BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football offensive lineman Carter Smith is one of the few holdovers from the Tom Allen-era that can speak about the program’s remarkable turnaround under Curt Cignetti.
Smith is one of just a dozen players Allen signed out of high school left on the roster. The offensive lineman was part of IU’s 2022 signing class that had a record of 7-17 during their first two seasons of college with a 3-16 record against Power Five opponents.
Those struggles made for some long offseasons that Smith wouldn’t wish on anyone, but those gloomy attitudes are nowhere to be found in Bloomington this fall.
“Not everyone is as depressed as they would be,” Smith said. “I would certainly say that’s accurate for me. There’s a lot of smiles around the facility now.”
There’s plenty of confidence too as fall camp rolls on with IU players looking to prove they weren’t some one-hit wonder.
Here’s what stood out during the second week of camp:
Curt Cignetti’s ‘less is more’ offseason philosophy sets IU football up for success
Indiana held its first preseason scrimmage Saturday behind closed doors.
The Hoosiers weren’t expected to go live, but it was their first time practicing in full pads during fall camp. While the NCAA allows teams up to eight padded preseason practices, Cignetti isn’t expected to use the full amount.
“Never really used 25 (practices in the fall),” Cignetti said last year. “Never used 20 hours in the week. Sometimes less is more. More isn’t always more. That’s the maximum amount they give you. That doesn’t mean you have to use ’em all.”
It’s the same reason that Cignetti has all but eliminated live tackling during the offseason going back to his final year at JMU. The spring game is expected to be IU’s only live preseason practice for a second straight year.
“They want guys to be available,” Indiana running back Kaelon Black said. “You can understand his philosophy, when you have pads on you tackle and get more chances of being hurt.”
Former Maryland running back Roman Hemby, who was a member of IU’s most recent transfer class, immediately saw the benefit of Cignetti’s approach back in the spring.
“Every coach has their own philosophy, we like to get our players to the game,” Hemby said. “We make sure we get efficient work, we’re out there for the right amount of time to get what we need to get done. Hammer it home in the film room, it helps us play at our best. We need to play fast in the Big Ten and I feel like coach Cig’s philosophy helps us do that.”
The results speak for themselves — Cignetti has a nearly perfect record (20-1) before October going back his debut game as coach for JMU in 2019. The Dukes lost their season-opener to West Virginia that season, but nearly pulled off an upset in Morgantown.
Indiana jumped out to a perfect 10-0 start under Cignetti and never trailed through the first weeks of the season.
Mikail Kamara vs. Carter Smith: ‘It’s like the NFL’
Smith was the first person to predict defensive end Mikail Kamara would have a breakout season in 2024. He made the prediction after facing off Kamara on a near-daily basis last spring.
He was right on the money — Kamara led the FBS with 68 quarterback pressures and was the first IU defensive lineman to earn All-American honors since 2007. The former JMU defender is now setting his sights on the program’s single-season sack record and Smith isn’t betting against him.
“He gets a bit better every day,” Smith said. “He’s always keeping me on my toes. It keeps on stacking, I think that competition has been really good for both of us.”
Kamara agreed while predicting Smith will make his mark this fall.
“In my opinion, he will be the best tackle in college football,” Kamara said. “He’s a great player, he’s smart, he’s quick, he’s strong. He plays really well with his technique. He throws me a bunch of different sets and looks. He changes his stance, he does a lot of good things that keeps me thinking and keeps me guessing. When me and him battle, it’s like the NFL, it’s like I’m in the league.”
Indiana football’s ‘spectacular’ true freshmen pushing for playing time
Cignetti told reporters last week that Indiana has multiple true freshmen pushing for playing time this fall. He shied away from revealing any names, but his players weren’t as reluctant to talk about the first-year players standing out.
The guy most frequently mentioned through the first two weeks of camp is safety Byron Baldwin Jr., Baldwin was the team’s highest rated prospect (and lone 4-star recruit) in IU’s 2025 signing class.
“He’s definitely one of those young guys that are ready to play now,” Amare Ferrell said.
According to Ferrell, Baldwin is vying for playing time at rover with the likes of Bryson Bonds and Jah Jah Boyd.
Ferrell knows what it takes as one of the only members of Tom Allen’s final recruiting class in 2023 who didn’t redshirt as a true freshman. He echoed what fellow defensive back D’Angelo Ponds said at the start of camp about Baldwin doing all the right things since arriving on campus as an early enrollee.
“He has to do everything to the standard, do everything the right away,” Ferrell said, about playing early as a freshman. “We want to make sure he comes in ready to play, ready to practice, ready to know the playbook and do everything right, so his chances of getting on the field are better.”
Indiana freshman receiver LeBron Bond is a name to watch on the other side of the ball. Running back Roman Hemby said that the 5-foot-9, 173-pounder regularly makes “spectacular catches” in practice.
Bond’s stock has been on the rise since he had a team-high four catches for 29 yards in IU’s annual spring game. He helped the offense close out a 31-23 win over the defense with a 7-yard touchdown catch from Alberto Mendoza.
The biggest challenge for Bond will be cracking a rotation that features a mix of productive returners (Elijah Sarratt and Omar Cooper Jr.) and talented transfers (Makai Jackson and Jonathan Brady).
Two-minute drill
- Mario Landino has frequently lined up at defensive tackle during fall camp, according to Mikail Kamara. He’s not new to the position — Landino rotated all over the defensive line as a freshman — but he mainly played on the edge with the first-team defense in the spring game. Landino bulked up this offseason by adding upwards of 20 pounds, but hasn’t lost any of the quickness that he displayed last season. “He’s been dominating, that three-tech position, he’s been getting off the ball and making plays,” Kamara said.
- Smith gave Ohio State transfer Zen Michalski’s pass blocking skills high marks last week. He said Michalski’s long arms have helped the 6-foot-6, 310-pounder match up against IU’s talented pass rushers throughout camp. He also praised Michalski’s communication skills — “He’s pretty vocal, he makes all his right calls.” Smith has locked down the starting spot at left tackle, but Michalski is in the mix to replace Trey Wedig on the right side of the line.
- NC State transfer Devan Boykin’s veteran presence has been a great addition to IU’s secondary. He’s been a helpful resource for his younger teammates — the Hoosiers have five true freshmen in the secondary including two at safety — as one of the most experienced players on the entire team with 45 career games (20 starts). “He just brings a lot of football IQ to the room,” Ferrell said. “The stuff he does, you can just tell he played a lot of football. He’s always on point.” Ferrell also told reporters during fall camp that Boykin hasn’t had any issues moving past the knee injury that sidelined him in 2024.
Quote of the week
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
