Indiana Football Week 12 Depth Chart, Injury Updates

Indiana football released its depth chart for a Week 12 road trip to Michigan State, and coach Tom Allen provided an update on a few injured players at Monday's press conference.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Coming off a 56-14 loss to No. 2 Ohio State, Indiana football coach Tom Allen held his weekly press conference on Monday.

He addressed numerous injuries throughout the roster, starting with wide receiver D.J. Matthews. Allen said Matthews tweaked his knee late last week, and he did not travel to Columbus, Ohio with the team. The injury occurred to the same knee in which Matthews tore his ACL against Western Kentucky during the 2021 season, but Allen said this is not a serious injury.

Allen did not specify whether this injury will keep Matthews out for Indiana's upcoming game against Michigan State, saying, "We are just monitoring that and see where that's at." 

Matthews previously suffered a hamstring injury against Cincinnati on Sept. 24, which sidelined him for Indiana's matchups with Nebraska and Michigan. He returned to action against Maryland, but has only caught six passes for 26 yards in three games since Oct. 15. 

Redshirt freshman Josh Sales was beginning to carve out a role on the offensive line, making his first career start against Rutgers. Sales started at right tackle for the second consecutive week against Penn State, but left the game with an undisclosed injury. He did not play against Ohio State, and Allen said they are hoping to get Sales back against Michigan State. After Matthew Bedford tore his ACL in Week 1 against Illinois, West Texas A&M transfer Parker Hanna started six games at right tackle, but split time with Sales. 

Miami (FL) linebacker transfer Bradley Jennings Jr. suffered a lower leg injury against Ohio State, and Allen said he is not sure about Jennings' status moving forward. Jennings has been a steady contributor for the Indiana defense all year, but his role especially increased when Cam Jones suffered a foot injury on Oct. 1 at Nebraska. Jennings posted a career-high 13 tackles against Michigan and 11 against Rutgers. 

Jones hasn't played since the Nebraska game, but Allen said he is continuing to battle to come back and there has been a daily evaluation of is healthy. Last week, Allen said he's had conversations with Jones to weigh the decision of whether or not he will play this season, and that conversation will continue for the rest of the year. Jones is in his fifth and final year of his college eligibility and aspires to play in the NFL.

"Definitely love to have [Jones] back," Allen said. "But want to make sure it's in his best interests, as well."

The full Week 12 Indiana depth chart is posted below, and here are a few important notes. 

True freshman Carter Smith is listed as the third-string right tackle after making his first career appearance against Ohio State. Hanna started the game at right tackle, but Allen said he expected Smith to play after bringing him up from the scout team to practice with the first and second team last week.  

"Thought he did some good things," Allen said on Saturday. That's a tough position to play, especially against the defensive line that Ohio State has, and so I'm really excited about Carter's potential, his upside."

Connor Bazelak is listed as the starting quarterback with Dexter Williams II as the backup, but it wouldn't be surprising to see Williams start against Michigan State. On Monday, Allen said he will not name a starter and will keep evaluating the position this week. Allen benched Bazelak after a trio of three-and-out possessions to start the game at Ohio State, and Williams played the remaining three-plus quarters. 

After the game, when asked if Williams showed enough to remain the starter, or if the competition will continue, Allen said, "“We will evaluate that as a staff, but I liked what I saw from Dexter today.”

Indiana football Week 12 depth chart:

