After a disastrous 2021 season and generally uninspiring offensive coordinator hire, Tom Allen still found a way to bring another historic recruiting class into Bloomington. The 25 player class brings 14 new defensive players and 11 offensive players and leaves room for future signings, like four-star receiver Omar Cooper, who plans to sign in February. 18 of the players signed letters of intent today, while the other seven have announced their plans to transfer into the program.

The class currently ranks 19th in the country and fourth in the Big Ten according to 24/7’s recruiting database. Unfortunately for Indiana, all three of the in-conference recruiting classes ranked more highly than the Hoosiers come from the Big Ten East, with Ohio State taking the top spot, followed by Penn State and Michigan respectively. Still, this class shows that the program still has some upward momentum from the 2019 and 2020 seasons.

The Players

Here’s the list of new Hoosiers, broken into offense and defense, listed in order of their 24/7 rating.

Offense:

• Gi’Bran Payne - running back, LaSalle, Ohio
• Demon Moore - offensive line, Fort Wayne, Indiana
• Brody Foley - tight end, Cincinnati, Ohio
• Carter Smith - offensive tackle, Powell, Ohio
• Ryan Miller - tight end, Chagrin Falls, Ohio
• Jaylin Lucas - running back, New Orleans, Louisiana
• Bray Lynch - offensive tackle, Austin, Texas
• Cameron Camper - wide receiver, Lancaster, Texas (junior college)
• Josh Henderson - running back, transfer from North Carolina
• Shaun Shivers - running back, transfer from Auburn
• Emery Simmons - wide receiver, transfer from North Carolina

Defense

• Dasan McCullough - linebacker, Bloomington, Indiana
• Trevell Mullen - cornerback, Pompano Beach, Florida
• Dominick James - defensive line, Bradenton, Florida
• Venson Sneed - defensive line, Winter Park, Florida
• Richard Thomas - defensive line, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
• James Monds III - cornerback, Vero Beach, Florida
• Phillip Dunnam - safety, Miami, Florida
• Jamari Sharpe - cornerback, Miami, Florida
• Isaiah Jones - linebacker, London, Ohio
• Kaiden Turner - linebacker, Fayetteville, Arkansas
• JH Tevis - defensive line, transfer from California
• Bradley Jennings Jr. - linebacker, transfer from Miami
• LeDarrius Cox - defensive line, transfer from Ole Miss
• Patrick Lucas - defensive line, transfer from Ole Miss

Notes

Even without Omar Cooper signed, this is an impressive class for Tom Allen and comes in as the highest rated in program history. Dasan McCullough comes in as the highest rated signee in Indiana history, and eight of the players who committed today hold a four-star rating from at least one recruiting service. Shaun Shivers, the running back transfer from Auburn, should be ready to play right away, which is welcome news after the Hoosiers lost Davion Ervin-Poindexter to the transfer portal earlier this week. The class is noticeably light on offensive line options, though the need for experience at that position could make the transfer portal the more logical place to look.

There are still some big names in the portal, and current IU receiver DJ Matthews has broken the number one rule of recruiting (don’t tweet at recruits) by reaching out to quarterback Bo Nix, who announced that he will be transferring after four seasons at Auburn. Indiana also hopes to retain the commitment of Omar Cooper until he signs in February.

Elsewhere, Michael Penix committed to Washington yesterday, rejoining Kalen DeBoer, who took over as head coach there this offseason. After Penix’s announcement, Washington also announced that Nick Sheridan will be joining their coaching staff - a tough blow for Penix.