NFL News NFL News, Reports and Updates
BLOOMINGTON — No one saw this coming.
That’s the common refrain for those discussing Indiana football’s remarkable turnaround from Big Ten basement dweller to College Football Playoff contender, but it hasn’t caught everyone off guard.
Mikail Kamara is one of those exceptions.
“I feel like the first few games we’re going to be underlooked, but I’m certain once we get the ball rolling everyone is going to know (who we are),” Kamara said back in April when he spoke to local reporters in Bloomington for the first time.
Six months later, it was Kamara who talked about IU contending for a national title during a 6-0 start.
That confidence never wavered and he took a victory lap of sorts after IU’s 66-0 win over Purdue for helping “speak things into existence” — things like a possible playoff berth and the Hoosiers first ever double-digit win season.
“I’m proud of my guys,” Kamara said. “I’m just excited, it’s a great moment.”
Indiana’s Mikail Kamara (6) sacks Purdue’s Hudson Card (15) during the Indiana versus Purdue football game at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024.
More: Indiana football needed to beat Purdue to keep its CFP hopes alive. How the Hoosiers won was equally important.
Indiana football defensive end Mikail Kamara bullies the Boilermakers
Kamara bounced back from a quiet performance against Ohio State with a team-high seven quarterback pressures against Purdue. He had a pass-rush success rate of 29% in the win and picked up his 10th sack of the season.
He’s just the sixth defender in program history with 10 sacks in a single-season and the first to reach the milestone since Jammie Kirlew did it in 2008.
The success came on the heels of Kamara being named one of four finalists for the Lott IMPACT Trophy earlier in the week. The award is given out annually to the FBS defender…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/indiana-footballs-soothsayer-mikail-kamara-112235138.html
Author : The Herald-Times
Publish date : 2024-12-01 11:22:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
