Indiana Football Starting OL Evans, DB Knighten 'Full Go' for Fall Camp

LAS VEGAS -- Indiana football head coach Curt Cignetti delivered positive injury updates on two Hoosiers during his breakout session press conference Tuesday at Big Ten Media Days in Las Vegas.

Cignetti said redshirt junior offensive guard Drew Evans, who suffered an Achilles injury in an early November practice last season and missed the remainder of the season, will be ready for fall camp, which begins July 30 in Bloomington.

"He's full go," Cignetti said. "He's cleared. We'll manage him somewhat early in camp, but I expect him to be out there."

The same sentiment holds for cornerback Amariyun Knighten, a transfer from Northern Illinois who sported a cast during the Hoosiers' spring game.

"Knighten will be back," Cignetti said, "ready to go."

Both Evans and Knighten will compete for starting spots during fall practice, though the path to playing time is clearer for Evans.

A nine-game starter at left guard last season, the 6-foot-4, 306-pound Evans is expected to pair with returning right guard starter Bray Lynch to give the Hoosiers a seasoned guard duo. Evans' biggest competition is Kahlil Benson, who played at Indiana from 2020-23 but spent 2024 at Colorado.

Benson has experience at right guard and right tackle. He played right guard for Colorado last season, but in his lone season with Indiana offensive line coach Bob Bostad in 2023, he played right tackle.

The Hoosiers return starting left tackle Carter Smith and added center Pat Coogan, a transfer from Notre Dame, this offseason. They also landed Ohio State transfer Zen Michalski, who will compete with Benson at right tackle this fall.

Cignetti said Indiana is keeping all options open with Benson, whose position in fall camp carries weight for Evans, Lynch and Michalski, but his experience at right tackle under Bostad may sway the Hoosiers' decision.

"You want to put the best five guys on the field," Cignetti said. "So, you've got a good competition over there with Zen and Benson and some of those guys. Benson's played both, but he's played more right tackle with Bob than anything. So, we'll let it play out in camp."

Indiana has a similarly interesting battle unfolding at cornerback, where it lacks a cemented starter opposite consensus first-team All-Big Ten honoree D'Angelo Ponds.

Cignetti said redshirt junior Jamari Sharpe is the projected starter, but Pittsburgh transfer Ryland Gandy and true freshman early enrollee Jaylen Bell are also in contention for the field corner spot. Knighten, meanwhile, has worked mostly as a boundary corner behind Ponds.

"We evaluate them daily," Cignetti said. "Do what gives us the best chance."

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