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The Indiana running back room, amid transfers and decommitments, has been a question since the end of last season.

Stephen Carr underperformed in his lone season at Indiana, Davion Ervin-Poindexter and Tim Baldwin hit the portal and Gi'Bran Payne decided to follow Deland McCullough to Notre Dame.

Eventually, some things started to fall into place. Shaun Shivers decided he wanted to spent his final season in college at Indiana, and as of now it looks like he is going to be the go-to guy for Walt Bell and Tom Allen out of the backfield.

However, that difference maker was still missing. That's where Louisiana native Jaylin Lucas came in.

Indiana, like a big chunk of their 2022 recruiting class, got involved with Lucas late in the process. The undersized all-purpose back was originally committed to Tulane, but Allen and co. spotting Lucas at a camp would eventually change that.

"Yeah he's a guy that we found when we were doing our camps off campus down south. I got to see him live and in-person, immediately I was just like, "wow". This is the kind of guy we've been looking for," Indiana head coach Tom Allen said.

Lucas' skillset was undeniable, and Allen knew he was the perfect piece to the puzzle to help a pretty depleted Indiana offense.

"It's just speed. He's not just quick, he's also fast, he is our fastest player. Some guys are quicker than they are fast, others are faster than they are quick; he has the ability to have both," Allen explained.

"He's a guy that can go win in a five by five box. That first guy isn't going to get him on the ground very much. He had some really good, explosive plays in the first five or six days of fall camp," Indiana offensive coordinator Walt Bell said.

Jaylin Lucas adds a whole other element to this Indiana offense. That hybrid, all-purpose back role, almost Christian McCaffrey-esque, could possibly help take some pressure off of whoever is under center for the Hoosiers.

"He's got a lot of burst and is quick. Really coming along well," IU running backs coach Craig Johnson said. "He is a young player, and like all young players there is a lot of stuff that you love and there is some stuff that you know you have to get corrected. And that is what I am going to try to make sure I do. He is good out of the break; he's got good hands and he understands the concepts."

Having that safety valve always available, knowing you can get the ball in Lucas's hands and let his skillset work for itself is a huge benefit for what was shaping up to be a lackluster, mundane offense.

"He's a great route-runner, a great catcher. He's a guy that can truly be a real hybrid and do lots of things for us," Bell emphasized.

All of this exclaiming about the raw talent of Lucas raised a question, however.

Will he see a healthy role as a true freshman in this Indiana offense? Or, will he take the typical track for a freshman and look to hold a larger role down the road?

Tom Allen was very clear in his response:

"I don't see it as a developmental year, I just want to be able to get him involved and be a variable for us... Speed is speed; even if it's young speed, it's still there," Allen said.

Indiana football fans, if they aren't excited about anything, should at least have a positive curiosity about Jaylin Lucas. He can strike from anywhere on the field and has the ability to outrun just about any defender in the country.

Tom Allen and Walt Bell's decision to pursue him late in the recruiting process could have a quick payoff, seeing more potential for an explosive offense all stored in this one true freshman.

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