Indiana University-Bloomington Football

Two-time national coach of the year Curt Cignetti enters his third season as head football coach at Indiana University after he engineered the two most succe...

Alex Higgins enters his first season as quality control for the offensive line and tight ends under first-year head coach Curt Cignetti. Hired as a graduate assistant with James Madison (2021-23) for the last two seasons, Higgins worked with the defensive line in his first season and moved to the offensive line his second year. He transitioned as an offensive analyst in 2023. In his role, he created scouting reports, broke down opponent schemes, produced self-scouts, and assisted both the offensive staff with game planning. Prior to JMU, Higgins spent two seasons at Guilford College (2019-20) where he coached tight ends and was the assistant offensive line coach in his first season. Higgins transitioned to running backs coach, co-special teams coordinator, and director of football operations in his second year. His three seasons at GC produced a pair of all-conference performers under Higgins' watch. His coaching career began at his alma mater, Elon, where he was an undergraduate assistant in spring 2019 and a football operations intern during the summer of 2018. Higgins was a four-year starter for the Phoenix (2015-18), starting 39 of his 41 career games. His final two seasons included trips to the FCS Playoffs under Cignetti's guidance. Higgins owns a bachelor's degree in business administration from Elon (2019) majoring in entrepreneurship with a minor in psychology. He received his master's in sport and recreation leadership from James Madison (2023).

Ben Harakel enters his first season as quality control for defensive backs under first-year head coach Curt Cignetti. He served as a defensive/special teams analyst for James Madison (2020-23) for the past four seasons. In this role he assisted with the linebackers and defensive backs, as well as all special teams units. Harakel was initially hired at JMU as a defensive graduate assistant (2019) before transitioning to an analyst role prior to the spring 2020 season. In his first season, he worked primarily with the rovers and safeties. His first stop in coaching came at his alma mater, Penn State, for four seasons (2015-18). He served as a defensive undergraduate assistant with the cornerbacks (2016-19) and began his career as a student video assistant and quality control (2015). Harakel owns his bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering from Penn State (2018) and earned a master's degree sport and recreation leadership from James Madison (2020).

Blake Jackson was hired as the director of football operations by Indiana head football coach Curt Cignetti on Jan. 10, 2024. Jackson spent two seasons at Arkansas State (2022-23) where he handled all aspects of team travel and oversaw the day-to-day operation, organization, and flow of the football program. As the director of football operations, he organized team events, managed team communications, and oversaw facility maintenance and scheduling. He spent four seasons with his alma mater, Tennessee (2018-21), where he served as the operations graduate assistant for two seasons, followed by two years as the football operations coordinator. The Volunteers played in the 2020 Gator Bowl (2019 season) and the 2021 Music City Bowl during his time in Knoxville. Jackson assisted with all aspects of team travel, served as a liaison between all departments with the program, and assisted with the execution of team events such as coaching clinics and camps while on Rocky Top. Jackson received his bachelor's degree in sport management in 2017 and a master's degree in sports management in 2020, both from Tennessee.

In his third season with the program, Bob Bostad continues to mold the offensive line into one of the best units in the Big Ten. The lone coach retained by Curt Cignetti upon his arrival in spring 2024, Bostad owns 27 years of experience coaching the offensive line at the collegiate and professional levels. In two seasons, Bostad has left his imprint on the offensive line. The Hoosiers have two of its top five highest graded offensive line performances since 2014 under his tutelage. The 2024 edition owns the program’s second-highest graded season since 2015 – an offensive line that featured four future NFL starters. A semifinalist for the Joe Moore Award for the top offensive line in college football, the 2024 group paved the way for a program-record-tying 37 rushing touchdowns and protected quarterback Kurtis Rourke to a single-season program-best 29 touchdown passes. Its success up front helped IU earn a spot in the College Football Playoff, led to a program-record 70 touchdowns scored (70) and paved the way for the first running back duo to reach double-digit touchdowns (Ty Son Lawton, 11; Justice Ellison, 10) in the same season in program history. In Weeks 9-10, his pupils posted back-to-back Big Ten games without allowing a sack to mark the first time since 2001 that IU hasn't surrendered a sack in consecutive conference games. The group also stood up for a program-best 701 yards of total offense versus Western Illinois and helped IU produce five games with 500-plus yard

