Beware the ‘Dog’ – Kamara Remains in Attack Mode
Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Spring arrives, and Mikail Kamara remains in attack mode.
Are you surprised?
Indiana’s fifth-year quarterback nemesis and offense wrecker seeks to build on last season’s All-America defensive performance, and it starts with mindset and focus.
“Nothing has changed,” he says. “I still attack it like I'm a freshman, like I'm a sophomore. I love playing football, so I go out there, make plays and try to make sure I'm not picking up any bad habits.”
Film study is his guide.
“Anything I watch on film, whether it's getting my pad level lower, getting my hands a little bit better, getting my feet a little bit quicker. Whatever those things are that I need to improve on is what I use to continue to sharpen my tools.”
Last season, in his Hoosier debut after transferring from James Madison, Kamara ranked second in the Big Ten with 10.0 sacks and 15.0 tackles for loss. He was the first Hoosier to reach double figures in sacks since Jammie Kirlew had 10.5 in 2008. He totaled 44 tackles, three fumble recoveries, and two forced fumbles. He led the Big Ten with 64 total pressures, and was a finalist for the Lott Impact Trophy and the Bednarik Award, two of the nation’s top defensive honors.
At 6-foot-1 and 265 pounds, Kamara was a big reason, but certainly not the only one, why IU went 11-2 and reached the College Football Playoffs for the first time under head coach Curt Cignetti. If you think that satisfies him, think again.
“The hunger is the same,” he says from a Memorial Stadium Team Room podium. “Actually, it’s more because now you have more eyes on you.”
Some players get satisfied after break-through seasons. Kamara has no time for that, not for himself, not for the Hoosiers.
“That’s not going to happen,” he says. “It’s a matter of showing we can do it again and again and again. It’s the same thing, just a different season.”
In other words, prove yourself all over again.
“Everyone here has that mentality,” Kamara says. “We have a whole group of dogs. We don’t have to say too much. Go out and play. When you start to see practice slow down, you have the leaders to pick it back up. Everyone who is part of this program knows what they need to get done and how to get it done.”
A position switch from field end to stud, a hybrid position with defensive end and linebacker responsibilities, should allow Kamara to make even more plays.
“I’ll play more stud and, if necessary, I’ll go to field end,” he says.
Playing stud should free him up for more quarterback disruption.
“If I did that on the inside,” Kamara says, “imagine what can I do on the edge?”
Kamara rotated at the stud position in 2023 while at James Madison. He, Jalen Green and Jamree Kromah combined for 36.0 sacks.
“He played stud early in his career at James Madison,” Cignetti says. “His freshman year he started as a true freshman (edge rusher).
“(At stud he’ll have) a few more one-on-one pass rush opportunities, maybe not having to slide down inside and play inside at tackle or four-technique as much as you do at field end. Your field end needs to be a little bigger guy in our defense.”
Playing four years under defensive coordinator Bryant Haines gives Kamara a huge experience edge.
“In this defense, we have a good bit of freedom, so I can go out and make plays,” Kamara says. “Especially me being an older guy and more of a vet, Coach gives me more leeway to trust my eye. We are gapped up and disciplined, but he allows me to take my shot and do what I need to do to make a play and boost this team to where it needs to be.”
Kamara could have entered the NFL Draft after last season, but didn’t want to miss out on a final national championship run. He says he decided to stay shortly after the season-ending playoff loss at Notre Dame. That included talking with linebacker Aiden Fisher and cornerback D’Angelo Ponds, who also decided to remain Hoosiers. Like Kamara, they also earned All-America honors last season.
“We were really close (to winning it all),” Kamara says. “I got that taste of almost getting to the championship. It’s experience that a lot of these guys have, especially with my top two guys Fish and Ponds coming back. We talked that if we come back, we can really make a good run. It was to come back and bring a championship to Bloomington.”
Kamara says having two of the Big Ten’s best players behind him in Fisher and Ponds is “very freeing.”
“If I mess up, they’ll clean it up. When I’m pass rushing, I know (Ponds) will give me some time when he’s covering and doing his thing. It’s always great to know we have All-Americans at every level. It makes everyone’s job easier.”
That goes beyond on-field production, Kamara adds.
“It’s important to have that leadership on every level. It’s not just us making plays, but what can we inspire the other guys to do. That’s the biggest piece.”
IU added 42 newcomers, with 33 participating this spring, including 19 college transfers led by Notre Dame center Pat Coogan, Ohio State offensive lineman Zen Michalski, Colorado offensive lineman Kahlil Benson, and Ole Miss defensive back Louis Moore. Kamara says the new players “understand what’s needed to get this done.”
“We have a lot of veterans who have played at a high level. They bring that experience with them. Especially since we already have the culture built, they can come in, get integrated, and see how we flow.”
In the end, Kamara expects big things from himself and the Hoosiers.
“This is a great team to transfer into. It’s our style. We’re family oriented. We’re good at welcoming people in.
“When it comes to football, (the newcomers) all have that thing. They’ll figure out the playbook and do whatever the reason is Cig brought them here. We’ve got a bunch of guys who have that dog in them.”