'Freak of Nature': Inside Mario Landino's Rise to Indiana Football, CFP Title Game

MIAMI — The story, Mario Landino promises, is quite funny.

On an elevator ride days before Indiana football began the greatest season in program history, the Hoosiers’ sophomore defensive tackle had a pressing question. He didn’t like Carter Smith’s answer.

“Alright, I need a celebration,” Landino said. “I don't know what to do. What do you think?”

“Oh, just do a baseball swing,” Smith, Indiana’s starting left tackle, responded.

“That might be the worst thing I've ever heard of,” said Landino, who played 9 years of baseball in his youth.

Nearly three weeks later, while Indiana held a 52–0 lead over Indiana State in the third quarter, the moment of truth arrived. Landino broke free from his blocker, found a clear runway and, within four steps, buried Indiana State quarterback Keegan Patterson into the Memorial Stadium turf.

Landino stood up, shrugged his shoulders and, much to the surprise of both he and Smith, took a powerful right-handed swing.

“All I could think about was (Smith's) face,” Landino told Indiana Hoosiers On SI, smiling. “I just got up, and I did it. And it was like, ‘Alright, well, I just got to keep it.’ He came up to me and he's like, ‘Oh my gosh, I can't believe you did it.’ I was like, ‘Me neither.’”

Indiana Hoosiers defensive tackle Mario Landino celebrates a sack Sept. 12, 2025, vs. Indiana State at Memorial Stadium. — Sep 12, 2025; Bloomington, Indiana, USA; Indiana Hoosiers defensive lineman Dominique Ratcliff (91) and Indiana Hoosiers defensive lineman Mario Landino (97) celebrate after a sack during the second half against the Indiana State Sycamores at Memorial Stadium. | Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

Landino has turned all of it into his on-field identity. The disruption. The sacks. The swing. The undeniable presence he’s added to Indiana’s defensive line in a breakthrough sophomore season.

Opting for the swing celebration may have been a surprise. But none of this — the five sacks, the six tackles for loss, the two fumble recoveries in a Peach Bowl victory over Oregon — qualifies as a shock to those who’ve seen Landino’s rise.

“Not one bit,” Emmaus High School coach Harold Fairclough told Indiana Hoosiers On SI. “Not at all.”

***

Landino, by all accounts, had no business playing in Emmaus High School’s early-season rivalry game against Whitehall. A senior who’d already committed to James Madison University, he had a 102-degree fever for two days and hadn’t felt well enough to eat or drink.

But after a brief text exchange with Fairclough and a dose of Ibuprofen, Landino strapped on his helmet and played the entire game at offensive tackle.

“I got to be a leader, so I got to play,” Landino said. “I couldn't play both ways because I was so tired. I was on the sideline, on my butt, tired. It was crazy.”

Fairclough said Landino’s teammates had to carry him off the field. He was in the midst of a season that earned him conference Defensive Player of the Year and first-team all-league honors, and his future had largely been decided.

But none of it mattered. As a senior and a team captain, he chose not to let his teammates down. Landino played above-average in a narrow loss, but his toughness and character from that mid-September night in Eastern Pennsylvania sticks with Fairclough two years later.

“It was cool to see his attitude about being in that situation,” Fairclough said. “Because he had everything locked up and he could have just easily said, ‘No, I'm going to sit out this game, going to stay home.’ And he was like, ‘If I can stand, I'm going to go play and give full effort.’”

Such moments of relentlessness embody Landino’s legacy at Emmaus. Fairclough and his assistant coaches still often cite Landino’s work ethic and practice habits — he never took days off, never skipped practice because he didn’t feel up for it.

Landino, who comes from a blue-collar family in a blue-collar town, reached the conclusion that if he wanted to reach the sport’s highest level, he needed to work harder than everyone else.

He said it, then he did it.

He was often the first player in the gym. He always stayed late to work out on his own after team lifting sessions in the weight room. And he made the Green Hornet’s practice field his personal playground each day.

“In practice, my goodness,” Fairclough said. “It's not often you get a kid that’s a Division I prospect that has such a high motor, such a high work ethic, in practice. I remember him coming off the ball, turning the edge and had an opportunity to literally decapitate somebody.

