2022 was a dreadful year for Indiana football and its defense. Indiana finished 120th out of 131 in points allowed on defense and, as a result, head coach Tom Allen put a heavy focus into rebuilding the team’s defense in the transfer portal.
Allen brought a lot of new faces into the Indiana football program, but defensive lineman Andre Carter was one of, if not the biggest addition Allen landed in the portal this offseason.
Carter is one of the biggest transfers, both literally and figuratively. At 6-foot-5 and 270-pounds, Andre Carter is one of the biggest guys on the team, but his role with the Hoosiers might be even bigger.
Carter played five seasons at Western Michigan (2018-22) and recorded 132 tackles, 12 sacks and two forced fumbles during his time with the Broncos.
In a short amount of time in Bloomington, Carter has made his presence felt on the Hoosiers’ defense, being named a captain despite being in his first year with the program.
“Andre [Carter] coming in here in January and earning the respect of his teammates by his work ethic and his performance during our practices in spring ball and all and the way he’s worked,” Allen said about Carter’s selection during fall camp.
Carter has been a force on the Indiana defensive line since he started with the team in the spring. Carter was named co-MVP of the defense during spring camp.
“I would say, as we recognize there, he (Andre Carter) was the MVP of the defense, he and Noah,” Allen said. “It was that way about every day. He is 270 pounds. He is the biggest, most physical one we’ve had here since I’ve been here. Very, very disruptive.”
In two games with the Hoosiers, Carter has been a disruptor on defense, recording four tackles for loss and one sack. He has been a catalyst for a defense that has only allowed 15 points per game, including a stand-out performance against Ohio State in week one.
Carter and the Indiana defense will have a difficult task this week when they take on a high-powered Louisville offense in Indianapolis at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Related: Early breakdown and initial thoughts on Louisville
Through two games in 2023, Louisville has averaged 47.5 points per game. A big part of their success has been the play of the offensive line. The Cardinals front five has only allowed one sack in the team’s first two games and they are averaging 7.3 yards per rush with seven rushing touchdowns. The offensive line presence has allowed for the Cardinals to utilize their skilled playmakers.
“They’ve got a really, really talented receiver corps, two really good running backs and a good quarterback that knows the system,” Allen said. “Obviously recruited him to Purdue. Plummer is a big athletic, quarterback with a big arm. And they love to stretch the field vertically, and they also stretch it horizontally.
“And they’re running the football a lot better in these first two games than maybe they have in the past places he’s been, which puts more pressure on your defense, without question.”
If Indiana is going to slow down the Louisville offense, Andre Carter and the defensive line are going to have to wreak havoc. The Hoosiers front seven has been very good thus far, totaling four sacks and allowing 3.4 yards per rush on the season.
“This is the best d-line I’ve ever been a part of, to be honest” Carter said early in fall camp. “Collectively, as from down to size and just the ability to play hard and be able to execute and have the discipline … [opponents] won’t just be able to key me, they’ll have to key everybody on this d-line because they’re playmakers.”
With Louisville’s dominant running attack against Indiana’s impressive run defense, something is going to have to break. This game could very well be decided in the trenches and whichever side can win that battle. If Indiana is going to stop this Louisville offense, they need Andre Carter and the d-line to step up and wreak havoc on the Louisville offense.
“It all starts up front,” IU co-defensive coordinator Matt Guerrieri said on Monday. “We challenged them early on and for the first two weeks, they’ve taken that challenge each week, though it has to continue to climb … I’m very pleased with the effort.”
“I think that I have high expectations for are our defense, and it all starts up front,” Allen added. ” I think he’s (Matt Guerrieri) doing a good job of taking the skill sets of the guys we’ve added to our team and trying to highlight those, and that’s what we’re going to continue to do. Obviously got a big, big test coming up this week. So feel good about where we are, but we’ve got a lot of work to do and he knows that. We’ve got to keep elevating our defense each week.”
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