Indiana’s Group of Five Transfers Motivated To Prove Themselves in Big Ten

This offseason Indiana added 20 transfers from Group of Five schools, who have felt overlooked and doubted throughout their careers. Their mentality has fueled Indiana’s historic season.

Indiana's Aiden Fisher (4) and CJ West (8) celebrate a sack against Maryland at Memorial Stadium. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – No one, except maybe the players and coaches, thought Indiana football would be a program-best 9-0 overall, tied for first place in the Big Ten at 6-0, ranked No. 8 in the AP Top 25 Poll and have an 86.6% chance to make the College Football Playoff, per ESPN, at this stage of the 2024 season.

But that’s exactly where they are after a 47-10 win at Michigan State, the Hoosiers’ latest beatdown. Indiana is one of five undefeated teams left in the FBS, and it leads the nation in scoring margin at 32.9 points per game. 

“It’s what we set out to do from the jump when we came in in January,” Indiana defensive lineman James Carpenter said Saturday. “Coach Cig came in, like he said, he wasn’t taking a backseat to anybody. This isn’t a surprise to us. We’re gonna keep it going.”

Going into the season, Indiana was picked to finish 17th out of 18 Big Ten teams by the 27 voters in Cleveland.com’s preseason Big Ten media poll. USA Today Sports Network polled 13 writers, and their preseason poll tabbed Indiana 16th. The Hoosiers also came in at No. 16 in preseason power rankings by ESPN and The Athletic, which ranked Indiana No. 81 in the nation.

Indiana was coming off a Big Ten-worst 9-27 stretch from 2021-23, the end of the Tom Allen era. In hopes of a turnaround, it hired Curt Cignetti, who went 52-9 across five seasons at James Madison and overhauled Indiana’s roster.

Indiana lost 38 outgoing transfers from the 2023 season. Its Week 1 roster contained just 38 returning scholarship players, tied for third-fewest among FBS schools, and 31 transfers. Cignetti looked for production over potential in the transfer portal, with 14 transfers who earned all-conference or all-conference honorable mention at their previous schools. But just two of those players, Myles Price and Justice Ellison, and seven transfers overall came from Power Five schools.

Here’s a list of Indiana’s Group of Five transfers, who joined the program before this season.

• LS Mark Langston (Georgia Southern)
• LB Jailin Walker (James Madison)
• LB Aiden Fisher (James Madison)
• CB D’Angelo Ponds (James Madison)
• DL Mikail Kamara (James Madison)
• RB Kaelon Black (James Madison)
• RB Ty Son Lawton (James Madison)
• RB/KR Solomon Vanhorse (James Madison)
• WR Elijah Sarratt (James Madison)
• TE Zach Horton (James Madison)
• OL Tyler Stephens (James Madison)
• OL Nick Kidwell (James Madison)
• DL Tyrique Tucker (James Madison)
• DL James Carpenter (James Madison)
• DT CJ West (Kent State)
• K Derek McCormick (Louisiana Monroe)
• S Shawn Asbury II (Old Dominion)
• S Terry Jones Jr. (Old Dominion)
• QB Kurtis Rourke (Ohio)
• WR Miles Cross (Ohio)

Indiana's James Carpenter (99) sacks Maryland's Billy Edwards Jr. (9) at Memorial Stadium. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The reliance on transfers from Group of Five schools – Conference USA, Mountain West, American Athletic, Sun Belt and Mid-American Conferences – was part of the reason for hesitancy about Indiana. The Power Five is widely viewed as a higher level of play. Would players from smaller schools be able to continue their success against stronger opponents in the Big Ten?

Through nine games, that’s been a resounding “yes,” a credit to Cignetti’s player evaluation and development. Indiana’s quarterback Kurtis Rourke, leading receiver Elijah Sarratt, leading tackler Aiden Fisher, leading pass rusher Mikail Kamara and second-leading rusher Ty Son Lawton all came from Group of Five schools.

The mentality those players carry is also part of what has fueled the 9-0 Hoosiers.

"I think we have a lot of underdogs on our team, whether it's G5 transfers, FCS transfers, or whatever the case may be,” Indiana defensive lineman Mikail Kamara, a James Madison transfer, said after beating Michigan State. 

“I think every single one of us has an individual goal that we want to accomplish, and we understand we're winning and 9-0 and whatever the case may be, but if we go there and lose, all that stuff goes out the window. So that's why we continue to keep going, keep going, and proving everybody wrong. Because for some reason, people still don't believe in us, so we just gotta keep it going."

Kamara is one of 13 transfers from James Madison who followed Cignetti to Bloomington. He leads the Big Ten with 14.5 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks. Indiana's win over Maryland was especially gratifying for Kamara, who's from Ashburn, Va., but did not receive an offer from Maryland out of high school.

“I’m having a lot of fun, I’ll be honest, a lot of fun,” Kamara said after defeating Washington. “I mean, it’s winning, winning in the Big Ten. Especially like coming from JMU, a lot of people didn’t think we were gonna come here and dominate, specifically the JMU guys.”

Indiana's Zach Horton celebrates his touchdown with Elijah Sarratt at Spartan Stadium. / Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The mentality they carry at Indiana is similar in some ways to what they faced at their previous school. James Madison played at the FCS level in the Colonial Athletic Association during Cignetti’s first three seasons, before making the jump to the FBS before the 2022 season. 

Carpenter, who takes pride in being a walk-on at James Madison in 2019, has drawn on that experience at Indiana.

