Last week when it was announced that Indiana cornerback Jamier Johnson was no longer with the team, there didn't seem to be many that were surprised about the information. Johnson officially entered the transfer portal this week, which was expected after the earlier information came to light.
Johnson started the first 11 games for the Hoosiers, but in the final weeks of the season, Johnson wasn't seen on the field quite as much. against Purdue, Johnson was no where to be found for undisclosed reasons, but he still got the start against Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff, but only played 14 snaps in the first half.
While there has been very little information around the reason Johnson entered the portal, head coach Curt Cignetti gave a roundabout answer in his Wednesday press conference before spring practices that sheds a little bit of light on the situation pertaining to the cornerback room.
"We added some pieces in the portal, which probably expedited an exit or two," Cignetti said during his press conference. "We didn't lose, you know, anyone that we were projecting to start in the fall, let me just put it that way."
Based on Cignetti's comments it sounds like Johnson wasn't looking like he was going to be a starter in the 2025 season, so he chose to take his talent elsewhere. This is something that is becoming more and more common in this era of college football and the transfer portal, if players aren't starting or getting ample playing time, they just leave and go somewhere else.
Indiana lost now three cornerbacks in the transfer portal and in the first window brought in two players. The Hoosiers lost Johnson, JoJo Johnson, and Jaz Boykin to the portal, but as Cignetti said, they didn't lose anyone that would have been a starter in the fall. Cignetti brought in Ryland Gandy from Pitt and Ameriyun Knighten from Northern Illinois, which were huge pickups for the team.
The Hoosiers retained quite a few players in the cornerback room and should be fairly strong at that position, but as with every position, nothing is ever given on Cignetti's team, it must be earned.