Sam Daugstrup commits as a three-star walk-on
Indiana earned a commitment from a three-star tight end Thursday, but it wasn’t on a scholarship offer, as some would assume it would be for a player rated No. 38 at his position. Sam Daugstrup, out of Cleveland, committed to Indiana as a preferred walk-on.
Daugstrup has a history of knee issues, and he suffered another knee injury this season, which caused many of his offers – Iowa State, Michigan State, Pittsburgh, Louisville, Georgia Tech – to be non-committable. He did choose Indiana over Michigan State and Pitt though. His first injury, a torn ACL before his junior season, sent his recruitment on a bleak path, but he was able to salvage his relationship with Pitt, where it appeared, before the second injury, that he would be going.
He will be on campus in the summer competing for a scholarship, he told TheHoosier.com, and if he is healthy enough, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him come away with one. If he didn’t feel like he could earn a scholarship here, he wouldn't have committed, but his recent interaction with tight ends coach Nick Sheridan must have made him confident in that process.
“Me and coach Sheridan just hit it off right away," Daugstrup told TheHoosier.com. "We just had a great relationship. It was one of those things where I just kind of knew that it was special.”
Daugstrup was in town recently for a visit, when he toured facilities and met coaches with his mother, and the preferred walk-on offer was extended just a couple days ago. When he was finding himself liking Indiana, he said he talked to his mother about it and she said if there was a coach she felt comfortable sending her son to, it was Sheridan. So I don’t see this commitment changing if a school comes along with a scholarship.
Daugstrup is also the former teammate of current true freshman long snapper Sean Wracher, which fueled his interest in Indiana because Wracher sings the program’s praises.
This is a low-risk scenario for Indiana, who can take a flier on a legitimate Division I talent but decide if it wants to offer him the scholarship later, instead of committing a scholarship to an unknown situation, especially a position where Indiana already has a commitment from three-star Florida tight end Jalen Williams.
Alante Brown reacts to his official visit to IU
Prep school wide receiver Alante Brown made his first official visit to Indiana last weekend, and he told TheHoosier.com that it went “great.”
Brown is a 5-foot-10, 181-pound wide receiver that played quarterback for Simeon in high school but now plays for St. Thomas More after having originally signed with Texas Tech. The Indiana staff believes he will serve a role similar to the role Whop Philyor and David Ellis are serving now – a dynamic athlete who can make plays in space.
Brown told TheHoosier.com earlier this month that he had the Hoosiers in his tentative top-three, along with Michigan State and Missouri, but Virginia Tech is also posing a threat after it offered earlier this week. Brown confirmed with TheHoosier.com that he will visit Michigan State officially on Oct. 26 too. Brown had been committed to the Spartans for much of the 2018 calendar year when he was being recruited out of high school.
At this point, Brown is a priority recruit for the Indiana staff, as it searches for more players who can fill the roles of Philyor and Ellis. Even though Brown moved up his official visit date from some time in December to this past weekend, it wouldn’t be surprising for Brown to draw his recruitment out until at least the Early Signing Period.
Austin Booker visits IU with his offered teammate
As Indiana ventures on in its continuous search for edge rushers, in-state 2021 defensive end Austin Booker paid a visit to Bloomington for the Rutgers game last weekend.
“They said they think I should stay home and that it was great to have me,” Booker told TheHoosier.com about what the Indiana staff said to him on his visit.
Booker is one of several in-state 2021 defensive ends Indiana is targeting, including Kyran Montgomery, Rodney McGraw and Cooper Jones. But Booker was also in town with his teammate and good friend, 2022 defensive tackle Caden Curry, who recently received his Indiana offer. Booker said they do everything together.
Booker said he enjoyed the tour and how detailed it was, such as seeing the recovery and training rooms that feature a zero-gravity treadmill and an underwater treadmill. And he said that the effort shown by the staff really jumped out to him.
“I was just thinking I was going to see the game, see the coaches and leave, but they overachieved and really put time into it and made sure we saw everything that goes into game days, like pre- and post-game things, meeting all the individual coaches, and every part of the facility,” Booker said.
In eight games as a junior at Center Grove, Booker has recorded 41 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and four sacks. Purdue, Wisconsin, Tulane, Toledo and Washington State have all taken notice of Booker and are showing strong interest.
The Center Grove pass rusher said he hopes to be in West Lafayette for Indiana’s road game against Purdue in November.
Clay Chase talks are heating up
Talks between Indiana and Brownsburg kicker and punter Clay Chase have begun to heat up recently. The relationship really started to kick off over the summer when Chase was invited to IU’s specialist camp. He worked closely with special teams coordinator William Inge in that camp and has carried that relationship into today.
The in-state specialist visited for Indiana’s game versus Ohio State and plans to visit for the Northwestern game in a few weeks as well. But Chase was also in Bloomington on Wednesday to watch practice.
