Indiana defensive tackle declares for NFL draft
On Monday, Indiana lost one of its workhorses on the offensive side of the ball to the NFL draft.
On Wednesday, the Hoosiers lost one of their workhorses on the defensive side of the ball to the NFL draft.
Two days after Jordan Howard announced he was leaving for the draft, defensive tackle Darius Latham followed in his teammates’ footsteps. The team announced that he will forgo his senior season and declare for the 2016 draft.
“Playing in the NFL has been a dream of mine, and I will put in the work and effort to make this dream come true,” Latham said in an Indiana press release. “I am especially thankful for the opportunity to have played and learned from (IU coach Kevin) Wilson. He and the coaching staff not only made me a better player, but were focused on me as a complete person.”
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When he was on the field, Latham was one of the key playmakers for the Hoosiers up front. He finished the season with 33 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and four sacks, which was good enough for All-B1G honorable mention honors.
But Latham missed three games because of two different suspensions. Both were said to be a violation of team rules.
Still, he was one of the key reasons that the Hoosiers made it to their first bowl game in eight years. The third-year player out of Indianapolis will be one of IU’s toughest holes to fill on the defensive side.
Latham gave one final tip of the cap to his home-state school.
“I chose IU over other colleges because it was home, and I believed in what we could build here,” Latham said in the release. “We accomplished some good things and I will miss playing with my family, especially my D-line brothers. Indiana University is a special place and I am grateful to be a Hoosier for life. Go IU!”