2026 Indiana Football Position Preview: Defensive Tackle

As the Indiana Hoosiers romped to a historic 16-0 season and won the National Championship, they were anchored by a stout rush defense.

And now it's about to be even better.

Indiana's Defensive Tackle Room Is Built to Be a Strength

Teams were able to generate only 2.99 yards per carry against the Hoosiers and Bryant Haines’ defense racked up a remarkable 129 tackles for loss and 46 sacks.

The two starting defensive tackles from that elite unit are back to lead the way for the line in the 2026 campaign.

Landino and Tucker Form a Monster Interior Duo

Mario Landino and Tyrique Tucker are two of the best interior defensive linemen in the entire country. According to Pro Football Focus, each player had 30 pressures and was ranked in the 97th percentile nationally for defensive tackles.

For a spot that usually doesn’t result in a lot of quarterback pressures, having two players that regularly disrupt the opposition backfield through the middle of the line gives Indiana a major advantage each week.

Tyrique Tucker had six sacks during his All-American season, and Landino added five, and the pair combined for six batted balls plus 18 tackles for loss. Both players are All-Big Ten-level performers, and even just reproducing what they did in 2025 gives the Hoosiers an elite interior on the defensive line.

Discuss IU's defense and the upcoming season on Hoosier Huddle!

Veteran Addition Combines With Developing Youth For Depth

Pat Kuntz is one of the best position coaches in the Midwest, and he’s recruited this position well, but IU needed to hit the transfer portal to find a replacement for a pair of veterans who graduated.

Dominique Ratcliff played 288 snaps and Hosea Wheeler was on the field for 420 snaps. That means more than 700 snaps needed to be replaced. Neither player was a star, but they were both quality pieces. Enter Tulsa transfer Joe Hjelle.

Hjelle began his collegiate career as a junior college player and transferred up to Tulsa. Last season, he was ranked 24th in interior defensive linemen by Pro Football Focus.

He’s a massive human being, weighing in at nearly 310 pounds and primarily chewing up space as a defensive tackle and not a true nose tackle. Hjelle is good against the run, but does not offer much of a threat as a pass rusher.

Given how good the rest of IU’s defensive line is at penetrating and disrupting, that’s not a concern. It seems likely that Hjelle will be the third interior lineman while being a staple in short-yardage situations.

Joe Hjelle being the only portal addition on the interior of the line, was a bit of a surprise, and it speaks well to how the coaching staff feels about their young tackles.

Kyler Garcia played sparingly in 2025, and he has the exact tools Pat Kuntz looks for in defensive tackles. Redshirt freshman Jhrevious Hall looks like a future contributor at nose tackle, and he could see snaps this season.

A quartet of true freshmen enter the program and will fight for a spot on the two-deep: Blake Smythe, Cam McHaney, Rodney White and Gabe Hill. Smythe stood out during spring practice while Cam McHaney enters as the most celebrated recruit.

Daley's Addition Brings More Lineup Versatility

The late addition of fifth-year senior Stephen Daley gives the Hoosiers some increased flexibility and experienced depth on the defensive line. Daley is coming off a major injury suffered during IU’s College Football Playoff run, and the timeline for his availability is unknown, but the assumption is that he will be full-go for at least a large chunk of the season.

His arrival as a defensive end makes it likely Mario Landino will spend nearly all of his snaps at defensive tackle and not need to slide to the edge.

In addition, it gives the staff some leeway to move Kansas State transfer Chiddi Obiazor from defensive end to tackle. In short, there’s more depth, flexibility and versatility and the interior of Indiana’s defensive line could be even better than it was a season ago.

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