“And he would get it fit and then pick the kid up, put him down — not like not in a ‘A-hole’ way, you know what I mean? But he practiced like he intended to play, which is awesome to see and it was like that every single day.”

Landino always had grand ambitions.

He first emerged onto Fairclough’s radar as a seventh grader, where his sheer size and habits impressed. By the end of his freshman year, as he grew into his body and proved potent at processing information and applying it onto the field, Landino received playing time on varsity. He started on both the offensive and defensive line his final three seasons.

Colleges picked up on him after he earned first-team all-conference honors on both sides of the ball as a junior at Emmaus, and some schools projected Landino, with his fleet-footed, big-bodied frame, as an interior offensive lineman.

Landino, however, preferred defense.

“It's a different mindset when you're playing,” Landino said. “Like, you're more attacking. Instead of always catching and protecting the ball, I'd rather go attack it and get the ball.”

Landino’s first true love in the recruitment process was Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights showed heavy interest, which Landino reciprocated, and their Piscataway, New Jersey, campus is less than two hours away from Landino’s hometown of Macungie, Pennsylvania.

The two sides set up a recruiting trip. But the weekend before Landino was scheduled to arrive, the Scarlet Knights hosted two other defensive linemen, and both committed on the spot. Rutgers had no space left for Landino.

Hurt but not discouraged, Landino explored his other options. He studied James Madison, which completed its first year as an FBS school the year prior, and became intrigued. He saw the Dukes’ success under coach Curt Cignetti, and he saw their defense flourishing under coordinator Bryant Haines.

Within a week of Landino’s misfortune at Rutgers, James Madison’s coaching staff scheduled a visit to see Landino and offered him immediately. Landino hit it off with defensive line coach Pat Kuntz, and their relationship blossomed.

Soon, Landino committed to the Dukes.

“I was like, ‘There's no doubt in my mind,’” Landino said. “This is the place I want to go.”

Then, Indiana became that place.

Cignetti — along with Haines and Kuntz — left James Madison for Indiana on Nov. 30, 2023. Landino decommitted from the Dukes on Dec. 4, visited Bloomington the following weekend and committed to the Hoosiers on Dec. 11. He signed his letter of intent Dec. 20.

Landino was one of six true freshmen early enrollees. Fairclough had little doubt he’d handle the transition well. He was a two-time team captain and too smart, too hard-working to fail.

“He was like a full-tilt, high-motor type guy,” Fairclough said. “That's what separated him and also let us know wherever he was going to go, he was going to make it, because he was going to work his butt off and not be denied of any opportunity. So, those are the type of guys that force you to get them on the field no matter what.

“Like, he's an ass-kicker.”

***

Landino needed the 2024 spring semester to acclimate. He recognized Bloomington as a basketball-crazed town that didn’t believe in football, and he had to adjust to life at the bottom of a roster’s totem pole.

But in the fall, when pads came on and whistles blew, everything normalized. Indiana started winning, fans started believing and confidence started rising. Landino, meanwhile, worked his way into rare air as a freshman receiving snaps on a veteran-heavy team.

In the fourth quarter of the fourth game of his college career, a 52–14 win over Charlotte on Sept. 21, Landino earned his second tackle for loss and first forced fumble. Two days later, he received his first share of public flowers from Cignetti, who touted his size, athleticism and many of the same intangible traits Fairclough knew would shine through.

“Very coachable,” Cignetti said. “Learns quickly. Kind of a tenacious type of guy. Really enjoys the process. He's got a nice future.”

Landino played in 12 of 13 games as a true freshman, earning time on defense and special teams, and he was one of four first-year players who appeared in 12 or more contests.

There were, however, plenty of strides to take. Senior linebacker Aiden Fisher noted earlier this season Landino came in young and inexperienced, but also with “immaturity.”

Landino flipped a switch this offseason.

He played field defensive end in 2024 out of necessity — the Hoosiers were deeper on the interior than exterior — but also as a means to find early playing time while developing his body. The plan always centered around kicking him inside to defensive tackle.

The offseason after Indiana’s run to the College Football Playoff in 2024 proved difference-making. Landino added between 10 to 15 pounds, going from 274 pounds to the 285 or 290-pound bracket.

