Newest Grad Transfer Has Early Football Impact

By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Just when you thought Indiana had set its roster for this most intriguing of football seasons, the Hoosiers deliver a late twist:

Another Power Five transfer has arrived.

In this case, it's strong safety Jonathan Haynes, who spent the last two years at Ole Miss. He officially joined the Hoosiers on Thursday after totaling 86 tackles and two interceptions for the Rebels.

Haynes provides more depth and skill for a talented secondary that should rate among the Big Ten's best.

He's also the second Ole Miss player to transfer to IU after facing the Hoosiers in last season's Outback Bowl. The other is defensive lineman Ryder Anderson.

Haynes had four tackles against the Hoosiers in the bowl game.

"He brings a lot of athleticism," head coach Tom Allen says. "He is over 200 pounds, at about 205, and close to 6-foot.

"We played against him in the bowl game, so we got to study him in that regard, as far as scouting a team or your opponents and he was their starting safety the last couple years there."

Allen sees plenty of opportunity for Haynes at safety along with All-Big Ten Devon Matthews and Raheem Layne, plus Bryant Fitzgerald and Marcelino McCrary-Ball at husky (a hybrid safety/linebacker).

Then there's Haynes' potential special teams impact.

"Special teams is somewhere I see him flourishing," Allen says. "He is an extremely physical player with really good speed, length, and athleticism. We just have to figure out where the best need is there to give us the best opportunity for him and for us to maximize his skill set. We will be evaluating that."

Evaluation started Thursday. Haynes got in some limited practice time.

"He was already out there making plays," Allen says. "He has to go through the acclimation process, so he was just in helmet and spiders, and didn't (participate) in all of the periods. He showed out in terms of making plays.

How did IU get him?

It started when Haynes decided to enter the transfer portal.

"Once he did that," Allen says, "we reached out to him because we had guys that have coached him on our staff (safeties coach Jason Jones who previously coached at Ole Miss), and guys that know him very well (on our team).

"The bottom line is once he put himself in the portal and we had an additional spot available, we chose to use it for him."

As far as offense, quarterback Michael Penix Jr. remains on pace to start in the Sept. 4 season opener at Iowa.

"He has been progressing well and has a strong command of our offense," Allen says. "We are really seeing him more than anything with his leadership growth and being able to command everything, correct, and challenge and call guys out in a positive way when they need that encouragement. He is definitely in a good place."

Jack Tuttle is the backup, with freshman Donaven McCulley making a strong impression.

"Donaven has really done a good job," Allen says. "As the (offensive) installs grow, it can become overwhelming for a young guy. The last couple practices were his best two in regard to putting everything together."

IU will have its first scrimmage on Saturday and, "We will be able to see (where McCulley is at). That is going to say quite a bit.

"We did some live (action on Thursday) that we haven't had ... and you could see his athleticism and movements."

Allen adds that Saturday's scrimmage will be, "A great day to evaluate talent."

"With running backs, you need to be able to be live to be able to tell who can make guys miss, who can pick up the blitzes, who can make plays in space, whether it's catching the ball or running the ball.

"The evaluation process is ongoing and we're going to play the best players whether they're on scholarship or not."

Indiana University Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Ryder Anderson

Bryant Fitzgerald

Jonathan Haynes

Raheem Layne

Devon Matthews

Marcelino McCrary-Ball

Donaven McCulley

Michael Penix Jr.

Jack Tuttle

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