Hoosiers Now

Indiana Football Position Preview: Defensive Backs

Indiana will lean on a veteran group of defensive backs for leadership in 2022 as the Hoosiers hope to bounce back from a 2-10 season. Coached by Brandon Shelby, this group is headlined by All-Big Ten players Tiawan Mullen, Jaylin Williams and Devon "Monster" Matthews.

Jack Ankony

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Editor's note: In our nine-part "Position Preview" series, we'll break down the entire Indiana football roster leading up to the Hoosiers' season opener against Illinois on Friday, Sept. 2 at 8 p.m. ET at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Ind. In our first installment, let's take a look at Indiana's most experienced group, the defensive backs.

The Indiana defensive backs wreaked havoc on the Big Ten during the 2020 season by intercepting 17 passes, which ranked second in Division I college football. The Hoosiers leaned on this ballhawking identity to go 6-2 and reach the Outback Bowl.

But in 2021, the turnover rate fell off a cliff, and the Hoosiers intercepted just five passes. This drop off was caused by a combination of a slew of injuries, change in defensive scheme and an admitted loss of their identity as a defense. Indiana coach Tom Allen will go back to calling plays for the defense, which will feature more zone-vision coverage in 2022.

“God showed us that the awards you can receive, the praise you can get, it can be snatched away real fast,” Tiawan Mullen, a first-team All-American in 2020 said. “God put us in a timeout, he made us be more grateful, more thankful.”

If Indiana wants to bounce back from its 2-10 campaign in 2022, a return to Mullen's "Swarm D" motto is necessary. Let's break down Indiana's outlook in the defensive backfield this season.

Follow the Leaders

Tiawan Mullen, Jaylin Williams and Devon Matthews earned All-Big Ten honors and Bryant Fitzgerald started all eight games for Indiana's turnover-heavy defense in 2020. They planned to continue to frustrate opposing quarterbacks in 2021, but injuries decimated the Indiana defensive backfield.

Matthews went down with an injury at Iowa in week one and ultimately missed three games throughout the season. Mullen hurt his ankle against Western Kentucky, an injury that limited him to four starts. Reese Taylor also missed three games with injury, but he has since transferred to Purdue. 

"We were going into games knowing we had two guys, period," Indiana cornerbacks coach Brandon Shelby said. "And a couple games [Jaylin Williams] is going 80-something snaps. He had cracked ribs and he wouldn't pull himself out, so right there you know he's physically tough."

Simply having a healthy Mullen and Williams at cornerback with Matthews at safety and Fitzgerald at husky will go a long way to help Indiana's hopes of a bounce-back season in 2022. And after reaching bowl games in his first two seasons, Mullen is eager to return to full health ahead of his senior year.

"You’re going to go through hard times, but hard times don’t define you as a man, as a human being it don’t define you," Mullen said. "It only defines you when you don’t do nothing about it, and we’re blessed enough to have another season to do something about it and to change the narrative of a 2-10 season because I guess everybody forgot what we did the first two years. They all discredit us, but it’s all good, we have a 2022 season and we’re ready to put it on display.”

What About Depth?

Perhaps a silver lining to Indiana's defensive backfield injuries in 2021 is the opportunity it gave to Josh Sanguinetti and Noah Pierre. Sanguinetti, now a redshirt junior out of Lauderdale Lakes, Fla., made two starts and appeared in eight games at safety last season. He recovered a fumble as Matthews' replacement at Iowa, made his first career interception against Michigan State and posted six tackles against Cincinnati.

Shelby was proud of the willingness Pierre showed to move to cornerback midseason as Indiana dealt with injuries. Michigan State attacked Pierre in his first career start at cornerback, but the Hialeah, Fla. native responded with his first career interception and a career-high nine tackles. 

"We took one on the chin last year," Shelby said. "That was a tough year, but coming into the season, [Sanguinetti and Pierre] got the game experience. Now they come into the arena and it ain’t so much, ‘Whoa,’ it’s ‘Now it’s time to go to work,’ so I think those opportunities for them in the long run will benefit them."

Johnathan Haynes started 17 games at Ole Miss from 2019 to 2020, and he transferred to Indiana before the 2021 season with expectations to contribute. Injuries sidelined him for eight games last season, but his coaches and teammates have expressed excitement about what he'll bring to the defensive backfield in his final year of eligibility. 

Part of Tiawan Mullen's decision to return for his senior season was the chance to play with his younger brother, Trevell. Arriving at Indiana as a four-star recruit and the No. 254 player in the country out of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Trevell was the second-highest ranked player in Indiana's 2022 recruiting class behind linebacker Dasan McCullough.

Joining Trevell in Indiana's best recruiting class in program history is cornerback James Monds III, a three-star recruit from Vero Beach, Fla. who chose Indiana over Wisconsin, Nebraska, Cincinnati, Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi State and others. 

Redshirt sophomore Lem Watley-Neely, Alabama transfer Brylan Lanier and sophomore Jordan Grier from Ellenwood, Ga. have also been mentioned by coaches as depth pieces for Indiana in 2022. 

With so much turnover throughout the Indiana offense, the experience of the defensive backfield could be a stabilizing force for the Hoosiers. 

“Last year I feel like we really lost our swagger and our edge," Williams said. "I feel like this year we got it back and we got a chip on our shoulder because we’ve got something to prove and I really love that and coach Allen how he is he’s just so upbeat and so passionate and he instills that in us everyday."

Related stories on Indiana football:

  • INDIANA WORKING TO REGAIN TAKEAWAY IDENTITY: Indiana's 17 interceptions in 2020 ranked second in all of college football, powering the Hoosiers to a 6-2 record. Indiana's defensive backfield lost its identity and was decimated by injuries in 2021, leading to just five interceptions as the Hoosiers fell to a 2-10 record. The veterans who built Indiana's takeaway identity in 2020 have returned for one last season, eager to reverse the momentum in 2022. CLICK HERE
  • TIAWAN MULLEN NOMINEE FOR BEDNARIK AWARD: Indiana cornerback Tiawan Mullen is a preseason candidate for the Bednarik Award, which is given to college football's Defensive Player of the Year. Mullen is entering his fourth season as a Hoosier, and it's his third consecutive year on the Bednarik Award watch list. CLICK HERE
  • DEPTH CHART ENTERING FALL CAMP: The Indiana football program had its first practice of fall camp on Tuesday. Tom Allen said every position is still up for grabs, but the team has released its first two-deep depth chart of the season. CLICK HERE
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Jack Ankony
JACK ANKONY

Jack Ankony is a Sports Illustrated/FanNation writer for HoosiersNow.com. He graduated from Indiana University's Media School with a degree in journalism. Follow on Twitter @ankony_jack.

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