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Tyrique Tucker emerging as key piece on Indiana's retooled defensive front

Browning Headshotby: Zach Browning08/05/25ZachBrowning17
Tyrique Tucker
Indiana's Tyrique Tucker (95) celebrates in front of the student section after the Indiana versus Washington football game at Memorial Stadium on Oct. 26, 2024. Photo Credit: Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Indiana’s defensive line is undergoing a changing of the guard.

With veteran anchors James Carpenter and CJ West gone, the next man up might already be a familiar face — redshirt junior Tyrique Tucker.

Tucker appeared in all 13 games last season and logged 306 snaps, the third-most among Hoosier defensive linemen. His impact was clear.

According to Pro Football Focus, Tucker racked up three sacks and 21 quarterback pressures a season ago. Among Indiana defenders who played at least 100 snaps, he graded out as the sixth-best overall — ahead of several starters, including Carpenter, Aiden Fisher, Lanell Carr Jr. and Jamier Johnson.

Now, with a new season ahead and opportunity knocking, Tucker finds himself right in the middle of a pivotal rotation.

“He played a significant number of snaps last season and played well,” head coach Curt Cignetti said Monday. “He didn’t have the greatest spring, but he’s back to his old ways this fall camp, and we’re excited about him.”

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Cignetti confirmed Tucker is very much in the mix as Indiana reshuffles its interior defensive front.

“He’s competing for a starting position right now,” Cignetti said. “We’ve got four older guys inside, kind of rotating. You want to have depth there.”

Tucker, who came to Bloomington as one of 13 James Madison transfers following Cignetti’s move to Indiana, brings experience and a powerful skill set.

At 6-foot and 302 pounds, he leans on technique, leverage and a high-motor style of play.

“He’s been getting off the ball,” fellow defensive lineman Mikail Kamara said Tuesday. “He’s been doing his thing — playing with low pads and playing with violence.”

With the Hoosiers losing much of their production on the interior of the defensive line this offseason, the door is wide open for Tucker to step into a starring role.

“With someone of that size and that stature, he’s playing exactly how he needs to be,” Kamara said. “He needs to play low, play violent, play through his hands and he’s been hooping.”

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But Tucker isn’t just preparing to contribute — he’s preparing to lead.

“I learned how to be a leader. And lead by example to the best of my ability,” Tucker said back in the spring. “I feel like I worked hard to be in this position. [Carpenter] and CJ [West] set the standard. So I feel like I got a standard to uphold.”

That standard — built on toughness, violence at the line of scrimmage, and stout run defense — helped Indiana finish the 2024 season with the top run defense in the FBS. The group now leans on players like Tucker to carry that legacy forward.

He’s not the biggest name in the Big Ten. But Tucker has proven he’s a problem for opposing linemen — and with the right combination of production and leadership, he may just become Indiana’s next defensive difference-maker up front.

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