“Going into that first year at FBS, there was obviously a lot of doubters, a lot of unknowns, I would say, and we had a really good year that year,” Carpenter said in August. “Same thing as last year. So I think it’s pretty similar in terms of doubters, unknowns, things like that. So having that experience will definitely be good for this year.”

Carpenter is second on the team with eight tackles for loss and four sacks, behind Kamara in both categories. In addition to proving he can play against top competition, he’s also motivated by the finality of this season.

“This is my last go-around. This is my last college season,” Carpenter said after defeating Maryland. “I just want to do my best to make the most of it. I only get one shot at this.”

The James Madison transfers, as well as six assistant coaches and strength staff, have helped spark a quick turnaround at Indiana. They spread their institutional knowledge of Cignetti’s system and culture to the returning Hoosiers and transfers from other schools.

Chief among them is linebacker Aiden Fisher, who has a team-high 84 tackles this year and has taken on a leadership role for the Hoosiers. Fisher is another James Madison transfer, and he’s been eager to show doubters what he’s made of against Big Ten opponents.

“I look at it more as an opportunity to prove myself and keep on that journey to prove myself and show I belong here,” Fisher said on April 4. “I think a lot of the guys that transferred in, that’s why they’re here. We’re ready to compete on the biggest stage, and we’re excited for it.”

Indiana's Jailin Walker (2), Aiden Fisher (4) and Tyrique Tucker (95) celebrate a stop against Maryland. / Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

Tyrique Tucker, who’s part of Indiana’s defensive line rotation, said at first glance the biggest adjustment from the Sun Belt to the Big Ten was the opponents’ size. But he has felt prepared for this season due to all the work he put in during the offseason.

He said the players hit the offseason hard, working on their craft every day and implementing their own two-a-day practices. They focused on stacking days and controlling the controllables. They’re never satisfied, as Cignetti often preaches, but Tucker admitted they’re off to a good start.

Tucker said Indiana’s defense feels similar to what it was at James Madison under defensive coordinator Bryant Haines. Their DNA is to swarm, attack and be relentless. He thinks their collective belief has led to positive results. 

Tucker has 4.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks this year. He deflected Washington quarterback Will Rogers’ pass at the line of scrimmage, which led to cornerback D’Angelo Ponds’ pick-six. For Tucker, to see himself and his former James Madison teammates succeed in the Big Ten has been special.

“It means everything,” Tucker said last week. “I’m just blessed to be in this position, and I just gotta keep going. In terms of all of us, we’re all like a tight-knit group and we all believed we could win. We did that at JMU, and we still believe that here. The culture from here to JMU has just been that we just want to go out there and win and prove it to the world just like we always do.” 

“We always got that chip on our shoulder, and we’re always striving for more. We’re always more hungry to go out there and get it done. We’re never satisfied. We just win, and we just keep doing it. This week, we’re back on to it. We gotta redo it, rinse and repeat every week.”

Ponds said there hasn’t been much difference playing in the Big Ten compared to the Sun Belt. After intercepting two passes against Washington, he was named Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week, and he followed that up with a blocked punt against Michigan State. 

“He wanted to step up and play against competition at the highest level, like all the other ones did,” Cignetti said of Ponds. “He's shown that he's more than capable.”

Indiana cornerback D'Angelo Ponds (5) intercepts the ball over Washington wide receiver Denzel Boston (12) at Memorial Stadium. / Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images

Across nine games, Ponds has 44 tackles, five pass breakups, 3.5 tackles for loss and two interceptions. He credits the foundation built at James Madison and his fellow transfers playing with a chip on their shoulders to their seamless transition to the Big Ten.

“We came from a great program at JMU. A lot of people say Power Four, we couldn’t play in Power Four, but in our opinion, we knew we could play in Power Four,” Ponds said. “It’s not that big of a difference, in my opinion.”

Indiana continues its historic season on Saturday against Michigan at Memorial Stadium. The reigning national champions have taken a step back this year, starting 5-4 in coach Sherrone Moore’s first season.

Like they have all season, many of Indiana’s Group of Five transfers will be counted on in Saturday’s game. So will the returning Hoosiers, who have been motivated to flip the script on recent losing seasons. They’re all led by Cignetti, who’s confidence has created unwavering belief.

“I didn’t come here thinking we were gonna lose at all,” Indiana safety Shawn Asbury, a transfer from Old Dominion, said after defeating Nebraska. “I knew we were gonna win games.”

Michigan State's Tommy Schuster sacked by Indiana's Mikail Kamara at Spartan Stadium. / Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Related stories on Indiana football

• BOWL PROJECTIONS: The College Football Playoff is becoming a real possibility for Indiana after a 9-0 start. Here are bowl projections from various national analysts. CLICK HERE

• D-LINE OVERPOWERS SPARTANS: Indiana’s defense looked vulnerable early against Michigan State, but it dominated the final three quarters with seven sacks and 15 tackles for loss as the Hoosiers won 47-10 and improved to 9-0. CLICK HERE

• WHAT CIGNETTI SAID: Curt Cignetti spoke to the media on Monday ahead of No. 8 Indiana's game against Michigan Saturday. CLICK HERE.

• AP TOP 25 POLL: Indiana football moved up five spots to No. 8 in the latest AP Top 25 Poll, following Saturday's 47-10 win at Michigan State. CLICK HERE

• RADICIC AMONG RECORD-SETTING HOOSIERS: With five extra points on Saturday against Michigan State, Indiana kicker Nicolas Radicic set the program record for extra points made in a season with 57. Indiana set several program records in the 47-10 win. CLICK HERE

• OPENING LINE: Here's the point spread and over/under for Indiana's home game against Michigan on Saturday, plus betting results from throughout the season. CLICK HERE