Indiana head coach Tom Allen wants to prove that his team is ready to bounce back from a 2-win season in 2021.

As a result of last season’s struggles, Indiana was projected to finish last in the B1G East in the 2022 preseason poll. Allen understood his team’s perception and wants a chance to prove that the Hoosiers are better than a 2-10 record:

“I get it. We earned it…We’ve got a chip on our shoulder and something to prove,” Allen said.

The Hoosiers were winless in conference play in 2021. This was an unexpected result after a 2020 season in which Indiana went 6-2 overall and 6-1 in the B1G.

This will be a challenging season for Indiana on many fronts. Not only will Indiana have to get back to the top of the conference, but they will have to replace linebacker Micah McFadden. From 2018 to 2021, McFadden was a star linebacker and he led the team in tackles in 2021 with 77 tackles. He had 6.5 sacks in 2021, as well. McFadden was drafted by the New York Giants in 2022. His former coach at Indiana, Allen, spoke about replacing McFadden:

“Micah (McFadden) was special…that is a void that Cam Jones has really responded to in a big way,” Allen said. “Two transfers that give us B1G-caliber type of players that have already played the position…it’s a room to me that’s critical for our team to play at a high level defensively, and I always grade our linebackers on two key things. You gotta be a leader and you gotta produce.”

Jones will have big shoes to fill as the leader of the defense for this season. Indiana hopes to make strides in 2022.