Indiana Football Starting DB Inks Contract to Return in 2026

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana football will get back a key piece to its defensive puzzle in 2026.

Starting safety Amare Ferrell has re-signed to the program and will return next season, his agent, Sam Leaf Ireife, told ESPN on Monday afternoon. Ferrell has one season of eligibility remaining.

One of the holdovers from former coach Tom Allen's last team in 2023, Ferrell stayed with the Hoosiers through the transition to Curt Cignetti and has blossomed into a standout piece in the secondary.

Ferrell has played in 40 games through his first three seasons in Bloomington, earning 27 starts.

He's collected 106 tackles, seven tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and eight interceptions. Ferrell has started all but one of Indiana's games under Cignetti, the lone exception coming in the Hoosiers' Peach Bowl win over Oregon on Jan. 9 after missing the first play due to an injury and immediately returning to the lineup.

The Lake City, Fla., native has enjoyed a strong 2025 season, registering 47 tackles, two tackles for loss, four interceptions and six pass breakups in 15 games. Ferrell earned second-team All-Big Ten honors from the conference's media and was an honorable mention by the league's coaches.

Indiana coach Curt Cignetti touted Ferrell's intelligence and versatility earlier this season. The Hoosiers deployed Ferrell as their rover, or third safety, to begin the 2024 season before moving him back to strong safety in 2025.

"He's a really good football player that I think the sky's the limit, and he'll get out what he puts in," Cignetti said in September. "He could be an outstanding football player. I've seen him really mature and grow up."

Ferrell projects as a starter in an Indiana secondary poised for turnover next season. The Hoosiers will lose starting safety Louis Moore and rover Devan Boykin to graduation, while All-American cornerback D'Angelo Ponds has an NFL Draft decision to make.

Aside from Ferrell, the lone starter in Indiana's secondary who's confidently expected to return is redshirt junior corner Jamari Sharpe.

The Hoosiers have added to their back-end in the transfer portal, landing Wisconsin safety Preston Zachman, Cincinnati safety Jiquan Sanks and Montana State cornerback Carson Williams, an FCS Freshman All-American on the national championship-winning Bobcats.

Indiana lost depth pieces in redshirt freshmen defensive backs Dontrae Henderson and Jah-Jah Boyd, each of whom entered the transfer portal.

But with Ferrell back in the fold and an experienced transfer class poised to arrive, Indiana's secondary appears in strong hands entering 2026.