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BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti didn’t go into much detail about defensive tackle Philip Blidi entering the transfer portal other than to call it an “unexpected” departure.
Cignetti met with the media on Thursday morning following his team’s first practice of the spring.
Blidi was one of the few returning starters on the defense still on the team from last year, but opted to enter the portal as a grad transfer. He’s since received offers from LSU, Arizona and Washington.
“He did what he did, that’s all I’m going to say about that,” Cignetti said.
Indiana entered spring camp without much wiggle room numbers-wise on the defensive line. The top transfer Cignetti signed at the position — JMU’s James Carpenter — will miss spring camp as he recovered from an undisclosed injury.
“I think the defense is going to be short-handed throughout the spring that had played really good football collegiately in the past and we expect to help us,” Cignetti said.
Defensive ends Lanell Carr and Venson Sneed along with linebacker Jailin Walker are also expected to miss spring practice. Walker was another former JMU player who followed the staff to Bloomington. He was a two-year starter for the Dukes and earned All-Sun Belt honors both years.
More: Spring practice: What you need to know about Indiana football’s high stakes QB competition
“We have enough bodies to go three teams, which is the goal,” Cignetti said. “You want to be able to work three teams in when you start your 11-on-11 stuff.”
The coaching staff is evaluating some position changes to balance out the depth on defense. Cignetti used cornerback Nic Toomer getting a tryout at strong safety to open up camp as an example. The former Stanford defender has primarily played corner throughout his career as he did last year for the Hoosiers, but is versatile…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/indiana-footballs-defense-short-handed-190224462.html
Author : The Herald-Times
Publish date : 2024-03-21 19:02:24
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