Kellan Wyatt brings versatility in return to Indiana football, once he gets healthy

BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti welcomed linebacker Kellan Wyatt back to the roster on Monda with a similar line to the one he used last week talking about Stephen Daley. 

Wyatt returned to Bloomington in near-identical circumstances as his teammate. 

They both gained an extra year of eligibility through a court decision that expanded the NCAA’s “five-for five” rule to include players who exhausted their eligibility last season despite fitting the criteria for an additional season. 

“It makes us a better football team,” Cignetti said, echoing the answer he gave less than a week earlier.

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Like Daley, Wyatt also missed out on IU’s playoff run. The Maryland transfer suffered a knee injury in a 38-13 win over Michigan State at midseason. In seven games, Wyatt had 27 tackles (12 solo) with eight for a loss, 2.5 sacks and seven quarterback pressures.

“Kellen and Wyatt were playing really good football when they got hurt,” Cignetti said. “It gives those guys an opportunity to finish what they started.”

Wyatt’s initial focus will be getting back to full health.

He’s a little behind Daley, who could be cleared to resume 11 on 11 reps as soon as next week. Cignetti said the Hoosiers would be patient with both defenders — “we’re not rushing either” — to ensure they didn’t deal with any setbacks. 

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Cignetti is going to leave it up to IU defensive coordinator Bryant Haines to determine the best use for Wyatt. While he could easily step back into his role on the defensive line, there’s a possibility he could return to the position he played for the Terps. 

“I let Bryant handle the defense because I got a pretty good idea of what he's thinking,” Cignetti said with a smile. “Wyatt could possibly have some linebacker versatility in our trio package (4-3 sets) which we play against 12 personnel.”

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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Kellan Wyatt brings versatility in return to Indiana football, once he gets healthy