Mikail Kamara’s Confidence Embodies What Indiana’s Improvement Is All About

The Indiana defensive end has spoken confidently about the Hoosiers all season – and he’s backed it up with his own excellence.

Indiana Hoosiers defensive lineman Mikail Kamara (6) gestures after sacking the Northwestern Wildcats quarterback during the first half at Lanny and Sharon Martin Stadium. / David Banks-Imagn Images

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – If there’s one player who most embodies Indiana’s football improvement via his own words, it would be hard to find a better example than defensive end Mikail Kamara.

Before Indiana won a game, Kamara spoke confidently about how good the Hoosiers could be under coach Curt Cignetti. Once the winning started, Kamara continued to be the player who conveyed the Hoosiers’ belief in themselves while also pushing the envelope for what Indiana could achieve.

After the win at Michigan State on Nov. 2, for example, Kamara declared his desire for Indiana to “win a natty” – as in a national championship.

Kamara, named a third-team All-American on Tuesday by the Associated Press, does more than his fair share to back his talk on the field. He leads Indiana with 10 sacks, the first Indiana player to have a double-digit sack total since Jammie Kirlew had 10.5 sacks in 2008. According to Pro Football Focus, Kamara is tied for second in the nation in quarterback pressures with 61.

Indiana has exuded confidence without being complacent all season. Kamara, maybe more so than any other Hoosier, gives off the same vibe. Never one to be at a loss for words, Kamara explained where his own confidence comes from.

“The confidence kind of comes from God, and then the second piece of it is the work that I put in that no one really sees,” Kamara said Tuesday.

“When you work your butt off every single day, you kind of understand that not everyone works the way that I work and not everyone works the way that my teammates work,” Kamara continued. “So that confidence kind of shows itself in games, shows itself in practice, and then just continues to bubble and then once you see the results show, that confidence just skyrockets.”

As Kamara mentioned, the root of his confidence comes from his faith.

“The more you talk to God about things, those things will start to surface themselves. That's the way I've lived my life, especially when you come from a place where you don't really see a future, right?” Kamara said. “The only way for you to see that future is to manifest it and talk to God about it. That's kind of always been my thing.”

Confidence isn’t just something that Kamara conjures when speaking to the media. It also comes through In his interactions with his teammates.

“When I talk to him he's definitely a confident guy. He's always trying to get to the quarterback, and he is just telling me to do my job. He tells me to cover for three seconds and he'll get there,” Indiana cornerback D’Angelo Ponds said.

Kamara doesn’t talk for the sake of talking. His confidence is grounded in his belief in Indiana’s quality as a team and has been confirmed week-to-week by its performance.

Kamara noted that his confidence in the Hoosiers came from fall camp. It’s a commonly held refrain among the Hoosiers that the easy coalescence that occurred when the transfers mixed with returning team members was a big reason for Indiana’s quick turnaround.

Michigan State's Tommy Schuster, right, is sacked by Indiana's Mikail Kamara during the third quarter on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. / Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“I think it was kind of like, the way we started interacting with each other in the locker room, I think our team chemistry like got to a point where everyone was able to talk to everyone about different things,” Kamara said.

“I think noticing that from the beginning of the year to where it's the middle of the season, I started seeing things like that. And most importantly, was seeing the way we were all able to lock in during practice, lock in during games and be very communicative with each other.” he added.

Linebacker Aiden Fisher has been Kamara’s teammate going back to when both players were at James Madison. He noted that Kamara’s leadership plays a role in the bonding that Kamara refers to as being key to the Hoosiers’ success.

“He's a really good leader. He's a great teammate, and one that brings energy every day. He's always checking in on people and making sure everybody's good,” Fisher said. “He's a great player, but I think he's an even better person and he's such a great teammate to have around.”

Like so many players on the Indiana roster – especially those who came from Group Of Five schools as Kamara did from James Madison – Kamara is also motivated to prove wrong those who did not see his talent when he was younger.

Kamara was asked what was most meaningful for him about Indiana’s success outside of what the team has accomplished. His answer was telling.

“Just to show all my production that I did at JMU wasn't a fluke. I think that's something important,” Kamara said.

The validation for Kamara came in the form of the All-American honors he earned on Tuesday. But for Kamara, that’s no reason to get complacent. Indiana is not favored against Notre Dame when they meet at 8 p.m. ET in their College Football Playoff first round game on Friday.

The mission to keep the motivational chip on the team’s shoulder never ends, and Kamara is the voice for so much of it. Confident, but not satisfied, Kamara is the embodiment of what the Hoosiers are all about.

“We've always been underdogs, and now to come in this situation and still be looked at as an underdog that chip continues to grow to be honest with you,” Kamara said.

“No matter how many sacks I get, no matter how many plays (D’Angelo) Ponds makes, (quarterback Kurtis) Rourke makes, Fish (Aiden Fisher) makes, the chip just gets bigger every single time,” Kamara said. “One bad game they are going to chirp at you so every single game, you've got to bring it.”

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