Indiana Football: Hoosiers land best recruit ever as trend up continues

Indiana football has some serious momentum right now and just added Daeh McCullough to its 2023 recruiting class, the Hoosiers highest-ranked commitment. Ever. 

Indiana football isn’t known for its recruiting prowess. Heck, the Hoosiers aren’t really known for winning games, at least until they finished second in the Big Ten East this past season.

Their only loss in the regular season was to Ohio State and although another followed in the Outback Bowl to Ole Miss, the 6-2 campaign felt like the start of something or more like the continuation of something bigger following an 8-5 season in 2019.

Make no mistake, Tom Allen and the Indiana football team are becoming a team to reckon with in the Big Ten and that’s not going to change if the Hoosiers keep landing recruits like the one they got over the weekend in Daeh McCullough.

McCullough is a 6-foot-2, 195-pound safety in the class of 2023 and it’s safe to call him an elite prospect at No. 78 overall in 2023, as well as the No. 6 player at his position.

Of course, the Hoosiers do have a strong connection in the fact that his dad is the associate head coach, but still, according to what McCullough told 247 sports, that wasn’t a factor in his decision.

"“They’re competitors and we win. The way Tom Allen came in and change the program, everyone knows he’s a great coach. He loves all his players and you can tell he loves all his players and gets the most out of them.”"

And since McCullough’s brother Dashan, a linebacker in the class of 2022, is committed to Ohio State, keeping Daeh in Bloomington (his hometown) was far from a guarantee.

What this commitment means for Indiana football

It’s one of the biggest commitments in the history of the program and according to the 247 sports composite rankings, McCullough is the highest-rated prospect to ever pledge to Indiana.

And while he’s listed as a safety, McCullough has plenty of experience at cornerback, which makes him the ideal defensive back in today’s game. He can do it all.

The commitment of McCullough to Indiana football is the second in the class of 2023 as Denzel Moore, a three-star defensive end out of Georgia committed as well. He’s 34th in the Peach State according to the 247 sports 2023 rankings and 23rd weak-side defensive ends.

Indiana only has one commitment in 2022, something the Hoosiers will surely be hoping to change soon and if Tom Allen can consistently start getting four-star recruits, then watch out.

He was already winning with a program that hasn’t had a single top-25 recruiting class ever and only three in the top 50 in the past decade.

But if McCullough is a sign of things to come, then Indiana football is going to have some serious staying power.