Indiana’s secondary is in the middle of a reset, and sophomore safety Byron Baldwin Jr. is suddenly looking like one of the names to watch.
The Hoosiers have to replace five starters from last season’s national championship defense, including both starting safeties, Louis Moore and Devan Boykin. That leaves plenty of room for new faces, even with All-Big Ten senior Amare Ferrell back to steady the unit. Among the players drawing the most attention is Baldwin, who CBS Sports has listed among “college football's biggest fall camp risers.”
CBS Sports’ Brad Crawford pointed to Baldwin’s potential as a difference-maker in a defense that will be tested every week in the Big Ten.
“Labeled as a "glider" when it comes to running with fluidity and making plays in the secondary, this sophomore's breakout is coming,” wrote CBS Sports' Brad Crawford. “Baldwin has an opportunity to become one of Indiana's most important defenders this season as the Hoosiers reshape a secondary expected to face weekly stress from others in the Big Ten. His range, physicality and instincts give Curt Cignetti's defense a potential difference-maker on the back end.”
Baldwin’s path to this point has already included a few bumps. The Baltimore, Md. native missed the first seven games of the 2025 season after suffering an injury in fall camp, though IU safeties coach Ola Adams said last season that Baldwin was taking first-team reps before the injury hit. Once he got on the field, he played in eight games as a true freshman, mostly on special teams, and finished with 10 tackles and one fumble recovery.
Indiana brought him in with real expectations. Baldwin was a consensus four-star recruit in the 2025 class, the highest-ranked signee in IU’s freshman group. He was ranked No. 258 nationally, No. 20 among safeties and No. 6 in Maryland by the 247Sports Composite.
This offseason, though, he’s apparently turned heads. After productive spring and summer workouts, Baldwin looks positioned to take a bigger role, possibly as a starter. Cignetti said Monday that the key is keeping the level steady.
“He's got a lot of ability and played some as a freshman,” IU coach Curt Cignetti said Monday. “His thing is day-in and day-out consistency and having the discipline to be consistent. He will be as good as his discipline and consistency take him this year.”
Indiana’s projected secondary has Ferrell, Wisconsin transfer Preston Zachman and Baldwin at ROVER, the nickel safety spot. Baldwin was behind Boykin there last season, but he still found some late-season and postseason defensive snaps.
The Hoosiers still have more sorting to do at cornerback after All-American D’Angelo Ponds left for the NFL. Fifth-year Jamari Sharpe is expected to step back into a starting role, and IU still has to choose between returning redshirt senior Ryland Gandy and Penn State transfer senior A.J. Harris for the other corner spot.
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