Last year, Indiana's ability to record takeaways led the Big Ten and the nation.
The Hoosiers recorded a total of 17 takeaways with secondary stars Reese Taylor, Tiawan Mullen and Jaylin Williams combining for eight of the 17 takeaways, bringing a smile to the face of cornerbacks coach Brandon Shelby.
Indiana also led the Big Ten in sacks, recording a total of 25 through eight games.
Mullen led the way in the secondary with three-and-a-half, while both Taylor and Williams notched one each.
Heading into the 2021 season, Shelby maintains there is no reason why his unit cannot repeat the same feats from a season ago, as the big three of Mullen, Taylor and Williams are back this year and there are some new faces Shelby is looking for big things out of as well.
"It's exciting to have spring ball, have the juice and have guys flying around. We have worked on keeping ball in front of us and no explosive plays. I am excited. Exciting to coach fundamentals. Last year, we got away from some of the fundamentals because they shut it down and we started back up in the season. It’s been an awesome deal," Shelby recently told the media after spring practice.
While he knows what he gets out of Mullen, Williams and Taylor, Shelby said there are two young players who have caught his eye thus far -- Lem Watley-Neely and Chris Keys.
Watley-Neely saw action in two games last year at cornerback and special teams, while Keys saw action against Ohio State, Maryland and in the Outback Bowl against Ole Miss.
Shelby said that despite all the Covid-19 issues that the 2020 season witnessed, the season was great for Watley-Neely and Keys in that it allowed them to have a year to learn and gave them another year of eligibility.
"As bad as pandemic was for university and country, but freshman got a free year to develop and get used to speed of game and get used to classwork and expectations. When you look at Lem and Chris Keys, they had opportunity to catch up and have hit the ground running," Shelby said.
And he expects those two to continue learning and helping the Hoosiers this season.
"Chris Keys and Lem are taking some major steps. Tiawan, Resse and Jaylen who did a great job last year. I have been challenging Lem and Chris to step up and I am expecting those guys to help us out, give us some depth and sky is the limit to us. If they can keep pushing themselves, we have a chance to have a really good secondary," Shelby said.
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