A two-time Broyles Award semifinalist, Bryant Haines moves into his second season as defensive coordinator/linebackers coach at Indiana and his 11th season with Curt Cignetti. A member of all four of Cignetti’s head coaching staffs, Haines has been the coordinator or co-coordinator of the defense for the last six seasons. The former collegiate linebacker at Ball State has coached the linebackers for nine straight campaigns after two seasons at IUP as the defensive line/strength and conditioning coach. After building one of the nation’s elite defenses at JMU, Haines didn’t skip a beat in his first season at Indiana. His units led the nation in rushing defense (80.2), finished No. 2 in total defense (256.34) and No. 10 in passing yards allowed (176.1). On its way to a College Football Playoff berth, Haines’ defense set program-best marks for fewest games allowing 100-yards rushing (8), lowest scoring average (15.6) and fewest yards rushing (1,043) and yards of total offense (3,332) in a season. A trio of defenders earned All-America honors, led by first-team All-American linebacker Aiden Fisher. A first-team All-Big Ten pick, Fisher finished the season tied for No. 16 on the IU single-season charts with 118 tackles. All-American defensive lineman Mikail Kamara finished No. 13 nationally in sacks per game, while D’Angelo Ponds was an All-America honoree at defensive back. In each of his first four seasons at JMU (2019-23), the Dukes ranked top 10 nationally in total defense. Eac

LeDominique “Buddha” Williams begins his second season as the defensive ends coach at Indiana, as he looks to continue to develop high-level talent along the front of the Hoosier defense. At least one of Williams’ pupils has produced 8.0 sacks or more in four straight seasons, with the last two being double-digit sack seasons. Mohamed Kamara (Colorado State) and Mikail Kamara (Indiana) – no relation – produced 13.0 and 10.0 sacks, respectively, over the past two FBS seasons. A College Football Playoff berth and the No. 1 rushing defense in the country highlighted his first season on campus. His inaugural season in the cream and crimson also saw Mikail Kamara earn first-team All-Big Ten and second-team All-America honors after he tied for fifth-most sacks in a single season (10.0). Williams made an impact on the defensive front in his two seasons at Colorado State (2022-23) with Mohamed Kamara named the 2023 Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year. Kamara was a second-team all-conference pick in 2022. Kamara led the Mountain West with a program-record 13.0 sacks and 17.0 tackles for loss in 2023. He was the first Ram to win an “of the year” award since 2014 (Garrett Grayson, QB) and the first conference defensive player of the year since Shaquil Barrett in 2013. His 30.5 career sacks rank No. 3 all-time in Mountain West history and 21.5 of those came with Williams as position coach. Kamara posted 33.0 of his 45.5 career tackles for loss over his final two seasons under Will

Francis Meehan enters his first season as a graduate assistant for the defensive backs under first-year head coach Curt Cignetti. He was a four-year letterwinner for Cignetti at James Madison (2018-23) and earned honorable mention All-Sun Belt as a senior. He started 10 games in his final season and pulled in three interceptions. Meehan helped the Dukes to a 38-8 overall record during his final four seasons, a pair of Sun Belt East Division titles and the 2023 Armed Forces Bowl, the first FBS bowl appearance in program history. Along with his on-field accolades, Meehan was a part of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and was a representative for the CAA Student-Athlete Wellness and Sports Performance Committee. Meehan earned his bachelor's degree in sport and recreation management from James Madison (2022) and a post-graduate certificate in cyber intelligence (2023).

Entering his seventh season on Curt Cignetti’s staff, Grant Cain continues his role as special teams coordinator/tight ends coach in his second season in Bloomington. Cain joined Cignetti at James Madison in 2019 as the special teams coordinator and tight ends coach and was promoted to assistant head coach prior to the 2022 season, before joining him at Indiana. His first season in Bloomington was highlighted by a Big Ten-best four blocked kicks – three punts and one field goal – which ranked No. 6 nationally. IU finished with the third-highest special teams grade per Pro Football Focus (88.7) in the Power 4. Kicker Nicolas Radicic also paced the FBS in extra points made per game (5.3) and finished the season with a program-record 69 extra points made. Radicic also finished No. 66 on the single-season scoring list with 99 points (10 FG, 69 XP). Punt returner Myles Price finished No. 6 nationally in punt return average (12.9 ypr) and helped the unit finish No. 2 nationally in long punt returns (_) per PFF. Both Radicic and long snapper Mark Langston received honorable mention All-Big Ten nods from the conference coaches and media, as did tight end Zach Horton. Over five seasons at JMU (2019-23), his pupils earned three All-America honors. His units combined for four All-Sun Belt Conference picks and nine All-Colonial Athletic Association selections during that span. His 2023 special teams unit led the Sun Belt and ranked No. 14 nationally per ESPN in special team’s efficiency

Jacob Laverman is in his fourth season at Indiana as director of football rehabilitation. He spent 2018 as a seasonal physical therapist/athletic trainer with the Indianapolis Colts and completed summer internships with the Colts (2013) and the Seattle Seahawks (2016). Laverman received his doctor of physical therapy degree from Washington University in St. Louis in 2018 and earned his bachelor of science degree in athletic training from Iowa State University in 2015. A native of Ocheyedan, Iowa, Laverman is an active member of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) and the National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA). Jacob and his wife, Kylee, reside in Bloomington.

