LOS ANGELES – Indiana linebacker Jeff Utzinger turned down scholarship offers from multiple MAC schools to join the Hoosiers as a preferred walk-on ahead of the 2022 season. As a central Indiana native whose mother and sister both spent their college years in Bloomington, the decision was a no-brainer.
Indiana was fresh off a pitiful 2-10 season when Utzinger committed, failing to capitalize on momentum from back-to-back bowl game appearances in 2019 and 2020. Despite the on-field struggles, then-head coach Tom Allen and his staff made it clear that they wanted Utzinger to join the program.
Utzinger sat behind the likes of Aaron Casey, Bradley Jennings Jr. and Jacob Mangum-Farrar as he adjusted to life in the Big Ten, twice earning scout team player of the week honors and redshirting his freshman season.
A redshirt freshman during the final year of Allen’s tenure, Utzinger remained patient but did not see the field as Indiana sleepwalked through the campaign, winning just one conference game. A large part of Indiana’s core hit the transfer portal after Allen was fired and replaced by Curt Cignetti in Nov. 2023. As a walk-on, that was not an option for Utzinger.
“It really didn’t cross my mind,” he said on Tuesday, in advance of Indiana’s appearance in the Rose Bowl on Thursday. “I wanted to stick it out. I heard a lot of great things about coach Cignetti and I was really excited to learn from him and this entire new coaching staff. It brought me excitement.”
Cignetti’s success prior to his move to Indiana was enticing to Utzinger. James Madison was consistently one of the nation’s best defenses under the tutelage of defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Bryant Haines, who trained eight FCS All-Americans over his five years in Harrisonburg.
Utzinger’s initial conversations with Indiana’s new coaching staff were simple, but effective. It was clear to him and to the fanbase alike: They were there to win.
The two-time Indiana Football Coaches Association All-State honoree appeared in every game of the 2024 season for the Hoosiers, spending the first year of the Cignetti era primarily on special teams. It was difficult to break into the rotation with James Madison transfers Aiden Fisher and Jailin Walker entrenched at the linebacker position, but Utzinger had three multi-tackle games in his first year of action with the Hoosiers.
Indiana’s 2024 season was duly headlined by new heights and growing pains. Difficult losses at No. 2 Ohio State and No. 7 Notre Dame signaled that the program was still a step below college football’s elite. Following the Hoosiers’ 27-17 College Football Playoff loss to the Fighting Irish, it was clear they had to retool.
Cignetti’s future plans included Utzinger. Indiana awarded him a scholarship prior to the 2025 season, and a bigger role followed. He has appeared in every game thus far, becoming a staple on the Hoosiers’ punt team and getting first-team defensive reps alongside fellow Allen recruit Kaiden Turner when the injury bug hit the Hoosiers’ linebacker room in the middle of the season.
Turner recorded his first collegiate interception at Maryland while Utzinger tackled Terps running back Nolan Ray for no gain in the first half of Indiana’s 55-10 win in College Park in November.
Buying into the Cignetti system and remaining committed to his craft has led Utzinger to new heights. Prior to his college career, he won two state championships at Cathedral High School in Indianapolis, claiming back-to-back Class 5A titles in 2020 and 2021 at Lucas Oil Stadium.
In December, he once again celebrated at the home of the Indianapolis Colts, this time as an undefeated Big Ten Champion and a contributor to the greatest turnaround in college football history, recording a tackle in No. 2 Indiana’s 13-10 win over No. 1 Ohio State that cemented its first outright Big Ten title in 80 years.
“It was really cool,” Utzinger said. “My third title game in there, making it 3-0. It was an unreal environment. The fans were amazing, and getting to be a part of that with my teammates was a memory I’ll never forget.”
It meant a little extra for Utzinger’s family, which is full of Hoosiers.
“They’ve been through the struggles that everyone else has,” Utzinger said. “To be here now and witness it firsthand, they’re thankful for it all. I’m thankful for them to be there and support me.”
Loyalty is fleeting in the modern college sports landscape. There are countless examples of players hopping from school to school with no personal attachment to the institution they represent on their jersey.
Utzinger is the opposite. In high school, he rejected scholarship offers to walk on at the university his mother and sister attended. After his redshirt freshman season, he trusted an entirely new coaching staff to lead the team he walked onto, despite that team winning just seven games and missing out on bowl eligibility at both times of asking.
Now, as a redshirt junior, he has earned a scholarship and established himself as a key special-teamer and rotational defender on the first 13-0 team in Indiana football history. A year after Indiana opened Big Ten play with a win over UCLA at the Rose Bowl Stadium, Utzinger and the Hoosiers are in The Grandaddy of Them All on New Year’s Day at 4 p.m. Eastern. There, they look to prevail over No. 9 Alabama and slay another giant in their quest for a national championship.
“I remember last year, thinking, ‘I hope we make it back (to Pasadena),’” Utzinger said. “Now, playing in the Rose Bowl, it’s amazing to be here and we’re excited to have an opportunity to advance.”
