2021 Indiana Hoosiers football team

2021 Indiana Hoosiers football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Division	East Division
2021 record	2–10 (0–9 Big Ten)
Head coach	Tom Allen (5th season)
Offensive coordinator	Nick Sheridan (2nd season)
Co-offensive coordinator	Grant Heard (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Charlton Warren (1st season)
Co-defensive coordinator	Kevin Peoples (2nd season)
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium (Capacity: 52,626)
Uniform
Seasons ← 2020 2022 →

2021 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
No. 2 Michigan xy$^		8	–	1					12	–	1
No. 6 Ohio State x		8	–	1					10	–	2
No. 10 Michigan State		7	–	2					10	–	2
Penn State		4	–	5					7	–	5
Maryland		3	–	6					6	–	6
Rutgers		2	–	7					5	–	7
Indiana		0	–	9					2	–	10
West Division
No. 15 Iowa xy		7	–	2					10	–	3
Minnesota		6	–	3					8	–	4
Wisconsin		6	–	3					8	–	4
Purdue		6	–	3					8	–	4
Illinois		4	–	5					5	–	7
Nebraska		1	–	8					3	–	9
Northwestern		1	–	8					3	–	9
Championship: Michigan 42, Iowa 3
^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant As of December 4, 2021; Rankings from CFP Rankings

The 2021 Indiana Hoosiers football team represented Indiana University in the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Hoosiers played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana and competed as a member of the East Division of the Big Ten Conference. The team was led by fifth-year head coach Tom Allen.

Spring Game[]

The 2021 Spring Game was held in Bloomington, Indiana on April 10;^[1] however, it was a closed-practice, with the general public not in attendance.

Previous season[]

The Hoosiers finished the 2020 season 6–1 in Big Ten play to finish in second place in the Eastern Division. This would be the Hoosiers' best finish to a season since the 1967 season. The Hoosiers were invited to the Outback Bowl, where they would lose by six points to Ole Miss, 26–20.^[2]

Following an initial cancelation of the football season by the Big Ten on August 11, 2020, the Big Ten would reverse their decision on September 16.^[3] The truncated season was due to ongoing issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[4]

The COVID-19 pandemic was particularly impactful on the Hoosiers late in the season, when on December 9, Purdue and Indiana announced a mutual one-time cancellation of the Old Oaken Bucket rivalry game (originally scheduled for December 12). Team-related activities were paused because of an elevated number of coronavirus cases within both the Boilermakers' and Hoosiers' programs.^[5] On December 13, Purdue and Indiana came to a mutual agreement to reschedule the Old Oaken Bucket game for one week later, on December 18;^[6] however, on December 15, both teams again mutually agreed to cancel the Friday contest, due to issues remaining on both teams with COVID complications.^[7]

Offseason[]

Coaching changes[]

On December 12, 2020, the South Alabama Jaguars announced that they had hired Indiana defensive coordinator Kane Wommack as their new head coach; Wommack had previously served three years for the Hoosiers in a defensive coaching capacity, first as its linebackers coach in 2018 and then as its defensive coordinator for 2019 and 2020.^[8] On January 17, 2021, Indiana announced that they had hired Georgia Bulldogs defensive backs coach Charlton Warren as the Hoosiers' new defensive coordinator; Warren had served as the defensive back coach for Georgia for two years (2019-2020).^[9]

On January 13, 2021, the Michigan Wolverines announced that they had hired Indiana running backs' coach Mike Hart as their new running backs' coach; Hart had served four years as the Hoosiers' running backs coach (2017-2020) and also split time as the Assistant Head Coach.^[10] On February 8, 2021, Indiana announced that they had hired Kansas City Chiefs running backs' coach Deland McCullough as the Hoosiers' new running backs coach; McCullough had previously served as the Hoosiers' running backs' coach from 2011 to 2016.^[11][12]

Transfers[]

Outgoing

Notable departures from the 2020 squad included:

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Harry Crider	57	Offensive Lineman	6'4'	311	Senior	Columbus, Indiana	Declared for NFL Draft
Jerome Johnson	98	Defensive Lineman	6'3'	304	Senior (Redshirt)	Bassfield, Mississippi	Declared for NFL Draft
Whop Philyor	1	Wide Receiver	5'11'	180	Senior	Tampa, Florida	Declared for NFL Draft
Jovan Swan	51	Defensive Lineman	6'2'	280	Graduate Transfer	Greenwood, Indiana	Declared for NFL Draft
Haydon Whitehead	94	Punter	6'2'	219	Graduate student	Melbourne, Australia	Declared for NFL Draft
Rashawn Williams	13	Wide Receiver	6'2'	200	Freshman (Redshirt)	Detroit, Michigan	Transferred

