7/4/2021 football Edit

2022 CB James Monds commits to Indiana

Paul Gable • TheHoosier

Staff Writer

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Ever since his offer from Indiana came in a year ago, Florida defensive standout James Monds liked what he saw about the Hoosiers and the number of players from the Sunshine State on the roster. On Sunday, it came full circle as Indiana landed a commitment from the three-star cornerback.

Monds is ranked as the No. 54 cornerback in the class of 2022.

Shortly after he was offered, Monds told TheHoosier.com that Indiana stood out to him because of head coach Tom Allen's love of Southern players, including his "Florida boys."

The Fort Pierce Westwood (FL) three-star standout selected the Hoosiers over offers from Kansas State, Clemson, Nebraska, Mississippi State, Penn State, Buffalo, Kansas, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Michigan, Miami, and Cincinnati.

In addition, he continues a family tradition at a very high level.

Monds' father, James, played at Toledo and Bethune-Cookman, a cousin was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals, an uncle played at Nebraska and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers, and there were additional cousins who played at Florida State University.

Monds visited Indiana last month and came away blown away with the visit and the culture he saw from Allen and the coaching staff.

"It was amazing. Everything was super big," Monds told TheHoosier.com, adding that it was good to finally meet with Allen and other coaches. "It was great. They were the same person they were on zoom -- just good, hyped up dudes, but it was a real good experience to meet those guys.

"What impressed me was the genuine love from the coaching staff. The weight room was huge and bigger than almost every school I visited, and the academics was very nice."

A season ago, he was targeted only 10 times. Of those times, he recorded one interception and the other nine passes were broken up by Monds. He scored three touchdowns, forced a fumble, had two return touchdowns on special teams and 600 all-purpose yards.