Indiana Spring Football Notebook: Allen Intrigued By New Defensive Linemen, Safety

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana is in the midst of a 15-day spring practice schedule, with Thursday's session being day No. 5.

Indiana has revamped its roster this offseason, bringing in 19 new faces through the transfer portal in addition to its high school recruiting class. There's been changes to the coaching staff, too, with new co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Matt Guerrieri, co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Anthony Tucker and offensive line coach Bob Bostad. Tom Allen will begin his seventh season as Indiana's head coach when the 2023 season kicks off on Sept. 2 against Ohio State at Memorial Stadium.

Allen met with the media on Thursday to discuss spring practice and look ahead to the season. Here's our Indiana spring football notebook, continuing with developments on the defensive side of the ball.

New defensive linemen making an impact

Tom Allen hit the transfer portal hard this offseason, and bolstering the defensive line was a major focus. He added Marcus Burris (Texas A&M), Philip Blidi (Texas Tech), Lanell Carr (West Virginia) and Andre Carter (Western Michigan), each of whom Allen believes can make an impact in 2023.

"The four guys we've brought in," Allen said. "They've made an immediate difference, not just how they look and how they're physically built, but how they're able to practice. I think Lanell Carr popped again today. He's done some really good things off that edge, has a burst that we haven't had at that spot and that's really good. Myles [Jackson] is being pushed by him and he's pushing Myles, so I think it's a really good combination. Andre Carter on the other side, once again, his size and physicality sticks out. Then we've got the two inside guys with Marcus and Philip. Philip had a little setback before spring football, but he'll be back here full bore here soon. Yeah, gives us some depth without question, pushes the older guys that are returning, and that's where we've got to be better. We knew we needed to do that in the offseason and try to address it in a big way."

Indiana also brought in Stanford transfer Jacob Mangum-Farrar, who's listed as a linebacker but has the versatility to play on the edge, as well. Indiana lost Dasan McCullough to Oklahoma this offseason, which creates a need for the kind of versatility and pass rushing Mangum-Farrar could provide.

"He's 6-4, 240 and very, very bright," Allen said of Mangum-Farrar. "Graduated from Stanford and very, very versatile. Yes, I think there's a lot of things he can do for us from a package perspective, and we get a lot of flexibility with that. I expect to use him in those ways both as a traditional inside linebacker and also as an edge guy so we just I think he's going to be a big part of our defense and I'm really excited about him."

A safety jumping from junior college

Perhaps a more under-the-radar addition through the transfer portal, Tyrik McDaniel's name came up on Thursday when Allen discussed Indiana's safeties. McDaniel played one season at Old Dominion before transferring to Independence Community College, where he was a second-team All-Conference selection. McDaniel is listed at 6-foot-1, 190 pound, and Allen has been intrigued by his play during spring practice.

"Tyrik McDaniel is one of the guys that flashed today," Allen said. "He's got good pop to him, and he's a good tackler, physical guy. I think that's really what we're looking for at that spot ... He went to his junior college and immediately became a leader, immediately was the guy that – this is just from all the homework we did on him. Loved his film, loved his physicality. Trying to find some better tacklers at that position, and he fit the bill on that and just loved his mindset from the first day I met him." 

"Has a focus to him, has an edge about him," Allen continued. "He's so into what we're doing, very, very locked in, but he's really done a great job schematically. We asked those guys to do a lot back there, so his film preparation comes in extra, meeting with our coaches all the time and that kind of is what I saw in the recruiting process. Obviously it has to live itself out once you get him here, and that's what he's doing. I think he's going to be a guy that's really going to help us."

Related stories on Indiana football

• SPRING FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK: After spring football practice on Thursday, Indiana coach Tom Allen discussed the offensive line's development with new coach Bob Bostad, flexibility in the running back room and what he's seen from the wide receiver room. CLICK HERE
• PRO DAY Q&A: Indiana football players Cam Jones, Tiawan Mullen, Bryant Fitzgerald and Jaylin Williams met with the media following Tuesday's Pro Day at Mellencamp Pavilion. CLICK HERE
• IU HIRES ANTHONY TUCKER: Anthony Tucker will join Indiana football for the 2023 season as co-offensive coordinator and and wide receivers coach, Tom Allen announced on Monday. Tucker spent the last two seasons as the offensive coordinator at Utah State and has previous coaching stints at Central Florida, Maryland, Arkansas State, Idaho State and Colorado. CLICK HERE
• WR COACH HENRY LEAVING IU: The Buffalo Bills are hiring Adam Henry, who spent the 2022 season as the wide receivers coach and co-offensive coordinator at Indiana. CLICK HERE
• INDIANA HIRING MATT GUERRIERI: Matt Guerrieri will join the Indiana football coaching staff for the 2023 season as the co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach. Guerrieri was originally hired at Tulsa this offseason after one season at Ohio State and 10 years at Duke. CLICK HERE
• QB TAYVEN JACKSON INTRODUCED AT INDIANA: Tayven Jackson met with the media on Friday for the first time as an Indiana quarterback after announcing his decision to transfer from Tennessee on Jan. 15. Jackson is the younger brother of Indiana star forward Trayce Jackson-Davis, and he wants to build his own legacy as a Hoosier. CLICK HERE
• INDIANA FOOTBALL TRANSFER PORTAL TRACKER: In our Indiana football transfer portal tracker, you can find a complete list of Hoosiers that have entered the transfer portal, declared for the NFL Draft, exhausted their collegiate eligibility and players that are transferring to Indiana for the 2023 season. We will frequently update this list throughout the offseason. CLICK HERE
• 2023 RECRUITING CLASS: Indiana signed 16 players during the early signing period on Dec. 21, including 11 high school players and 5 collegiate transfers. Here's a full breakdown of each player, complete with quotes from coach Tom Allen. CLICK HERE