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Jared Myatt was hired as an athletic performance coach for the Indiana football program on Jan. 9, 2024. Prior to Indiana, Myatt spent one year with Live Oaks High School in Watson, Louisiana, near Baton Rouge, as the director of athletic performance. He worked with the football and baseball programs at the school and developed and installed training systems for both programs. A one-year stop at Texas Tech (2020) as the assistant strength coach for football followed three seasons at Northwestern State (2017-19) as the director of strength and conditioning. At TTU, Myatt worked with the specialists and oversaw supplement and nutrition inventory and implementation while with the Red Raiders. While at Northwestern State, he oversaw 15 varsity programs and worked directly with football, among other sports. He helped develop a pair of FCS All-American wide receivers in Jazz Ferguson (2018) and Quan Shorts (2019), with Ferguson named the Southland Offensive Player of the Year. He also worked with three top-10 round picks in the Major League Baseball Draft and helped the Demons to their first NCAA Championship appearance in program history in 2018. His first full-time position came with Appalachian State (2017) where he headed the strength program for wrestling and assisted with the football program. Myatt spent two stints as a volunteer assistant at Louisiana Tech (2015) and LSU (2017), which sandwiched a graduate assistant position at Mercer (2015-17), where he worked with 13 diff

Entering his sixth season with Curt Cignetti and his second in Bloomington, John Miller continues to tutor the running backs after the program reached the College Football Playoff in 2024. Miller joined Cignetti's staff at James Madison as a graduate assistant (2018) and has spent six of the last eight seasons on his staff. The 2017 Colonial Athletic Association Special Teams Player of the Year was Cignetti's running backs coach for four seasons (2021-23) at JMU before he followed to Indiana (2024-). The rushing attack of Justice Ellison (10) and Ty Son Lawton (11) accounted for 23 of Indiana’s program-record-tying 37 rushing touchdowns on the season. The due became the first set of IU running backs – third set of rushing scorers - to reach double-digit touchdowns on the ground in a single season. At JMU, Miller’s running backs room averaged 175.6 yards per game and 1.9 touchdowns per game over 45 games under his watch. Six Dukes running backs eclipsed 500 yards rushing in a season and his group rushed for over 2,000 yards twice. He coached Percy Agyei-Obese to a pair of All-Sun Belt honors over three seasons. After he earned second-team FCS All-America status during the 2020-21 spring season, but an injury limited him to just four games in fall of 2021. The 2020-21 season included first-team All-SBC and 102.4 yards per game on the ground. Agyei-Obese returned to grab third-team All-SBC honors in in 2022 and finished his JMU career ranked No. 2 in both career rushing touchdow

Indiana head football coach Curt Cignetti announced the addition of John Srofe as the program's director of scouting on January 26, 2024. Prior to Indiana, Srofe spent two seasons at Appalachian State (2022-23) where he helped the program secure the No. 2-ranked class in the Sun Belt Conference for the 2023 cycle. The Mountaineers won nine games and claimed the 2023 Cure Bowl title with a victory over Miami (Ohio). He spent five seasons at Richmond (2017-21) with his first two seasons as video coordinator/defensive quality control and his final three as the director of operations and recruiting coordinator. His start in college football came at Wofford (2015) as video coordinator/offensive quality control and he followed that with one season as video coordinator/defensive quality control at Chattanooga (2016). Srofe earned his bachelor's degree in organizational leadership from Northern Kentucky (2015) and a master's degree in sport management from Florida (2023).

Jon Wicks is in his eighth year at Indiana and his seventh as an assistant football athletic trainer. In 2015, he was a research assistant/athletic trainer. He served as an intern with the Carolina Panthers in 2014. Wicks was a graduate assistant from 2012-14 for the University of Missouri football team. He worked as a student intern with the Indianapolis Colts during the summers of 2010 and 2011. From 2008-12, he was a student athletic trainer at Ball State University, where he assisted with football, men's volleyball, women's basketball, and high school athletics. He received his master's degree in health promotion and education from Missouri in May 2014 and earned his bachelor's degree in athletic training at Ball State in May 2012.

