the year in Kamara, plus the additions Indiana has made and the depth it returns, the defensive line already looks like a formidable unit again.

Linebacker

The big loss here is Jailin Walker, an All-Big Ten honorable mention who finished second among Hoosiers with 82 tackles and third with 10 tackles for loss as a senior in 2024. But Indiana returns All-American and leading tackler Aiden Fisher, plus Isaiah Jones and Rolijah Hardy, who were the primary backups to Walker and Fisher last season. Indiana also played three-linebacker packages, so Jones and Hardy return with plenty of experience.

Indiana has not added any linebackers through the transfer portal, which is not a major surprise given who is returning. But the Hoosiers lost backup linebackers Nahji Logan and Joshua Rudolph midseason, so the group is not particularly deep. The incoming freshman class includes two linebackers, Jamari Farmer and Paul Nelson, but it wouldn’t hurt to add a transfer for depth.

Cornerback 

Indiana’s most recent transfer portal addition is former Pittsburgh starting cornerback Ryland Gandy, who announced his commitment Monday. He joins a veteran cornerback room that includes five players with at least 12 collegiate starts: D’Angelo Ponds, Jamier Johnson, Jamari Sharpe, Amariyun and Gandy.

Run it back!! @IndianaFootball pic.twitter.com/SenS3QeRdI

— D’Angelo Ponds (@DangeloPondss) December 30, 2024

Ponds, a 2024 All-American, and Johnson were Indiana’s starters in 2024, and Sharpe was the first backup. Knighten is the second incoming transfer at this position, joining the Hoosiers from Northern Illinois. Indiana lost backup corner JoJo Johnson to the portal, but it returns Dontrae Henderson and Josh Philostin, who were true freshmen in 2024. Cornerback looks like a strength for Indiana in 2025, and it may be done adding to that group.

Safety

Indiana has a lot to replace here, with Shawn Asbury II, Terry Jones Jr. and Josh Sanguinetti all out of eligibility after playing key roles for the 2024 defense. Indiana also lost D.J. Warnell Jr. and Tyrik McDaniel midseason.

So far, the lone incoming transfer is Louis Moore, who spent the 2024 season at Ole Miss after playing at Indiana from 2022-23 under former head coach Tom Allen. Moore was Indiana’s second-leading tackler and tied for the team lead in interceptions in 2023. 

Amare Ferrell has played all over the field in his two seasons at Indiana, and his versatility is a luxury to have in the midst of all of the changes at safety. Bryson Bonds can also return for a sixth season after mostly playing a backup role for the Hoosiers.

Indiana’s top-ranked recruit in the high school class of 2025 is safety Byron Baldwin, and Garrett Reese also joins the Hoosiers at this position. Whether the staff believes Baldwin is ready to play right away likely impacts whether they add another safety or two from the transfer portal.

Special teams

Indiana was quick to replenish this group with transfers such as punter Mitch McCarthy from Central Florida, kicker Brendan Franke from Texas State and long snapper Sam Lindsey from Georgia State. They’ll help replace outgoing punter James Evans and kickoff specialist Derek McCormick.

The vast majority of Franke’s experience comes as a kickoff specialist, making him a logical candidate to fill in for McCormick, along with Quinn Warren and Alejandro Quintero, who filled in when McCormick was injured. Indiana returns kicker Nico Radicic, the likely choice for field goal and extra-point duties after going 11-for-12 and 71-for-71, respectively, in 2024.

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