Incoming

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes	Prev. School
Ryder Anderson	10	Defensive Lineman	6'6"	266	Graduate Student	Katy, Texas	Graduate Transfer	Ole Miss
James Bomba	48	Tight end	6'6"	230	Graduate Student	Bloomington, Indiana	Sophomore	Miami (OH)
Zach Carpenter	58	Offensive Lineman	6'5"	329	Sophomore (Redshirt)	Cincinnati, Ohio	Transfer	Michigan
Stephen Carr	5	Running back	6'0"	215	Senior (Redshirt)	Gardena, California	Transfer	USC
Jaren Handy	13	Defensive Lineman	6'5"	255	Junior	Hattiesburg, Mississippi	Transfer	Auburn
Weston Kramer	99	Defensive Lineman	6'1"	290	Graduate Student	Naperville, Illinois	Graduate Transfer	Northern Illinois
DJ Matthews	1	Wide Receiver	5'10"	160	Senior (Redshirt)	Indianapolis, Indiana	Graduate transfer	Florida State
Deland McCullough II	25	Defensive Back	6'1"	195	Freshman (Redshirt)	Bloomington, Indiana	Transfer	Miami (OH)
Jonathan Haynes	17	Defensive Back	5'11"	205	Graduate Student	Benoit, Mississippi	Graduate transfer	Ole Miss

2021 NFL Draft[]

Hoosiers who were picked in the 2021 NFL Draft:

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Team
5	164	Jamar Johnson	Safety	Denver Broncos

Preseason[]

Position key[]

Back	B		Center	C		Cornerback	CB		Defensive back	DB
Defensive end	DE		Defensive lineman	DL		Defensive tackle	DT		End	E
Fullback	FB		Guard	G		Halfback	HB		Kicker	K
Kickoff returner	KR		Offensive tackle	OT		Offensive lineman	OL		Linebacker	LB
Long snapper	LS		Punter	P		Punt returner	PR		Quarterback	QB
Running back	RB		Safety	S		Tight end	TE		Wide receiver	WR

Recruits[]

The Hoosiers signed a total of 14 recruits.

US college sports recruiting information for 2021 recruits
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Jordyn Williams WR	Cedar Hill, TX	Trinity Christian School	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	182 lb (83 kg)	May 15, 2020
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Joshua Sales OT	Brownsburg, Indiana	Brownsburg High School	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	305 lb (138 kg)	Aug 1, 2020
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Vinny Fiacable OG	Fort Wayne, Indiana	Bishop Dwenger High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	300 lb (140 kg)	Apr 6, 2020
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
James Evans P	Auckland, New Zealand	Sacred Heart College, Auckland	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	222 lb (101 kg)	May 17, 2020
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Donavan McCulley QB	Indianapolis, Indiana	Lawrence North High School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Dec 16, 2020
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Jaquez Smith WR	Atlanta, Georgia	Westlake High School	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Dec 16, 2020
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Malachi Holt-Bennett WR	Fairfield, Alabama	Fairfield Prep	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Feb 3, 2021
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Larry Smith S	Orange Park, Florida	Oakleaf High School	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Dec 16, 2020
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Aaron Steinfeldt TE	Bloomington, Indiana	Bloomington High School North	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	230 lb (100 kg)	Dec 16, 2020
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Maurice Freeman S	Chesapeake, Virginia	Oscar F. Smith High School	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Dec 16, 2020
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Trenten Howland ATH	Joliet, Illinois	Joliet West High School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	218 lb (99 kg)	Dec 16, 2020
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
David Holloman RB	Auburn Hills, Michigan	Avondale High School	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Dec 16, 2020
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Jordan Grier ATH	Ellenwood, Georgia	Cedar Grove High School	6 ft 185 in (6.53 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Dec 16, 2020
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: 48  247Sports: 58  ESPN: 55
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Indiana Football Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved May 19, 2021. "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved May 19, 2021.

Preseason Big Ten poll[]

Although the Big Ten Conference has not held an official preseason poll since 2010, Cleveland.com has polled sports journalists representing all member schools as a de facto preseason media poll since 2011. For the 2021 poll, Indiana was projected to finish third in the East Division.^[13]

Media poll (East Division)
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Ohio State	238 (34)
2	Penn State	192
3	Indiana	169
4	Michigan	144
5	Maryland	74
6	Rutgers	77.5
7	Michigan State	52.5

Schedule[]

The Hoosiers' 2021 schedule consisted of six home games and six away games.^[14] The Hoosiers played three non-conference games, against Idaho and Cincinnati at home and on the road against Western Kentucky. In conference, Indiana hosted Rutgers, Ohio State, Michigan State, and Minnesota. They traveled to Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Penn State, and Purdue.