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Kyle Blackman is in his seventh season as Indiana's head football athletic trainer. He spent six seasons with the Washington Redskins, five as an assistant and one as an intern athletic trainer. Blackman served as a graduate assistant athletic trainer at Troy University from 2008-10 and worked as the head athletic trainer for the Arena Football League's Colorado Crush in 2008, where at 23 years old, he was the youngest head trainer in the AFL. He earned his bachelor's degree in athletic training from Franklin College in 2007 and received his master of science in sport and fitness management from Troy in 2010. Blackman is a certified athletic trainer and a member of the National Athletic Training Association. A Crown Point, Indiana native, Kyle and his wife, Amanda, have two sons, Luke and Jordan.

Matt Wilson enters his third season as assistant athletic director for player personnel under Indiana head football coach Curt Cignetti in 2026. Over his fir...

Michael Turner enters his first season with the Indiana football program. Served as an athletic training fellow for two seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals (2022-23). Spent two academic years as a graduate assistant athletic trainer at Eastern Illinois (2020-22), working with football, track and field and volleyball. Earned his Bachelor of Science in athletic training from The Ohio State University in 2020 and received his master's degree in sports administration from Eastern Illinois in 2022. Turner is a certified athletic trainer and a member of the National Athletic Training Association. He also owns his personalized blood flow restriction rehabilitation certification.

Indiana head football coach Curt Cignetti announced the addition of Mike Ferrara as director of player personnel on January 26, 2024. Prior to Indiana, Ferrara spent the last nine seasons in recruiting departments around the Southeastern Conference. His most recent post was at LSU (2022-23) where he helped the Tigers signed the No. 6 recruiting class nationally per 247Sports in 2022 and followed that with the No. 7 in 2023. He was the assistant director of player personnel his first season and moved into the associate director of player personnel role in his second year in Baton Rouge. Ferrara spent five years at Texas A&M (2017-21) where the Aggies signed a top-10 class in each of his final four seasons. He helped TAMU ink the No. 1 class nationally in 2022, which featured eight five-star commits and 20 four-star signees. The 2022 signing class was the top-rated signing class in FBS recruiting ranking history. He also helped the Aggies ink the No. 4 (2019), No. 6 (2020) and No. 8 (2021) signing classes during his time in College Station. His eight-month stint with the Cleveland Browns (2017) as a game charter included film breakdown and identification of potential prospects. A spring internship in the recruiting department at his alma mater, Tennessee, led to his initial entry into the college football recruiting realm. He elevated to graduate student recruiting analyst for three seasons (2015-16) where he aided the staff on a pair of top-20 classes. Ferrara earned his bache

Mike Pechac enters his 13th season as director of player development and academic enhancement for the IU football program in 2026 and is in his ninth year as...

In his fourth season as Curt Cignetti’s offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach, Mike Shanahan begins his second season in Bloomington after a record-setting first campaign that led Indiana to a College Football Playoff berth. Shanahan’s offense set program records for touchdowns scored (70), points scored (537) and most 40-point games in a single season (8). Indiana ranked No. 2 nationally in scoring offense (41.3) and passing efficiency (174.3) and sat No. 7 in red zone offense among FBS programs. His balanced offense tied the program single-season record for rushing touchdowns (37) and passed for the second-most scores in program history (33). Kurtis Rourke set the program’s single season mark for passing touchdowns (29), while Ty Son Lawton (11) and Justice Ellison (10) became the first running back duo with double-digit touchdowns scored in the same season. At wide receiver, Elijah Sarratt earned third-team All-Big Ten after he finished No. 6 in the Big Ten in yards receiving (957) and No. 8 in touchdown catches (8). His 957 yards receiving rank No. 10 on the single season charts, while his eight touchdown grabs are tied for No. 10 in IU history. Over four seasons at James Madison, Shanahan worked with the wide receivers and served as the program’s recruiting coordinator (2019-20) for two seasons before his promotion to offensive coordinator for his final three seasons (2021-23). His Dukes offenses produced two All-America selections at wide receiver and six of his pu

Mitch Gudmundson is in his 21st season as director of football equipment with the IU football program. His primary role is managing the daily equipment needs of the football coaches and players. He served as head equipment manager for the Orlando Rage during the 2001 XFL season and spent the 2000 season in NFL Europe as head equipment manager of the Rhein Fire, where the team won the 2000 World Bowl. Gudmundson is a 1998 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-River Falls with a bachelor's of science degree in agricultural education. He is a certified member of the Athletic Equipment Managers Association and a member of the advisory staff for Powers Athletic Uniforms.

