Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Let’s start with the interceptions. Safety Amare Ferrell has three of them in the last two games, a tremendous feat at any time, especially significant given they came against traditional powerhouses Ohio State and Michigan.
That’s almost half of Indiana’s team season total of seven, two more than any other Hoosier. It gives him 11 for his four-year IU career, making him one of the most prolific pass disrupters in program history. Only Tim Wilbur (19) and Tracy Porter (16) have more.
What’s his secret?
“I want to give all the praise to (defensive coordinator Bryant Haynes) for putting me in that position to make those plays,” Ferrell says from the Don Croftcheck Team Room at Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium.
“He always talks about whenever that play comes to you, you’ve got to be the one that makes it. Nobody else can make that play for you. So, when I get an opportunity to make a play, I'm going to make sure I make it.”
Through it all, Ferrell seeks an edge that could be crucial on Saturday when No. 4/4 Indiana (7-1 overall, 4-1 in the Big Ten) hosts Minnesota (5-2, 3-1) at Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium.
“I’m reading the quarterback’s eyes,” Ferrell says. “I’m also reading formations and any tips that my coaches talked to me about throughout the week. Then it’s going out there, trusting my instincts and just playing fast.”
Add 42 tackles and three pass breakups and Ferrell is a major force on a defense that, once again under Haynes, rates among the nation’s best. It leads the Big Ten in points allowed (12.0), rushing yards allowed (73.1), and sacks (28).
“We’re going to fly around and hit you for 60 minutes,” Ferrell says. “We’re not going to let up at all. It’s fast, physical, relentless every play.”
After that, he adds, “The first thing is do your job. Other than that, we want all 11 hats to the football against the run, pass, whatever. Whenever you run to the ball, good things happen when you get to the ball. That’s what we try to do.”
Getting cornerback A.J. Harris back helps. The Penn State transfer was injured in the season opener against North Texas and missed the next four games. He’s totaled 15 tackles and two pass breakups.
“He’s a veteran guy,” Ferrell says. “He’s very physical. He’s a great tackler, a great cover guy. He’s a guy we need in that boundary. We have full confidence in him to do his job and play fast.”
Ferrell provides key secondary leadership, which is what you’d expect from a guy who has played in 49 college games.
“I try doing everything the right way, the way that Coach Cig wants it done,” he says. “For the younger guys, it’s giving them not just someone to look up, not just being somebody that's a talker, it’s being somebody that lives it every day.
“It’s the same for the transfers. I want to be somebody they can look up to and see that I'm doing it right every single time.”
That doesn’t mean they can’t have fun along the way. A social media trend -- called the Purple Wave as part of the “Drench Gang” movement -- has surfaced online to show support for IU’s secondary. Thousands of fans have switched their profile pictures to purple and use purple splat emojis.
Why?
Ferrell says the secondary came up with the “drench gang” nickname last year but took it to a “new level” this year.
“As a DB,” he says, “when everything is basically covered, instead of saying that, we say everything is drenched. That’s what it means.”
Ferrell says that he came up with the idea, but that safety Byron Baldwin Jr. has made it more popular.
As for why it’s purple instead of IU’s traditional Cream & Crimson, Ferrell adds, “That’s just an emoji we just chose to use it for.”
Playing four years of college football, three under Haines and head coach Curt Cignetti, has Ferrell appreciating how far the program has come, which includes last season's national championship.
“It means a lot. Definitely from where we came from and seeing the program transition to where it is now. It means a lot to the fans and me, as well.”
Saturday’s game has drawn ESPN’s College GameDay, which has set up its outdoor studio by Showalter Fountain and includes a goal post and an area for a contestant to kick a field goal and win hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars as part of the show’s Kicking Is Easy contest hosted by Pat McAfee.
There are also all the festivities surrounding Homecoming.
It won’t be a distraction, Ferrell says.
“It will just be go 1-0. Go in there, win the game, beat Minnesota. It’s about correcting all the mistakes we made from last week. Get ready for Minnesota. That’s all we can do.”