Indiana Football Position Preview: Defensive Backs Replacing Longtime Starters

Indiana lost a ton of experience at the safety and cornerback positions, creating plenty of unknowns at both spots. After allowing more passing yards than any Big Ten team in 2022, Indiana hired Matt Guerrieri to coach the safeties and call plays for the defense.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – In each of the last four seasons, Indiana relied on familiar faces to roam the defensive backfield. But that won't be the case in 2023.

After starting a combined 128 games since the start of the 2019 season, Tiawan Mullen, Jaylin Williams, Devon Matthews and Bryant Fitzgerald are all gone, leaving a secondary filled with incoming transfers, young defensive backs with limited experience and a few veteran returners, all making their case for playing time. 

Coach Tom Allen said it's the most new faces Indiana has had in the secondary during his time in Bloomington. Because of the roster overhaul, Allen said he and other defensive coaches have had to step in and guide the players throughout fall camp, but it's also helped to have Noah Pierre, a team captain, back for his sixth year.

From a player's perspective, sophomore safety Phillip Dunnam said these roster changes have led to a noticeable difference on the field compared to his first season.

"It's really better to have young guys out there because young guys are way more hungry," Dunnam said. "No offense, but young guys be hungry. It's good to play with the young guys. Everybody is really trying to get to the league, same goals and stuff like that."

"It's really better to have young guys out there, because the young guys are way more hungry."

Indiana DB Phillip Dunnam on the secondary this season for the Hoosiers. #IUFB pic.twitter.com/C3kOnWOOOX

— Dan Olinger (@dan_olinger) August 21, 2023

Personnel

• #0 Noah Pierre: redshirt senior, 5-foot-11, 180 pounds, 42 games at IU
• #19 Josh Sanguinetti: redshirt senior, 6-foot-1, 195 pounds, 27 games at IU
• #20 Louis Moore: senior, 6-foot-1, 190 pounds, 12 games at IU, seven games at Navarro College
• #21 Jamison Kelly: senior, 6-foot-1, 195 pounds, 10 games at Jones College, 17 games at Louisiana Tech
• #24 Bryson Bonds: redshirt junior, 6-foot-1, 200 pounds, 23 games at IU
• #5 Kobee Minor: redshirt junior, 6-foot, 185 pounds, 23 games at Texas Tech
• #15 Nic Toomer: redshirt junior, 6-foot-2, 190 pounds, 21 games at Stanford
• #17 Tyrik McDaniel: redshirt junior, 6-foot-1, 195 pounds, five games at Independence Community College, 13 games at Old Dominion
• #9 Jamier Johnson: junior, 6-foot, 180 pounds, 17 games at Texas
• #16 Jordan Grier: junior, 6-foot, 205 pounds, 18 games at IU
• #3 JoJo Johnson: redshirt sophomore, 5-foot-11, 180 pounds, nine games at Iowa Western Community College, redshirt season at Notre Dame
• #6 Phillip Dunnam: sophomore, 6-foot-1, 190 pounds, 12 games at IU
• #2 James Monds III: redshirt freshman, 5-foot-11, 180 pounds, two games at IU
• #22 Jamari Sharpe: redshirt freshman, 6-foot-1, 190 pounds, three games at IU
• #23 Jordan Shaw: freshman, 6-foot, 170 pounds
• #25 Amare Ferrell: freshman, 6-foot-2, 210 pounds

Indiana's Nic Toomer (15) defends Indiana's Tyrik McDaniel (17) during Indiana football fall camp at the practice fields on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023 :: Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

Cornerbacks

With longtime starters Mullen and Williams off to the NFL, Indiana has close to no returning experience at cornerback in 2023. 

The secondary was one of Indiana's biggest focuses in the transfer portal, landing Jamier Johnson (Texas), Kobee Minor (Texas Tech), Nic Toomer (Stanford) and JoJo Johnson, who began his career at Notre Dame, but played last season at Iowa Western Community College. Jamier Johnson lined up with the first-team defense during Indiana's first scrimmage on Aug. 12, but all four transfers will have a chance to contribute this season.

Indiana's only returning cornerbacks are Jamari Sharpe and James Monds III, who each played a handful of late-game snaps last year as true freshmen while maintaining their redshirt status. Both Florida natives were part of Indiana's 2022 recruiting class that ranked 25th in the nation, the highest ranking in program history. Indiana cornerbacks coach Brandon Shelby pointed to Monds as a young cornerback that has stood out during fall camp, and Allen said Sharpe is "one of top two or three corners on the team right now."

Safeties

Indiana returns significantly more experience at the safety positions, starting with Noah Pierre. A sixth-year senior and team captain, Pierre will man the "Husky" position closer to the line of scrimmage when Indiana plays its nickel defense. Pierre has stood out as a vocal leader throughout fall camp, and his experience should help a defense with first-year Hoosiers at nearly every spot. 

Seniors Josh Sanguinetti and Louis Moore figure to play both high safety positions, along with sophomore Phillip Dunnam, who was one of few true freshmen to play meaningful snaps last season.

Dunnam, Sanguinetti and Moore all mentioned they have liked the addition of new safeties coach and co-defensive coordinator Matt Guerrieri.

"He's coaching us hard, harder than last year really. He stays on top of us, grades us hard. You can't make no mistakes really out there with him," Dunnam said. "There's a right way to do things and there's a wrong way to do things, but yeah, I love him."

Possible newcomers that could work their way onto the field at safety include junior college transfer Tyrik McDaniel and freshmen Amare Ferrell, who was the second-highest ranked player in Indiana's 2023 recruiting class behind cornerback Jordan Shaw.

The bottom line

Indiana had immense success creating turnovers in 2020, but that production has dropped significantly in the last two seasons. Allen and Guerrieri have to find a way to get this defense to generate turnovers again. Communication plays a major role in the success or failure of safeties and cornerbacks, so building cohesion with many new players in the secondary has to be a priority for Indiana. On an individual basis, Indiana seems to have done well in the transfer portal, adding four immediate impact cornerbacks to compete with a few talented redshirt freshmen. 

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