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 4	3:30 p.m.	at No. 18 Iowa	No. 17	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	BTN	L 6–34	68,166
September 11	7:30 p.m.	Idaho*		Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN	BTN	W 56–14	47,417
September 18	12:00 p.m.	No. 8 Cincinnati*		Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN	ESPN	L 24–38	52,656
September 25	8:00 p.m.	at Western Kentucky*		Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	CBSSN	W 33–31	25,171
October 2	7:30 p.m.	at No. 4 Penn State		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	ABC	L 0–24	105,951
October 16	12:00 p.m.	No. 10 Michigan State		Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN (Old Brass Spitoon)	FS1	L 15–20	50,571
October 23	7:30 p.m.	No. 5 Ohio State		Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN	ABC	L 7–54	52,656
October 30	12:00 p.m.	at Maryland		Maryland Stadium College Park, MD	BTN	L 35–38	32,308
November 6	7:30 p.m.	at No. 7 Michigan		Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	FOX	L 7–29	109,890
November 13	12:00 p.m.	Rutgers		Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN	BTN	L 3–38	40,171
November 20	3:30 p.m.	Minnesota		Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN	BTN	L 14–35	38,079
November 27	3:30 p.m.	at Purdue		Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN (Old Oaken Bucket)	FS1	L 7–44	61,320
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings (after November 2) released prior to game All times are in Eastern time

• Sources:^[15]

Personnel[]

Roster[]

2021 Indiana Hoosiers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 0 Donaven McCulley Fr WR 1 Camron Buckley  Sr WR 2 Jacolby Hewitt  Jr WR 3 Ty Fryfogle  Sr WR 4 David Baker  Fr RB 5 Stephen Carr  Sr QB 5 Dexter Williams II  Fr WR 7 D.J. Matthews  Sr WR 8 Jaquez Smith Fr QB 9 Michael Penix Jr.  Jr RB 10 David Ellis Jr WR 12 Da'Shaun Brown  So WR 13 Miles Marshall  Jr QB 14 Jack Tuttle  Jr QB 15 Zack Merrill  So QB 16 Grant Gremel  So WR 17 Jordyn Williams Fr WR 18 Javon Swinton So WR 19 Malachi Holt-Bennett Fr RB 20 Tim Baldwin, Jr So RB 22 Davion Ervin-Poindexter  Jr RB 23 Trent Howland Fr QB 25 Will Jontz  So RB 28 Charlie Spegal  Fr RB 33 David Holloman Fr RB 36 Chris Childers  Jr TE 39 Ryan Barnes  Jr TE 45 Trey Walker  So TE 49 Sam Daugstrup  Fr OL 50 Zach Carpenter  So OL 51 Mackenzie Nworah  Sr OL 52 Joshua Sales Jr Fr OL 53 Vinny Fiacable Fr OL 54 Brady Feeney  Fr OL 55 Luke Lane  So OL 56 Mike Katic  So OL 58 Chris Bradberry  Sr OL 61 Ricky Tamis  So OL 62 Cameron Knight  Fr OL 63 Andy Buttrell  Fr OL 66 Aidan Rafferty  Jr OL 67 Kahlil Benson  Fr OL 69 Peter Schulz  So OL 70 Luke Haggard Sr OL 71 Randy Holtz  Fr OL 72 Dylan Powell  Sr OL 73 Tim Weaver  So OL 74 Nick Marozas  Jr OL 75 Luke Wiginton  Fr OL 76 Matthew Bedford Jr OL 77 Caleb Jones  Sr OL 79 Charlie O'Connor  Jr WR 82 Christian Harris  Sr TE 84 Aaron Steinfeldt Fr WR 85 McCall Ray  So TE 85 Khameron Taylor  Sr TE 86 Peyton Hendershot  Sr TE 88 AJ Barner So TE 89 Matt Bjorson Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 0 Raheem Layne  Sr DB 1 Devon Matthews Sr DB 2 Reese Taylor Sr DB 3 Tiawan Mullen Jr DB 4 Cam Jones Sr DB 5 Juwan Burgess  Sr DL 6 James Head Jr. Sr DB 7 Christopher Keys  Fr LB 8 James Miller  Jr DB 9 Marcelino McCrary-Ball  Sr DL 10 Ryder Anderson  Sr DB 12 Lem Watley-Neely  Fr DL 13 Jaren Handy Jr DB 14 Larry Tracy III  So DB 15 Larry Smith III Fr DB 16 Jordan Grier Fr DL 18 Jonathan King  Jr DB 19 Josh Sanguinetti  So DB 20 Joseph Daniels Jr.  Jr DB 21 Noah Pierre  Jr LB 22 Maurice Freeman Fr DB 23 Jaylin Williams Sr DB 24 Bryson Bonds So DB 25 Deland McCullough II  So DB 26 Gabe Cohen  Sr LB 27 Xavier Trueblood  Fr DB 29 Liam Zaccheo  Fr DB 30 Jordan Jusevitch  Jr DB 31 Bryant Fitzgerald  Jr DB 33 Connor Hole  Fr DB 35 DeKaleb Thomas  Jr DB 36 Nicholas Grieser  So LB 37 Ty Wise  Fr DB 39 Patrick Finley  Fr LB 40 Cameron Williams  So DL 41 Beau Robbins  So OLB 42 D. K. Bonhomme Jr LB 44 Thomas Allen  Sr LB 46 Aaron Casey  Jr LB 47 Micah McFadden Sr LB 49 Brett Wethington Fr DL 50 Sio Nofoagatoto'a Jr DL 52 Shamar Jones  Jr DL 55 C.J. Person  So DL 59 Gavin McCabe  Jr DL 60 Dalton Davis  So DL 67 Christian Love  Jr OLB 87 Michael Ziemba  Sr OLB 92 Alfred Bryant  Sr DL 94 DeMarcus Elliott Sr DL 95 Antoine Whitner Jr.  So DL 96 Caleb Murphy  Fr DL 98 Cooper Jones  Fr DL 99 Weston Kramer  Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 80 Chris Freeman  Fr P 83 Asher King  So K 90 Jared Smolar  Sr P 92 Chase Wyatt  So K 93 Charles Campbell  Jr P 94 James Evans Fr LS 95 Sean Wracher Jr LS 97 Jake Wellmann  Fr	Head coach Tom Allen Coordinators/assistant coaches Deland McCullough (Assistant Head Coach / Running Backs) Grant Heard (Co-Offensive Coordinator / Wide Receivers) Darren Hiller (Run Game Coordinator / Offensive Line) Jason Jones (Safeties) Kevin Peoples (Defensive Line) Brandon Shelby (Assistant Head Coach / Cornerbacks) Nick Sheridan (Offensive Coordinator / Quarterbacks) Kasey Teegardin (Special Teams Coordinator / Outside Linebackers) Charlton Warren (Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers) Kevin Wright (Tight Ends) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: July 21, 2021