Oladimeji “Ola” Adams enters his second season as safeties coach at Indiana. Adams joined head coach Curt Cignetti’s staff in 2024 after the two faced off on opposite sidelines during their time in the FCS ranks. Adams owns 16 seasons of experience across college and professional football, with 12 seasons coaching defensive backs after an all-conference career at Concord (W.Va.) University. He has tutored at least one all-conference honoree in 14 of 16 seasons dating back to 2009. His first season in Bloomington saw Amare Ferrell lead the team and tie for No. 2 in the Big Ten in interceptions (4). Three of the team’s top five tacklers on the College Football Playoff squad came from the defensive back group, which helped Indiana finish top 10 nationally in scoring defense (No. 6; 15.6), passing yards allowed (No. 10; 176.1) and rushing yards allowed (No. 1; 80.2). He spent the 2023 season at Penn State as a defensive analyst and analytics coordinator for the nation’s No. 1 defense. The Nittany Lions defense sat atop the FBS in total defense (223.4 ypg) and allowed the fewest yards per game in the FBS since 2011. Penn State also finished No. 1 in sacks (4.00 spg) and first down defense (151) on its way to a Peach Bowl invitation. Adams was an assistant secondary coach with the Denver Broncos (2022) for one season. The defensive backs finished No. 5 in the NFL with fewest receiving touchdowns allowed (20) and No. 10 in the NFL in interceptions (15). He spent seven seasons at Vil

Indianapolis native Pat Kuntz begins the second season of his second stint at Indiana and fourth year as a part of a Curt Cignetti staff in 2025. Kuntz has t...

Reed Relosky enters his first season as a graduate assistant for the wide receivers under first-year head coach Curt Cignetti. He spent one season as an offensive graduate assistant at James Madison (2023) after a season with Pittsburgh (2022) as a graduate assistant with the wide receivers. He spent two seasons at Keiser University (2020-21) as the assistant quarterbacks coach and helped the program to an undefeated regular season in 2021, a Mid-South Conference Sun Division title and an FCS semifinal appearance. His first coaching stop came at North Park University (2019) in Chicago after a four-year career at Washington & Jefferson College. He helped the Presidents to a pair of Presidents' Athletics Conference championships as a tight end. Relosky owns his bachelor's degree in business administration from Washington & Jefferson (2019).

Rod Ojong starts his second season as cornerbacks coach at Indiana after he helped the program to a College Football Playoff berth in 2024. His first season ...

Ryan McInerney is in his 11th season as a quality control assistant for special teams and his first on staff for Curt Cignetti. In 10 seasons with the program (2014-present), McInerney has worked with a pair of Big Ten Bakken-Anderson Kicker of the Year award winners, helped Jaylin Lucas earn Big Ten Rodgers-Dwight Return Specialist of the Year and seen nine pupils earn All-Big Ten on special teams. Lucas was a first-team All-America selection and Freshman All-America pick in 2022 after he returned a nation-best two kickoffs for touchdowns. Long snapper Sean Wracher was a two-time semifinalist for the Patrick Mannelly in 2022 and 2023. He spent five seasons at TCU (2010-13) prior to arriving in Bloomington with three as a defensive graduate assistant after one as a video graduate assistant. The 2011 Horned Frogs won the Mountain West and beat Louisiana Tech in the Poinsettia Bowl, before the program transitioned to the Big 12. McInerney made stops as a defensive graduate assistant at the University of Louisiana-Monroe (2009) and served as the tight ends coach and GA at Central Connecticut State. He began his coaching career as a varsity defensive and offensive line coach at Southeast High School (2008) in Cherokee, Kansas. A four-year letterwinner at Pittsburgh State University, McInerney was the starting center in all seven of the Gorillas’ NCAA Division II Playoff games and helped the program to a national runner-up finish in 2004.

Tino Sunseri starts his second stint as the program’s co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks and has been a part of Indiana head football coach Curt Cigne...

Indiana head football coach Curt Cignetti announced Tyson Brown as the program’s director of athletic performance on Friday (Feb. 6). Brown comes to Blooming...

Zack Leeds enters his second season as a graduate assistant for the offensive line under first-year head coach Curt Cignetti. He began his stay in Bloomington in 2023 and will continue to work with the program’s offensive line during the 2024 season. Prior to IU, Leeds spent six seasons at Florida State with the first three as an undergraduate student assistant coach (2017-19). He moved into an offensive analyst (2020-22) role for his final three seasons in Tallahassee. His time at Florida State enabled him to work with three different coaching staffs under head coaches Mike Norvell (2020-22), Willie Taggert (2018-19) and Jimbo Fisher (2017). Leeds owns a bachelor’s degree in sports management from Florida State (2020).