IU football’s impressive list of June recruiting visitors highlights direction of the program

It has been a long time since Indiana brought football recruits on campus.

And the group arriving this month looks a little different than who you may have grown accustomed to seeing come to check out Bloomington.

IU is 14-7 over the last two seasons, and the Hoosiers are expected to enter their 2021 campaign as a top-20 program.  All of that momentum has helped Tom Allen and his staff schedule a highly talented group of class of 2022 visitors in June.

In-person visits have been off limits since the COVID-19 pandemic shut everything down in March of 2020.  The fifth year IU head coach believes that while the program’s success has helped captivate the incoming high school senior class, the real magic happens when they arrive on campus and experience what he has built first hand.

“You think about our culture here that we built and it’s so relationally driven,” Allen said recently.  “I think it’s hurt us by not to be able to have the kids on campus because there’s a feel that you get when you come around us, and what we’re doing and even our players. I just want to get them around us and want to get them a chance to feel the LEO culture that we have and not just see it on video or talk about it or hear about it or, you know, listen to it on a, on a zoom call.”

The 2022 class is off to a good start, with three commits including top-50 linebacker Dasan McCullough, who is the son of running backs coach Dasan McCullough, an Ohio State flip, and the highest rated IU football commit ever.

But the 2022 class is unique because of the pandemic.  For the most part the month of June will mark their first in-depth visits to college campuses.  That is why Indiana and a lot of other schools have a lower than normal number of incoming high seniors committed going into the summer.

“You’ve got a whole group of guys that we’ve never seen, and they’ve never seen us and they’ve not physically been here,” Allen said of the 2022 class.

Below is a list of some of the class of 2022 players who have been reported over the last few months to be visiting IU in June.  This is by no means a comprehensive list, but instead intended to give you a look at the caliber of talent scheduled to visit Indiana.  For context, IU has had just 21 top-500 commits prior to the 2022 class during the rankings era that spans more than 20 years.  So one a year would be expected, but already IU has two, with the opportunity to construct its best recruiting class ever.

(Rankings according to the 247Sports Composite)

June 11

• Nyjalik Kelly (DL, Florida, 4-star, No. 214 nationally / Andrew Ivins, 247Sports)
• James Monds III (CB, Florida, 3-star, No. 812 nationally / James Monds on Twitter)
• Zane Durant (DL, Florida, 4-star, No. 341 nationally / Zane Durant on Twitter)
• Kyron Chambers (CB, Texas, 3-star, No. 467 nationally / Mike Luke, 247Sports)
• Tommy McIntosh (TE, Michigan, not ranked nationally / Cami Griffin, USA Today)

June 13

• Jamari Lyons (DL, Florida, 4-star, No. 345 nationally / 247Sports timeline)

June 14

• Carter Smith (OT, Ohio, 3-star, No. 693 nationally / via Carter Smith on Twitter)

June 18

• Jacolby Spells (CB, Florida, 4-star, No. 240 nationally / Andrew Ivins, 247Sports)
• Jalen Marshall (DL, Kansas, 3-star, No. 679 nationally / Bryan Munson, Rivals)
• Trevell Mullen (CB, Florida, 4-star, No. 171 nationally / David Lake, 247Sports)
• Shawn Miller (WR, Florida, 3-star, No. 478 nationally / Chris Anderson, 247Sports)
• Richard Thomas – commit (DL, Florida, 3-star, No. 400 nationally / Andrew Ivins, 247Sports)
• Mekhi Mason (LB, Florida, 3-star, No. 959 nationally / Mike McAllister, SI)
• DJ Moore (OL, Indiana, 3-star, No. 407 nationally / via DJ Moore on Twitter)
• Tyler Gibson (OT, Georgia, 3-star, No. 460 nationally / Adam Friedman, Rivals)
• Ryan Miller (TE, Ohio, 3-star, No. 582 nationally / 247Sports timeline)
• Omar Cooper (WR, Indiana, 4-star, No. 215 nationally / Josh Helmholdt. Rivals)
• Gabe Burkle (TE, Iowa, 3-star, No. 1125 nationally / Michael Swain, 247Sports)
• Matt Fries (OT, New Jersey, 3-star, No. 1072 nationally / 247Sports timeline)
• Mani Powell (LB, Ohio, 3-star, not ranked / Danny West, 247Sports)

June 21

• Landen Livingston (OT, Indiana, 3-star, No. 728 nationally / 247Sports timeline)

June 25

• Jaylen Lewis (CB, Tennessee, 3-star, No. 531 nationally / via Jaylen Lewis on Twitter)
• Joe Strickland (DL, Indiana, 4-star, No. 223 nationally / via Joe Strickland on Twitter)
• Kaiden Turner – commit (LB, Arkansas, 3-star, No. 1005 nationally / via Kaiden Turner on Twitter)
• Greg Gaines (WR, Florida, 4-star, No. 339 nationally / via Greg Gaines on Twitter)
• Anthony Brown (DB, Tennessee, 3-star, No. 477 nationally / via 247Sports timeline)
• Kyree Moyston (DL, Virginia, 3-star, No. 810 nationally / via 247Sports timeline)
• Tray Brown (LB, Florida, 3-star, No. 819 nationally  / via Rivals profile page)
• Cam Robertson (DE, Texas, 3-star, No. 1071 nationally / via 247Sports timeline)
• James Jointer (RB, Arkansas, 3-star, No. 670 nationally / Steve Wiltfong, 247Sports)

More possible June visitors

• Damari Alston (RB, Georgia, 4-star, No. 311 nationally / Adam Gorney, Rivals)
• Josh Hoover (QB, Texas, 3-star, No. 506 nationally / multiple reports)

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