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The Indiana football program opened up fall camp on Tuesday and already Tom Allen notices the amount of newcomers on the roster.

There was a first batch of freshmen who arrived in the spring and then the rest who arrived during the summer months. But, without a true camp for the summer enrollees, Tuesday came as a shock to a lot of first-year players.

“We got a lot of guys back, yes, but we got enough new guys. It's amazing, especially ones coming from high school," Allen said on Tuesday. "I mean, it's really different, especially if they just got here in June, than anything they ever been a part of before. It's a little bit after culture shock today. I can see it in some of their eyes, but that's okay. That's part of it and they'll figure it out."

Indiana brought in 21 players from high school in the 2022 recruiting class. That doesn't even include the numerous transfers brought in from the college and junior college levels.

But, looking forward into the 2023 class, Allen notes it will be a much smaller group than in 2022.

"I will say this: It's not going to be a big class, you know," Allen said. "Yeah, it's not going to be a big class. Because of that, the charge has been let's be very deliberate, very slow with this, and let's make sure we get the ones that we want for sure."

Indiana currently sits with eight commitments in the class of 2023 and its class is ranked No. 76 in the country. Last year Indiana's class came in as a top-15 class nationally after the early signing period. It ended up as the No. 19 overall class in the country.

"I think right where we are is kind of where we thought we would be," Allen said. "We got several positions where we're taking one, and you want to be really, really selective with that process."

Indiana's class is headlined by one four-star recruit, defensive back Amare Ferrell. The rest are rated three-stars by Rivals. It includes one quarterback, three offensive linemen, two defensive backs, one tight end and a kicker.

Indiana would normally take multiple players at each position to build depth, that has been the route of the Indiana staff over the past few years. This year, because of the smaller class, it's different.

"Like I said, you're taking three or four it's one thing. You're taking one, that becomes really, really critical," Allen said. "So I know the way it's evaluated and the way it's graded is based on numbers, numbers, rewards, so it's not going to be -- just being very blunt with you, it's probably not going to be what it's been this last year numerically because of that variable right there."

With the bigger classes -- three of the past four years over 20 commits -- that depth is now stepping up into larger roles each season and will do so again next season. A lot of those players have been able to get early playing time due to injuries. So, the depth on the roster already has experience that Tom Allen is looking to rely on.

"We got a lot of positions where we got a lot of guys coming back. I think that the ones where you have the higher numbers, you can just do the math with the guys that will be graduating and those areas that have to be replaced," Allen said. "It is going to be a small class. I'm thinking 12 to 15 at the most. That's definitely small."

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