Indiana Football: 3 early signees who will have instant impacts

2. Bryson Bonds (S, Texas)

Tom Allen has made it known his love for big hitting, physical safeties and Bryson Bonds is just that.

At 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds, Bonds has a knack for the ball. During his senior season, Bonds had 115 tackles, 11 pass breakups, forced a fumble and recovered two fumbles.

With his size and length, Bonds will be a player that Allen and the defense moves around to a few positions, with the intention of being the last line of defense, but also someone who can guard in the slot.

While the Indiana secondary is still relatively young, Khalil Bryant, who made 20 starts in 44 appearances throughout his IU career, will be graduating after this season and leaves room to be  desired at the safety position.

With that youth, comes mistakes, as Indiana fans saw plenty of in 2019. Because of that, Bonds has a chance to come in right away and earn playing time.

Bonds’ best attribute on the field is his ability to anticipate the play and read the quarterbacks eyes. Something Indiana struggled with all of last year, his ability to get a read on the ball will allow the rest of the defensive backfield to play a bit more stress free at times knowing they have a safety valve behind them.

Though Bonds may not start from day one, his skillset is too valuable to the Hoosiers to keep him off of the field, so look for him to make his way into the lineup much like Mullen did this season.