“I love the place, the campus and coaches are awesome,” Chase told TheHoosier.com.
Chase is rated by KohlsKicking.com as the No. 34 kicker in the Class of 2020 and received a five-star rating as a kicker, four stars as a punter.
With Charles Campbell through his redshirt season and in the middle of his freshman season, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Indiana take serious looks at kickers, which is what Chase would likely primarily serve as at the next level.
Shontrail Key visits Indiana in middle of a visits tour
Chicago defensive tackle Shontrail Key was in Bloomington for a visit during the Rutgers game, just one stop among several for the 6-foot-7 tackle in the coming weeks, but he left Indiana feeling fairly positive about his relationship with the staff.
“My visit at Indiana was great,” Key told TheHoosier.com. “I really liked the facilities. I couldn’t meet all the coaches, but it was good.”
Key was able to talk to Indiana director of player personnel and high school relations Dwike Wilson, who he has been talking to for the majority of his contact with Indiana.
Key is an interesting case because he hasn’t played football since middle school but picked it up as a senior and now has offers from Illinois and Southern Illinois. His frame – 6-foot-7, 230 pounds – is primed for a versatile spot along a Big Ten defensive line. It’s just his development that will take some time.
This weekend, Key will be at Michigan State. Then he will be at Missouri and Iowa State. Baylor and Connecticut have also been in contact with Key.
Jayden Wannstedt a top target in 2022
One of the top 2022 prospects Indiana is growing a relationship with is Missouri defensive tackle Jaydon Wannstedt. Wannstedt played much of his freshman and was one of the most impressive players on the field in any game he played.
That caught the eyes of several Power Five programs, like Nebraska, Michigan, Texas, Iowa, Missouri and Illinois.
“I plan on growing with the coaching staff and will hopefully will get to a game soon,” Wannstedt told TheHoosier.com “Overall I look forward to keeping in touch with them often and to be on campus more.”
Wannstedt was on campus for a junior day earlier this year, and he said he enjoyed the environment at Indiana.
“I thought it was nice,” he said. “Coaches were welcoming and it was a good time.”
With the 2022 class being a few classes behind the current roster, there is plenty to look at among the talent, as specific positions aren’t necessarily targeted at this point. But there are always two positions that could be added to – defensive line and offensive line. Wannstedt will surely be a top target for the Hoosiers down the line.
Indiana earned a commitment from a three-star tight end Thursday, but it wasn’t on a scholarship offer, as some would assume it would be for a player rated No. 38 at his position. Sam Daugstrup, out of Cleveland, committed to Indiana as a preferred walk-on.
Daugstrup has a history of knee issues, and he suffered another knee injury this season, which caused many of his offers – Iowa State, Michigan State, Pittsburgh, Louisville, Georgia Tech – to be non-committable. He did choose Indiana over Michigan State and Pitt though. His first injury, a torn ACL before his junior season, sent his recruitment on a bleak path, but he was able to salvage his relationship with Pitt, where it appeared, before the second injury, that he would be going.
He will be on campus in the summer competing for a scholarship, he told TheHoosier.com, and if he is healthy enough, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him come away with one. If he didn’t feel like he could earn a scholarship here, he wouldn't have committed, but his recent interaction with tight ends coach Nick Sheridan must have made him confident in that process.
“Me and coach Sheridan just hit it off right away," Daugstrup told TheHoosier.com. "We just had a great relationship. It was one of those things where I just kind of knew that it was special.”
Daugstrup was in town recently for a visit, when he toured facilities and met coaches with his mother, and the preferred walk-on offer was extended just a couple days ago. When he was finding himself liking Indiana, he said he talked to his mother about it and she said if there was a coach she felt comfortable sending her son to, it was Sheridan. So I don’t see this commitment changing if a school comes along with a scholarship.
Daugstrup is also the former teammate of current true freshman long snapper Sean Wracher, which fueled his interest in Indiana because Wracher sings the program’s praises.
This is a low-risk scenario for Indiana, who can take a flier on a legitimate Division I talent but decide if it wants to offer him the scholarship later, instead of committing a scholarship to an unknown situation, especially a position where Indiana already has a commitment from three-star Florida tight end Jalen Williams.
Alante Brown reacts to his official visit to IU
Prep school wide receiver Alante Brown made his first official visit to Indiana last weekend, and he told TheHoosier.com that it went “great.”
Brown is a 5-foot-10, 181-pound wide receiver that played quarterback for Simeon in high school but now plays for St. Thomas More after having originally signed with Texas Tech. The Indiana staff believes he will serve a role similar to the role Whop Philyor and David Ellis are serving now – a dynamic athlete who can make plays in space.
