At # 5, Kamara, a former FCS recruit, 2021 signee (redshirted) at JMU. 2 standout seasons, All Sunbelt in 2023 before being past of the 2024 mass exodus to Indiana with Cignetti.
At #9, O’Neil was a 2 year standout at LIU (2023 FCS All American & Buck Buchanon award finalist). 2024 1st team All Sunbelt at JMU.2024 stats: 47 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, 2 forced fumbles
Kamara was one of Indiana's 27 transfers last season, joining Curt Cignetti in Bloomington after leaving James Madison. His 47 total tackles, 15 tackles for loss and 10 sacks had him tabbed as a semifinalist for the Bednarik Award.
He became the first Indiana defensive lineman since Greg Middleton in 2007 to earn All-American status, and earned first-team All-Big Ten honors. He has improved in every season he has played, and the expectation is for that to continue in 2025.
2024 stats (with James Madison): 52 tackles, 18.5 tackles for loss, 13 sacks.
O'Neill is a success story for the 2020s, having worked his way up from his hometown of Staten Island to the Big Ten. He'll get a chance to prove himself as one of college football's best pass rushers in 2025. The 6-3, 255-pounder began his career at Long Island University, producing 44.5 tackles for loss and 15.5 sacks in two seasons with the Sharks before transferring to James Madison and becoming an immediate star in the Sun Belt Conference.
At JMU, he ranked fourth nationally with 13 sacks among 18.5 tackles for loss, and he produced an elite pressure rate of 15.1%. He could finish his career with more than 75 TFLs, an incredibly rare feat. Between O'Neill and Ohio's Bradley Weaver, Rutgers landed two of the Group of 5's best defensive ends this offseason and should be rewarded with one of the Big Ten's more fearsome pass rushes.[/quote]
https://www.espn.com/college-football/s ... tball-2025






