How a freshman stepped up for Indiana starter injured minutes before win vs Minnesota

BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football’s latest impressive defensive performance came with one of its top playmakers not playing a single snap.

Rolijah Hardy, IU’s starting outside linebacker, unexpectedly missed the team’s 23-16 overtime win over Minnesota on Saturday after tweaking his back during pre-game warmups. Hardy briefly worked with trainers as his teammates went through drills, but he ended up getting held out of the lineup.

“That was like a shock,” IU coach Curt Cignetti said after the game. “Something popped in his back in pregame. They tried to take care of him, but didn’t work. That was like a 20-minute-before-kickoff adjustment we had to make.”

Hardy came into the game second on the team in tackles (58) and one of seven defenders with at least 10 quarterback pressures.

The No. 4 Hoosiers (8-1, 5-1 Big Ten) still managed to hold the Gophers to 215 yards of total offense and one touchdown. The defense had four sacks — one resulted in a fumble that gave IU short field — and posted double-digit tackles for loss (11) for a second straight game.

Indiana‘s defense closed out the win by stoning Minnesota inside the 10-yard line.

“We’re really good up front on defense,” Cignetti said. “Coach (Bryant) Haines does a good job. Out backers are good, our DBs. They’re definitely the strength of the team. There’s no doubt about that. I can’t say enough great things about them.”

The success wouldn’t have been possible without first-year Jacob Savage stepping into the lineup and shouldering a heavy workload. Savage played a career-high 60 snaps and had three tackles, all for stops that PFF considered failures for the offense.

He nearly came through with an interception near the end of the fourth quarter that would have allowed Indiana to win the game in regulation.

“I just want to say how incredibly proud of Jacob Savage I am.,” Indiana linebacker Isaiah Jones said. “We are on him all the time, because you know he can play. Whether it’s talking to him in the film, talking about the nuances of defense, we want him to be on the same level as Roe (Hardy) and I with what we’re doing. Because if that happens (an injury), he’s gotta step in and I thought he did a great job tonight.”

His ability to step into the game without missing a beat removed the stress most teams would have felt losing a starter moments before kickoff.

“He stepped in, he did his role, and that’s all you have to do on this defense,” Jones said. “You have to step in and do your role, and you’re gonna like the outcome.”

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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: How a freshman stepped up for Indiana starter injured minutes before win vs Minnesota