Brown told TheHoosier.com earlier this month that he had the Hoosiers in his tentative top-three, along with Michigan State and Missouri, but Virginia Tech is also posing a threat after it offered earlier this week. Brown confirmed with TheHoosier.com that he will visit Michigan State officially on Oct. 26 too. Brown had been committed to the Spartans for much of the 2018 calendar year when he was being recruited out of high school.
At this point, Brown is a priority recruit for the Indiana staff, as it searches for more players who can fill the roles of Philyor and Ellis. Even though Brown moved up his official visit date from some time in December to this past weekend, it wouldn’t be surprising for Brown to draw his recruitment out until at least the Early Signing Period.
Austin Booker visits IU with his offered teammate
As Indiana ventures on in its continuous search for edge rushers, in-state 2021 defensive end Austin Booker paid a visit to Bloomington for the Rutgers game last weekend.
“They said they think I should stay home and that it was great to have me,” Booker told TheHoosier.com about what the Indiana staff said to him on his visit.
Booker is one of several in-state 2021 defensive ends Indiana is targeting, including Kyran Montgomery, Rodney McGraw and Cooper Jones. But Booker was also in town with his teammate and good friend, 2022 defensive tackle Caden Curry, who recently received his Indiana offer. Booker said they do everything together.
Booker said he enjoyed the tour and how detailed it was, such as seeing the recovery and training rooms that feature a zero-gravity treadmill and an underwater treadmill. And he said that the effort shown by the staff really jumped out to him.
“I was just thinking I was going to see the game, see the coaches and leave, but they overachieved and really put time into it and made sure we saw everything that goes into game days, like pre- and post-game things, meeting all the individual coaches, and every part of the facility,” Booker said.
In eight games as a junior at Center Grove, Booker has recorded 41 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and four sacks. Purdue, Wisconsin, Tulane, Toledo and Washington State have all taken notice of Booker and are showing strong interest.
The Center Grove pass rusher said he hopes to be in West Lafayette for Indiana’s road game against Purdue in November.
Clay Chase talks are heating up
Talks between Indiana and Brownsburg kicker and punter Clay Chase have begun to heat up recently. The relationship really started to kick off over the summer when Chase was invited to IU’s specialist camp. He worked closely with special teams coordinator William Inge in that camp and has carried that relationship into today.
The in-state specialist visited for Indiana’s game versus Ohio State and plans to visit for the Northwestern game in a few weeks as well. But Chase was also in Bloomington on Wednesday to watch practice.
“I love the place, the campus and coaches are awesome,” Chase told TheHoosier.com.
Chase is rated by KohlsKicking.com as the No. 34 kicker in the Class of 2020 and received a five-star rating as a kicker, four stars as a punter.
With Charles Campbell through his redshirt season and in the middle of his freshman season, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Indiana take serious looks at kickers, which is what Chase would likely primarily serve as at the next level.
Shontrail Key visits Indiana in middle of a visits tour
Chicago defensive tackle Shontrail Key was in Bloomington for a visit during the Rutgers game, just one stop among several for the 6-foot-7 tackle in the coming weeks, but he left Indiana feeling fairly positive about his relationship with the staff.
“My visit at Indiana was great,” Key told TheHoosier.com. “I really liked the facilities. I couldn’t meet all the coaches, but it was good.”
Key was able to talk to Indiana director of player personnel and high school relations Dwike Wilson, who he has been talking to for the majority of his contact with Indiana.
Key is an interesting case because he hasn’t played football since middle school but picked it up as a senior and now has offers from Illinois and Southern Illinois. His frame – 6-foot-7, 230 pounds – is primed for a versatile spot along a Big Ten defensive line. It’s just his development that will take some time.
This weekend, Key will be at Michigan State. Then he will be at Missouri and Iowa State. Baylor and Connecticut have also been in contact with Key.
Jayden Wannstedt a top target in 2022
One of the top 2022 prospects Indiana is growing a relationship with is Missouri defensive tackle Jaydon Wannstedt. Wannstedt played much of his freshman and was one of the most impressive players on the field in any game he played.
That caught the eyes of several Power Five programs, like Nebraska, Michigan, Texas, Iowa, Missouri and Illinois.
“I plan on growing with the coaching staff and will hopefully will get to a game soon,” Wannstedt told TheHoosier.com “Overall I look forward to keeping in touch with them often and to be on campus more.”
Wannstedt was on campus for a junior day earlier this year, and he said he enjoyed the environment at Indiana.
“I thought it was nice,” he said. “Coaches were welcoming and it was a good time.”
With the 2022 class being a few classes behind the current roster, there is plenty to look at among the talent, as specific positions aren’t necessarily targeted at this point. But there are always two positions that could be added to – defensive line and offensive line. Wannstedt will surely be a top target for the Hoosiers down the line.
