Indiana Football Gets Several Key Players Back From Injury Before Fall Camp

After missing spring practices as they recovered from injuries, Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti said Lanell Carr Jr., James Carpenter, Jailin Walker, Venson Sneed and Nick Kidwell participated in the summer conditioning program.

Indiana's Lanell Carr Jr. (41) during the first half of the Indiana versus Rutgers football game at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 21. 2023. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – After a long offseason of roster reconstruction and training, Big Ten Media Days signaled real football games are right around the corner.

And entering his first season as Indiana’s head coach, Curt Cignetti said Thursday at Lucas Oil Stadium that the Hoosiers are healthy heading into fall camp.

Lanell Carr Jr., James Carpenter, Jailin Walker, Venson Sneed and Nick Kidwell missed spring practices as they recovered from injuries, but Cignetti said they have participated in the summer conditioning program with Derek Owings, Indiana’s director of athletic performance. 

That’s especially beneficial for Indiana’s defense, which will count on several of those players for key roles in 2024. Defensive tackle James Carpenter and linebacker Jailin Walker came with Cignetti from James Madison, where they started on a unit that led the nation in run defense at 61.5 yards per game. 

Carpenter finished the 2023 season with 53 tackles, nine tackles for loss, four sacks, four pass breakups, two fumble recoveries, one forced fumble and an interception. He made the All-Sun Belt second team and was named a College Football Network Honorable Mention All-American. He joins the Hoosiers with five years of college football experience.

Walker started 20 games and played in 32 over the last three seasons at James Madison, 10 of which came in 2024 alongside Aiden Fisher, who also transferred to Indiana. Walker totaled 61 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles and 1.5 sacks on his way to earning an All-Sun Belt honorable mention. 

Carr and Sneed are two rare returning players on a roster that added 30 transfers and 17 freshmen. Carr played Indiana’s bull position, a hybrid defensive end and outside linebacker, last season, and he’s listed as a 6-foot-2, 238-pound defensive lineman on the 2024 roster. Last year, he started 10 games and recorded 33 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, five sacks and two pass breakups.

Sneed played a backup role on the defensive line last season, but he provided depth and availability in all 12 games. At 6-foot-4 and 265 pounds, he finished the season with five tackles and a forced fumble. A third season at Indiana could be a breakout opportunity for Sneed, who was the No. 515 recruit in 2021 and committed to the Hoosiers over offers from Tennessee, Iowa State, Kentucky, Wake Forest and others. 

On the offensive side, Kidwell is expected to compete for a starting role on Indiana’s offensive line, which lost starters Matthew Bedford, Zach Carpenter and Kahlil Benson to the transfer portal. Kidwell is one of two offensive line transfers from James Madison, along with Tyler Stephens, and Wisconsin transfer Trey Wedig could also earn a starting spot up front.

Kidwell joins the Hoosiers after 54 games played and 32 starts across six seasons at James Madison. He suffered a season-ending injury during James Madison’s fourth game of the season, which allowed him to receive a medical hardship waiver and play a seventh season of college football, this time at Indiana.

Kidwell made the All-Sun Belt second team in 2022 and the All-CAA first team in 2021, and heading into the 2023 season, he was named the College Football Network Preseason Sun Belt Offensive Lineman of the Year.

The Hoosiers begin fall camp next week and open the 2024 season on Aug. 31 at home against Florida International.

Related stories on Indiana football

What Indiana Football Coach Curt Cignetti Said At Big Ten Media Days