Transfers Hear the Indiana Football Call

By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – His first Indiana spring football practice looms and grad transfer defensive lineman Ryder Anderson hears the message loud and clear:

Finish.
"Everything up to this point has been about finishing," the former Ole Miss standout says.

It's a word heard often in sports, and especially for the Hoosiers, whose 6-2 break-through season wasn't far from being are-you-kidding-me good.

A one-score loss to Ohio State and a gut-wrenching Outback Bowl defeat to Mississippi serve as motivators for every Hoosier, even the newest of them.

The 6-6, 275-pound Anderson certainly qualifies as new, as do fellow transfers D.J. Matthews (Florida State) and Zach Carpenter (Michigan), who all joined the program for the spring semester with the goal of helping to improve last season's lofty achievements.

"The big thing was not finishing out the season last year, after having a lot of success," Anderson says. "In the weight room, it's finish. In team runs, finish. That's going to be along the same lines as we head into spring ball. Let's finish, every single day, every single rep, and do all the little things right."

There is plenty of irony in Anderson coming to Indiana considering he played against the Hoosiers in the Outback Bowl. He had two tackles for loss and a sack against Indiana.

"We have definitely had some jokes and chit-chat about the bowl game," he says.

At Ole Miss, Anderson totaled 99 tackles, 6.5 sacks and 15 tackles for loss in 37 games and 14 starts. He added 17 quarterback hurries, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, one pass breakup and one blocked punt.

When he decided it was time to make a change, playing for the team he had played against seemed, well, cool.

So does a potential position change to defensive end in a 4-2-5 defensive alignment.

"I like the 4-2-5 a lot," Anderson says. "This is the third or fourth defense that I am learning. I have played in the 4-2-5 before and it is a lot of fun. I feel like I fit well into it. Just getting into the playbook and learning how I need to do things here is my primary goal right now. It has been a blast so far."

His Hoosier blast could also include interior line work, "depending on different scenarios and packages."

You can't have enough difference makers, and the Hoosiers landed a big one in Matthews, who can burn teams as a punt returner as well as a receiver. He's the favorite to replace Whop Philyor as slot receiver.

Matthews once had 138 punt return yards in a game, the most in the nation in that 2017 season. He totaled 582 punt yards as a Seminole (including a touchdown) along with 84 catches for 809 yards and five touchdowns.

"Punt return is something I've been doing my whole life," Matthews says. "Coach (Tom) Allen told me that I would have that opportunity in terms of that when I got here. That's something that I take extremely seriously. I take all special teams serious. I love special teams. I'm a special teams guy. That's what got me on the field when I first got to college, so that's something I take tremendously serious."

As far as his Hoosier role, he says it will be, "Whatever Coach (Grant) Heard and Coach Allen want me to do.

"They have me playing in the slot, but things could change during the season or in game planning. I'm here to play my role."

Once Matthews decided to move on, IU became a natural fit. For one thing, a friend from Jacksonville, Devon Matthews, plays for the Hoosiers. For another, there was strong-armed quarterback Michael Penix Jr., and big-play receiver Ty Fryfogle.

Then there's the Tom Allen factor.

"Giving me another opportunity to come to a winning program, dominant uprising program, that's just something I felt like I couldn't pass up," Matthews says. "That opportunity, playing for one of the greatest coaches in college football right now, that had a lot to do with it, and Indiana is everything that I imagined."

While Philyor is moving on to potential NFL opportunity (he received an NFL Combine invitation along with fellow ex-Hoosier running back Stevie Scott III and safety Jamar Johnson), Fryfogle is back and Penix should be ready after suffering a season-ending torn ACL last year.

"I was excited when I saw that Ty post that he was coming back," Matthews says. "It gave me a lot of confidence that we will have older guys in the room, willing to lead and take the next step."

There is also the lure of Cream & Crimson basketball, which in Matthews' case centers on ex-Hoosier and now NBA player Victor Oladipo.

"I do know Indiana University for basketball," Matthews says. "I call this Oladipo's school. That's pretty much everything I know of Indiana."

Then there's the 6-5, 329-pound Carpenter, who couldn't get enough of IU's Love-Each-Other culture under Allen.

"(The camaraderie) has been everything and more," Carpenter says. "This place is special. The culture is unreal. The players have all been welcoming. I've never felt uncomfortable or anything like that.

"They took me in, helped me out in any way they could. The coaching staff is great. They really care about their players and they want the best for them."

Although he played in only five games at Michigan (2 as the starting center), Carpenter says leadership won't be a problem.

"I am confident I will be able to lead the offensive line out there."

Players Mentioned

Ryder Anderson

Zach Carpenter

Ty Fryfogle

Devon Matthews

D.J. Matthews Jr.

Michael Penix Jr.

Indiana University Athletics