Rankings[]

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final
AP	17	RV	RV	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR
Coaches	17	RV	RV	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR
CFP	Not released												NR	NR	NR			Not released

Game summaries[]

at No. 18 Iowa[]

Idaho[]

No. 8 Cincinnati[]

at Western Kentucky[]

at No. 4 Penn State[]

No. 10 Michigan State[]

No. 5 Ohio State[]

at Maryland[]

at No. 7 Michigan[]

Rutgers[]

Minnesota[]

at Purdue[]

Awards and honors[]

Award watch lists[]

Listed in the order that they were released

Award	Player	Position	Year	Date Awarded	Ref
Walter Camp 2021 Preseason All-American - Second Team	Micah McFadden	LB	SR	June 17, 2021	[21]
Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award	Tom Allen	Head Coach		July 14, 2021	[22]
Chuck Bednarik Award	Micah McFadden	LB	SR	July 19, 2021	[23][24]
	Tiawan Mullen	CB	JR
Maxwell Award	Michael Penix Jr.	QB	JR (RS)		[25][26]
	Ty Fryfogle	WR	SR
Davey O’Brien Award	Michael Penix Jr.	QB	JR (RS)	July 20, 2021	[27]
Doak Walker Award	Stephen Carr	RB	SR (RS)	July 21, 2021	[28][29]
Fred Biletnikoff Award	Ty Fryfogle	WR	SR	July 22, 2021	[30]
John Mackey Award	Peyton Hendershot	TE	SR (RS)	July 23, 2021	[31]
Jim Thorpe Award	Tiawan Mullen	CB	JR	July 26, 2021	[32]
Butkus Award	Micah McFadden	LB	SR		[33]
Bronko Nagurski Trophy		LB	SR	July 27, 2021	[34]
	Tiawan Mullen	CB	JR
Outland Trophy	Matthew Bedford	OL	JR		[35]
Lou Groza Award	Charles Campbell	K	JR (RS)	July 28, 2021	[36][37]
Wuerffel Trophy	Michael Ziemba	OL	SR	July 29, 2021	[38][39]
Paul Hornung Award	DJ Matthews, Jr.	WR / RS	SR (RS)		[40]
Walter Camp Award	Michael Penix Jr.	QB	JR (RS)	July 30, 2021	[41]
Manning Award	Michael Penix Jr.	QB	JR (RS)	August 5, 2021	[42]
Lombardi Award	Michah McFadden	LB	SR	August 6, 2021	[43]
Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award	Camron Buckley	WR	SR (RS)		[44][45]
Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award	Michael Penix Jr.	QB	JR (RS)	August 19, 2021	[46]

Radio[]

Radio coverage for all games will be broadcast on IUHoosiers.com All-Access and on various radio frequencies throughout the state. The primary radio announcer is long-time broadcaster Don Fischer with Play-by-Play.^[47][48]

References[]