Head coach Tom Allen’s IU football teams have always prided themselves on their defense, and that won’t be any different this upcoming season.
If the Hoosiers want to stay relevant in the Big Ten and gain more respect throughout the country, their defense must play to its standard and some. IU’s total defense ranked 36th nationally last season, but defensive coordinator Kane Wommack’s “Swarm D” is only just scratching its surface.
With Stanford grad transfer Jovan Swann making an impact in the trenches, a relatively young linebacker core maturing into a deep unit and several defensive backs transitioning into starters, the Hoosiers are poised for another dominant year defensively.
Like always, however, there are bound to be a few guys that rise to the occasion and go far beyond what’s expected of them. Here are three potential breakout players for IU next season on the defensive side of the ball.
Cam Jones, LB (Junior)
Just like last year, the Hoosiers have a competitive, eight-man linebacker group consisting of both experienced upperclassmen and game-ready underclassmen. Junior Micah McFadden is the program's reigning Most Outstanding Defensive Player of the Year and redshirt junior Thomas Allen is back from injury, but there's another vet in this position group on the verge of a career-best season.
Cam Jones was making plays all over the field his sophomore year as he displayed his freakish speed and athleticism for a linebacker. Jones notched two sacks, a forced fumble and his first-career pick-6 last season, but the best is yet to come.
The junior moved from husky to linebacker ahead of 2019, and now he's got a very good shot at winning the team's starting weak-side linebacker job. Jones is an intriguing, dynamic defensive threat, and his flexibility to play multiple positions will be a nice option for Wommack.
Reese Taylor, DB (Junior)
Junior defensive back Reese Taylor would have burst onto the scene in IU’s secondary last season if not for how his freshman year went. In 2018, fellow freshman Michael Penix Jr. went down with a season-ending injury and Taylor filled in as the emergency backup quarterback – the position he played at Ben Davis High School.
His sophomore year, however, Taylor was able to find his place as a defensive back for the Hoosiers. He worked his way up the cornerback rotation and proved his worth in man coverage. Taylor snagged his first career interception in a win over Maryland and ultimately made his first defensive start against Purdue.
For all the chatter about sophomore Tiawan Mullen being one of the country’s best up-and-coming lockdown defenders, not enough people are talking about Taylor. Both his footwork and knowledge of offenses help him immensely, and soon enough he'll be a routine starter in the secondary.
Damarjhe Lewis, DL (Freshman)
As good as IU's defense was throughout last season, the Hoosiers were rarely able to bring down the opposing quarterback. IU produced just 27 sacks over its 13 games played.
The Hoosiers are returning a lot of talent to their defensive line and the addition of Swann helps a lot, but Damarjhe Lewis might be a true freshman that's able to contribute early on. He's already got the size and physicality to play at the next level, and he'll be able to help out with IU's interior attack alongside redshirt senior Jerome Johnson.
Of the three guys on this list, Lewis' playing time is least guaranteed. If he's able to capitalize on his playing time early on, however, then we'll be seeing more of the first-year Lewis on the field next season.
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