OFFENSE

LT

70 Luke Haggard 6-7 305 Sr.+

77 Joshua Sales Jr. 6-6 311 Fr.-R

LG

50 Zach Carpenter 6-5 305 Jr.-R

53 Vinny Fiacable 6-4 308 Fr.-R

C

56 Mike Katic 6-4 310 Jr.-R

62 Cameron Knight 6-3 295 So.-R

55 Caleb Murphy 6-4 295 So.-R

RG

67 Kahlil Benson 6-6 313 So.-R

73 Tim Weaver 6-6 313 Jr.-R

RT

77 Joshua Sales Jr. 6-6 311 Fr.-R

51 Parker Hanna 6-5 302 Sr.+

65 Carter Smith 6-5 293 Fr.

WR

10 Andison Coby 6-2 175 Jr.

1 Donaven McCulley 6-5 210 So.

WR

7 D.J. Matthews Jr. 5-11 160 Gr.+

18 Javon Swinton 6-2 190 Jr.

TE

88 AJ Barner 6-6 252 Jr.

48 James Bomba 6-6 251 Fr.-R

--or--

84 Aaron Steinfeldt 6-5 246 Fr.-R

WR

0 Emery Simmons 6-1 186 Sr.

19 Malachi Holt-Bennett 6-3 188 So.

QB

9 Connor Bazelak 6-3 224 Jr.-R

5 Dexter Williams II 6-1 200 So.-R

RB

2 Shaun Shivers 5-7 186 Sr.+

26 Josh Henderson 5-11 215 Sr.

12 Jaylin Lucas 5-9 185 Fr.

DEFENSE

DE

6 James Head Jr. 6-5 257 Sr.+

41 Beau Robbins 6-5 272 Jr.-R

10 Myles Jackson 6-2 255 So.-R

DT

94 Demarcus Elliott 6-3 315 Sr.+

47 JH Tevis 6-4 283 Sr.-R

91 LeDarrius Cox 6-4 320 Jr.-R

DT

50 Sio Nofoagatoto’a 6-3 315 Sr.

51 Patrick Lucas Jr. 6-3 322 Jr.-R

BULL

92 Alfred Bryant 6-2 250 Sr.-R+

0 Dasan McCullough 6-5 230 Fr.

LB

44 Aaron Casey 6-2 225 Sr.-R

14 Kaiden Turner 6-2 223 Fr.

4 Cam Jones 6-3 228 Sr.+

LB

5 Bradley Jennings Jr. 6-1 221 Sr.-R+

43 Matt Hohlt 6-2 222 Fr.-R

HUSKY

21 Noah Pierre 5-11 176 Sr.-R

16 Jordan Grier 6-0 199 So.

CB

23 Jaylin Williams 6-0 185 Sr.+

7 Christopher Keys 6-0 183 So.-R

S

1 Devon Matthews 6-2 206 Sr.+

19 Josh Sanguinetti 6-1 190 Jr.-R

--or--

24 Bryson Bonds 6-1 207 Jr.

S

31 Bryant Fitzgerald 6-0 206 Sr.-R+

17 Jonathan Haynes 5-11 202 Gr.+

15 Phillip Dunnam 6-1 180 Fr.

CB

3 Tiawan Mullen 5-10 181 Sr.

9 Brylan Lanier 6-1 176 Fr.-R

SPECIAL TEAMS

PK

93 Charles Campbell 5-9 170 Sr.-R

80 Chris Freeman 6-2 192 So.-R

KO

80 Chris Freeman 6-2 192 So.-R

93 Charles Campbell 5-9 170 Sr.-R

P

94 James Evans 6-1 218 So.

96 Alejandro Quintero 6-1 195 So.

LS

95 Sean Wracher 6-4 207 Sr.

97 Jake Wellmann 6-1 216 So.-R

H

94 James Evans 6-1 218 So.

96 Alejandro Quintero 6-1 195 So.

KR

12 Jaylin Lucas 5-9 185 Fr.

10 Andison Coby 6-2 175 Jr.

PR

7 D.J. Matthews Jr. 5-11 160 Gr.+

80 Connor Delp 5-10 170 Fr.-R

Related stories on Indiana football:

• THE CASE FOR STARTING DEXTER WILLIAMS: Dexter Williams II has a long way to go to become a polished passer, but he has a skillset no other Indiana quarterback provides. Indiana should use the final two games to develop him. CLICK HERE
• INDIANA-OHIO STATE GAME STORY: The Indiana defense had couldn't stop CJ Stroud and the explosive Ohio State offense, allowing 662 total yards in a 56-14 loss on Saturday at Ohio Stadium. CLICK HERE
• DEXTER WILLIAMS REACTS TO LOSS AT OHIO STATE: Indiana sophomore quarterback Dexter Williams II took over for Connor Bazelak in the Hoosiers' 56-14 loss to Ohio State on Saturday. Read Williams' full postgame interview transcript, or just watch the attached video. CLICK HERE
• WHAT TOM ALLEN SAID: Indiana head coach Tom Allen addresses the media following the Hoosiers' 56-14 loss to Ohio State in Columbus. Read his full transcript, or just watch the attached video of the full press conference. CLICK HERE