The visit didn’t take long to convince Kellan Wyatt. One summer trip to Bloomington, a few conversations with Curt Cignetti and the staff and the Maryland transfer knew Indiana was where he wanted to play. He’d always kept an eye on Indiana, but until then, the connection was from a distance. That changed quickly. In […]
The visit didn’t take long to convince Kellan Wyatt. One summer trip to Bloomington, a few conversations with Curt Cignetti and the staff and the Maryland transfer knew Indiana was where he wanted to play.
He’d always kept an eye on Indiana, but until then, the connection was from a distance. That changed quickly. In April, Wyatt entered the transfer portal in the middle of Maryland’s spring practice, ending a three-year run with the Terrapins. Ten days later, he was a Hoosier.
“I really came here to try and be a part of something special,” Wyatt said after Wednesday’s practice. “Once I got the chance to see [the staff] and be around them, that’s when I really felt like this was the place for me.”
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Wyatt, a 6-foot-2, 257-pound defensive lineman from Glen Burnie, Maryland, arrives with 23 career starts and a resume that includes 64 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks and two forced fumbles over his last two seasons.
Cignetti believes he could be the perfect complement to Mikail Kamara along the Hoosiers’ defensive front.
“Wyatt is a high effort, high energy, intelligent guy,” Cignetti said after Monday’s practice. “He’s very versatile, he could do a lot of different things, he’s had a really good camp. He’ll be a big addition for us.”
The approach that has drawn praise from his head coach, Wyatt said, comes from how he was raised.
“That’s how I was brought up,” he said. “That’s how I grew up — just to always stay humble and work hard… When you see energy guys like that on the field, they kind of stand out. I would like to be one of those players that stands out on the field.”
As far as playing alongside Kamara, Wyatt said the All-American’s presence has already raised his game.
“When you have a guy like Mikail in the room, you learn a lot from him — especially with the season he had last year,” Wyatt said. “You pick up things, techniques and stuff like that from him and [we] kind of play off of each other.”
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Because his transfer came after spring ball, Wyatt joined Indiana in the summer and had to make up ground quickly. His time at Maryland helped ease that process. There, he played primarily as a linebacker but was used in a variety of ways, much like he has been in fall camp with the Hoosiers — dropping into coverage, rushing the passer and lining up in multiple spots.
Now fully integrated into the program, Wyatt’s focus is on the bigger picture.
“We just want to be dominate as a team,” he said.
If his adaptability and high-energy style carry over into the season, Wyatt could be a difference-maker for an Indiana defense with high hopes for the 2025 season.
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Category: General Sports
