What Marcelino Ball's Injury Means to Indiana's Depth Chart

With Marcelino Ball out for the season, there's a number of Indiana players who can step up and try to fill his role this season.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana's secondary took a hit before the Hoosiers even put on full pads.

Head coach Tom Allen announced Monday that one of the team's leaders on the defensive side of the ball, Marcelino Ball, will miss the entire season after tearing his ACL in a noncontact drill. He's been a starter and key contributor since arriving on campus in 2016 from Roswell, Ga. 

Ball's ability to play Husky position at a high level was a staple of the Hoosiers' improving 4-2-5 defense last season. But now that he's out for the year, it's time for the depth that Allen has been seeking to come to the forefront.

Allen has preached his desire to be three-deep at every position this season, especially under the circumstances of this abnormal, shortened schedule because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Here are some players on Indiana's depth chart who are capable of filling Ball's role and stepping up for the Hoosiers this year.

Bryant Fitzgerald

Fitzgerald is going to be the immediate replacement for Ball.

He was moved to Husky in the very limited time Indiana had this past spring, and he was the first name out of Allen's mouth to replace Ball.

The redshirt junior had 27 tackles (24 solo) last season with one going for a loss. He had three pass breakups and one quarterback hurry in 13 games (5 starts) at free safety.

In the Gator Bowl, Fitzgerald matched a career-high with five solo tackles.

"Bryant Fitzgerald will be the young man that we are moving to that position," Allen said. "He will be the starter there. We feel like we have the depth to be able to rotate a couple of different guys, but right now it is going to be Bryant Fitzgerald as the number one guy at that spot."

Jamar Johnson

If Fitzgerald wasn't moved to Husky during spring ball, Johnson would have surely been the number one replacement for Ball.

Johnson spent time as Ball's backup in 2019, finishing the season with 25 tackles (18 solo), three sacks, two interceptions (1 pick-6), one forced fumble, two pass breakups and one quarterback hurry.

He played in all 13 games and had one start at Husky.

Johnson was moved to safety during spring ball, but with Ball's injury, he could see a more versatile role if needed.

"We also have Jamar Johnson, who played there last year as the backup to Marcelino," Allen said. "Jamar is an extremely talented football player and has the ability to play there."

D.K. Bonhomme

Johnson will not serve as the primary backup Husky to Fitzgerald though. That role will be given to sophomore D.K. Bonhomme.

Bonhomme played in 11 games last season, but he mostly made his appearance on special teams. He had one tackle and was awarded defensive scout team player of the week for Indiana's game against UConn.

But in high school, Bonhomme was a force on defense. He had 100 tackles (71 solo), eight sacks, 22 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, one interception and two blocked punts as a senior at Clearwater (Fla.) Academy International.

Allen said they are training Bonhomme to be Fitzgerald's backup.

"D.K. Bonhomme is also a young man that has been a stinger linebacker for us, so he will also be getting a lot of reps [at Husky] for us right now," Allen said. "It is a very similar position technically with how we play our defense, so he has been moved to that position."

Noah Pierre

Pierre, a redshirt sophomore for the Hoosiers, will likely be the third player in the depth chart for the Husky position, assuming they keep Johnson at safety.

Last season, Pierre appeared in 10 games at safety and on special teams. He made six tackles and a half tackle for loss, which came against Eastern Illinois.

Pierre redshirted his freshman season and only played in the Purdue game at the end of the year.

At Champagnat Catholic School in Florida, Pierre finished his senior year with 45 tackles (30 solo), five for loss, a team-high four interceptions, two forced fumbles and nine pass breakups.

"Noah Pierre has the skill set to play there," Allen said.

All about leadership

It's no secret Indiana's offensive firepower has gotten most the attention this offseason, but Allen has said himself he's very excited for this defensive unit.

It's a young defense that's on the rise, but losing a veteran presence like Ball doesn't just take away on-field production, but also leadership.

Allen is going to look to players such as Tiawan Mullen, Jaylin Williams and many more in the secondary to step up with their leadership.

"Other guys got to rise up. That's reality," Allen said. "I think of the whole secondary. Jamar's a year older; he needs to be in a position of leadership. Monster, who is Devon Matthews, and his ability, Juwan Burgess, those guys that have all been here for several years. They got to rise up and help us."

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