Indiana Defensive End Mikail Kamara Still Hungry As Ever

Mikail Kamara was one of several Indiana football players who placed a chip on their shoulder with something to prove in 2024. He is similarly motivated for 2025.

Indiana Hoosiers defensive lineman Mikail Kamara (6) sacks Northwestern Wildcats quarterback Jack Lausch (12) during the first half at Lanny and Sharon Martin Stadium. / David Banks-Imagn Images

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – One of the motivating factors for the 2024 Indiana football team was the big chip the Hoosiers had on their collective shoulders.

It started with head coach Curt Cignetti and his attitude toward success, and it flowed down to his players. With 13 transfers coming with Cignetti from James Madison, he had a bunch of players that were not only talented, but had something to prove.

None had played power conference football. Though James Madison had been very successful in its transition to FBS from FCS, no one really knew how those FCS players would do in the Big Ten.

Defensive end Mikail Kamara was vocal from the beginning that the new Hoosiers would adjust just fine.

And then he and his teammates backed it up with an 11-2 College Football Playoff season.

With a point proven that these Hoosiers can not only play but win at an elite level, will the hunger be the same for Indiana to prove it can compete at an even higher level? Kamara is not concerned about it.

“(The hunger) is the same. Actually it’s more, because now you have more eyes on you, right? So I've seen a lot of things talking about the sophomore slump, so that's something that I know I've taken pride on, something that's not going to happen,” Kamara said.

A very good argument could be made that Kamara was the most impactful defensive player for the Hoosiers in 2024. He led the team with 10 sacks and had 15 tackles for loss overall. He had 47 tackles total, a solid haul for a defensive lineman, and led Indiana’s defensive linemen in tackles.

Kamara’s season would have made him a fascinating prospect for the NFL Draft, but the 27-17 loss to Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff left a bitter taste for Kamara that leaving the team wouldn’t wash away.

“It was pretty quick, especially after we lost to Notre Dame. We were really close. And I was like, I kind of got that taste of almost getting to the championship,” Kamara said.

“I feel like the experience that a lot of these guys have, especially with my top two guys, Fish (linebacker Aiden Fisher) and Ponds (cornerback D’Angelo Ponds), coming back, right?” Kamara continued. “We kind of talked about it a little bit, and I was like we can come back and really make a good run. So it's really just about coming back to try and bring the championship here to Bloomington.”

Indiana's Mikail Kamara (6) celebrates a sack during the Indiana versus Western Illinois football game at Memorial Stadium on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

Kamara will be making a position switch. He’ll move across to the other side of the line to play the stud position. It’s a pass rushing role which takes advantage of Kamara’s proven talent, but he plays from a standing position and can pursue ball carriers or drop into coverage a bit easier.

Switching positions will have no impact on Kamara’s preparation for the 2025 season.

“Nothing has really changed. I kind of still attack (spring football) just like I'm a freshman, like I was a sophomore. I really love playing the game of football, so I kind of go out there and go make plays and try to make sure I'm not picking up any bad habits,” Kamara said.

Kamara won’t let standards slide for the Hoosiers. He doesn’t worry too much about that given that work ethic on the team is high. Hunger and success have generated their own sense of responsibility on this roster to keep the good things happening. Kamara also noted that the “dog” mentality he and his teammates have can take Indiana far.

“When you have a whole group of dogs, you don’t really say too much, right? You just go out there and play,” Kamara said. “So I think everyone that's a part of this program knows what they need to get done and how to get it done. So it's really not much talking we have to do.”

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