Indiana head football coach Kevin Wilson and his staff learned the hard way that improving the defense was a priority if the Hoosiers are to become competitive in the Big Ten. They took another step toward fixing the leaky attack unit by securing 13 defensive players out of the 22 total signed commitments announced Wednesday.
IU added added six defensive linemen, four linebackers and three defensive backs to go along with two tight ends, two wide receivers and one running back on offense. The Hoosiers also signed four athletes.
Overall, it rates as one of the best recruiting classes in recent history. 247 Sports, which compiles a composite ranking of college programs inclusive of Rivals.com, ESPN.com, and 247 Sports, lists the Hoosiers as number 43 overall in the nation, and seventh in the Big Ten.
“We executed our plan very well and are excited about this class,” Wilson said. “We are very fortunate to have a good amount of returning starters, but we backed that up with, what on paper, is a very, very strong class, which is critical in building our program. There is potential to help on the defensive side, up front, at linebacker and on the perimeter.
The class features players from eight different states, including five from Indiana, five from Florida, four from Georgia, four from Ohio, one from Illinois, one from Louisiana, one from Nebraska and one from New York.
“We recruit as a team,” Wilson said. “There was not one lead recruiter on any one student-athlete. We had multiple coaches going to schools over and over, whether it be the area coach, the assistant coach, the position coach, the coordinator or me. We also had tremendous behind the scenes administrative help and support. It was a great team effort that put together what is a very strong class.”
Here is a list of Indiana’s 2013 signees:
Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown/Previous School
Antonio Allen DB 5-10 205 Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis H.S.
Daryl Chestnut RB 5-10 190 Miami, Fla./Christopher Columbus H.S.
Christopher Cormier DL 6-2 315 New Iberia, La./Arizona Western C.C.
Patrick Dougherty DL 6-5 260 Aurora, Ohio/Aurora H.S.
Chase Dutra ATH 6-1 205 Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg H.S.
Rashard Fant DB 5-10 165 Atlanta, Ga./Our Lady of Mercy H.S.
Danny Friend TE 6-5 240 Morris, Ill./Morris Community H.S.
Steven Funderburk LB 6-3 231 Port St. Lucie, Fla./Iowa Western C.C.
Myles Graham ATH 6-0 215 Miami, Fla./Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory
Isaac Griffith WR 6-0 180 Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead H.S.
Jordan Heiderman DL 6-3 280 Norfolk, Neb./Iowa Western C.C.
Evan Jansen TE 6-4 245 Mason, Ohio/Moeller H.S.
David Kenney DL 6-2 250 Indianapolis, Ind./Pike H.S.
Darius Latham DL 6-5 291 Indianapolis, Ind./North Central H.S.
Clyde Newton ATH 6-1 215 Punta Gorda, Fla./Charlotte H.S.
Marcus Oliver LB 6-1 220 Hamilton, Ohio/Hamilton H.S.
Noel Padmore DB 5-11 175 Flowery Branch, Ga./Flowery Branch H.S.
T.J. Simmons LB 6-0 230 Lakeland, Fla./Lakeland H.S.
Kris Smith LB 6-2 215 Flowery Branch, Ga./Flowery Branch H.S.
Laray Smith ATH 6-0 185 Staten Island, N.Y./Xaverian H.S.
Maurice Swain DL 6-5 305 LaGrange, Ga./Troup H.S.
Anthony Young WR 6-1 175 Lakewood, Ohio/St. Edward H.S.
Extra Points: Steven Funderburk, Jordan Heiderman and T.J. Simmons are currently enrolled in classes for thespring semester and will participate in spring practice.....Four of the top 10 players in Indiana are in the class: Darius Latham (No. 3), Antonio Allen (No. 5), David Kenney (No. 6) and Chase Dutra (No. 9)....Allen is the first Hoosier to ever participate in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. He is ranked the No. 19 safety nationally by ESPN.com and the No. 231 prospect overall by Rivals.com....Laray Smith currently holds the fastest indoor 300m time nationally and the second-fastest indoor 200m and 400m time nationally.
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