Indiana strength and conditioning coach Derek Owings devised a plan, and Landino followed a simple formula: Work out, gain weight. He took protein milkshakes, used collagen powder and allowed the process to play itself out.

Now, he’s reaping the rewards.

Landino has developed into a key cog on one of college football’s best defenses. He’s fifth on the team with five sacks and tied for eighth with six tackles for loss. He’s also been amongst the Hoosiers’ most disruptive pass rushers, ranking third in both quarterback pressures (30) and hurries (17).

Haines said earlier this season he planned to rely on Landino for extensive action on the interior defensive line. He’s played the fourth-most snaps among Indiana’s defensive linemen while blossoming right before the Hoosiers’ eyes. Now, the nation is catching up, too.

“We've always been very high on him,” Cignetti said. “I see him developing into the player we knew he could be, and he's got an unlimited ceiling moving forward.”

Fisher noted earlier this season Landino did “everything he could to be an elite D-tackle” over the summer. That includes leaning on sixth-year senior edge rusher Mikail Kamara, an All-American in 2024 and one of the sport’s most disruptive defenders.

Landino matured underneath Kamara’s wing and learned what football is all about. And for a player universally lauded for his work ethic, Landino marveled at the hours Kamara puts into his craft.

They’ve developed a close relationship. When Landino ran back to the Hoosiers' sideline after his Week 3 sack against Indiana State, he was accompanied by Kamara, who sprinted to catch up and lunged into a hug.

It was the start of Landino’s breakthrough — one which Kamara played an integral role in creating.

“Mikail's always showed me hard work,” Landino said. “I think he's one of the hardest workers in the country, and that's the biggest thing. He's always working harder than someone else. I’m just following that.”

Kamara tries to help any way he can. He answers all of Landino’s questions and provides input on his film — perhaps there’s a misstep here or faulty hand placement there.

But most importantly, Kamara wants to breathe confidence into Landino. Kamara sees the talent, the work ethic, the potential. He wants Landino to see it, too.

“Mario, he's huge. He's a freak of nature,” Kamara said. “It just comes down to your mentality. Whether it's being confident, whether you're being aggressive, whether you're shooting your shots; it's just his mentality, and I feel like that's where I definitely help a lot.”

Sep 12, 2025; Bloomington, Indiana, USA; Indiana Hoosiers defensive lineman Mikail Kamara (6) and Indiana Hoosiers defensive lineman Mario Landino (97) celebrate after a sack during the second half against the Indiana State Sycamores at Memorial Stadium. | Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

Landino’s stardom reached a new stage — literally — in the College Football Playoff semifinals.

Playing extensively at both defensive end and defensive tackle after standout edge rusher Stephen Daley suffered a season-ending knee injury after the Big Ten title game, Landino recovered two fumbles in the first half. His plays directly led to Indiana touchdowns that buried Oregon and clinched the Hoosiers’ first ever national championship game appearance.

Afterwards, eight Indiana players joined Cignetti on the celebratory stage. There were star seniors like Fisher and receiver Elijah Sarratt. There was Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza. There was a glass Peach Bowl trophy shaped like a football.

And there, holding the trophy with cream and crimson confetti falling down upon him, was Landino, savoring a moment he never thought he’d get — not even in his wildest dreams as a baseball player and two-way star in Macungie.

“That was one of the best feelings of this season,” Landino said. “When they called me up there, like, I almost had tears in my eyes. But I'm just happy I was able to get up there and be with my boys.”

Landino’s heaviest realization came when he glanced and saw sophomore edge rusher Daniel Ndukwe. They were freshman roommates, early enrollees just trying to find their way on a big campus. Ndukwe saw Landino endure two years of hard work, struggles and maturation, and vice versa.

On that stage in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the work culminated in a party worth relishing. Now, Landino and the Hoosiers eye another celebration, only this in the national title game Monday night vs. Miami in Miami Gardens.

Perhaps this one will include a baseball swing or another emotional call on stage. But no matter, it’ll comprise the journey of a blue-collar kid-turned-“ass-kicker” who never stopped working for the chance to hit a home run in college football's ultimate Game 7.