Indiana football’s secondary faces a tall task against Rutgers’ KJ Duff

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Literally. He’s 6’6”.

Jokes aside, Indiana football is set to face off against one of the most prolific wide receivers in the Big Ten, and therefore the country, when the Hoosiers take on Rutgers this Saturday evening.

Duff has pulled in 29 receptions for 550 yards and seven touchdowns through the first four games of the season, with his catches nearly doubling those of the Scarlet Knights’ second-leading receiver and his touchdowns equaling his total output in 2025. He’s led Rutgers in receiving in each of its four games on the season, only being held under 100 yards against USC.

His frame, standing at the aforementioned 6’6” while weighing in at 225 lbs, makes him an absolute nightmare of a cover out wide. No defensive back has that kind of size and most don’t have the strength with the exception of a few safeties.

If Rutgers gets into the red zone, he’s the obvious option. Just throw the ball up and trust him to go make a play, which worked against USC.

He’s a handful for any secondary to try and handle and Indiana’s is coming off of a less-than-stellar performance against Northwestern, when similarly-statured tight end Luke Dehnicke muscled his way to 140 yards on 7 receptions.

Indiana has performed well against top receivers before, but those teams had D’Angelo Ponds. This group is still decently new, at least to playing together as a unit, and Duff could be uniquely positioned to give it fits on Saturday.

Look for 6’1” Jamari Sharpe to match up with Duff on Saturday, likely with some help here and there from the linebacker corps on short routes and from safeties Byron Baldwin, Amare Ferrell and Preston Zachman over the top.

Keeping Duff from breaking the game wide open is going to be a group effort. Indiana’s secondary will need to rise to that challenge.

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