We talk a lot about the offensive prowess of Ohio State entering this season. It’s a department headlined by Julian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith, for starters. But the Buckeyes will also debut a new defense under Matt Patricia. And, we will see OSU’s star safety, Caleb Downs, hopefully going better than his established benchmarks from last year. “I thought Caleb Downs was among the best defenders, if not the best defender, in college football,” Joel Klatt said in his praise. However, a former Buckeye thinks Downs may not be the best defensive star in the conference.

Downs, as a freshman at Alabama, got down to business from the get-go. In 2023, he led the Crimson Tide in tackles, registering a whopping 107 of them, with only 3.5 TFLs. He took his gifts elsewhere when Nick Saban left Alabama and entered the portal as the No. 1 player of that cycle. Ohio State is excited for Downs’ 2 season as a Buckeye, already hoping for him to be in contention for the Thorpe Award, the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, the Bednarik Award, and the Lott IMPACT Trophy. When there is such high praise for him in the community, one of OSU’s own, however, downplayed him for another safety.

Former Buckeyes star LB Joshua Perry, declared a rising star from a team that made a surprise appearance in the playoffs last year, as a likely winner of the Big 10’s Defensive Player of the Year. He said in a July 10 episode of NBC’s Rushing The Field, “Mikail Kamara is a guy who I know a lot of people [are] really high on. He was [a] finalist for the Lott IMPACT Trophy, which is one of best defensive player in character and on the field. and he’s going to be one of the focal points of [Indiana’s] defense.”

Kamara was the first Indiana player to haul in sacks in double-digits in a single season since 2008. And, he led the FBS in quarterback pressures with 68. He will return with Bryant Haines for the second time, hoping to continue Indiana’s newfound glory in college football. “He’s going to be a centerpiece on that defensive line. I think he can make some noise,” Perry added. Last season, Kamara created a lot of it by being part of the defensive trio consisting of himself, Jalen Green, and Jamree Kromah, registering 36 total sacks from the defensive end position.

All eyes will be on Caleb Downs as he enters the season as one of the most elite defensive players in college football. In fact, the hype is so high around him that experts think he could be the groundbreaking safety that makes it in the 2026 draft as a first-round pick. In Bloomington, however, Kamara also some as some lofty goals in mind, which is seeing a new zeal after his run last season.

Mikail Kamara talks National Championship

Indiana shocked college football last season by making it to the playoffs for the first time in program history. The Hoosiers’ defense became a talking point in the community, especially with Kamara’s heroics. In BadgersWire’s ranking of Big 10 defenses, the Hoosiers were placed at No. 7, with Mikail Kamara being named one of the leaders of the team. He could have entered the draft this season. But after making history last season, Kamara is in the mood for more.

He said at a presser last Thursday, “We talked about it a little bit, and thought we could really make a good run to bring a championship here to Bloomington.” That’s a bold statement for a program that has only very recently tasted success that comes close to winning the shining title. On3’s Phil Steele ranked the Hoosiers as the 5th-best team in the conference ahead of the season. That’s with the hope of 2024 not being a one-hit wonder for the program. Curt Cignetti’s 2 season as Indiana HC will be the true test of his ceiling.

Mikail Kamara may not share the limelight as Caleb Downs does. But he did create quite the rumble in college football last season, enough for people to take note of his worth. Can Kamara pull off an upset of this stature, and steal the thunder of the best defender in the country this season?