Dream Complete -- Kamara Puts the ‘Special’ in Special Teams Buy-In
Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
MIAMI - Cigar smoke hung heavy in Indiana’s celebratory locker room. Players sang and danced in a national championship moment at Hard Rock Stadium that will last the rest of their lives.
Indiana University National Champions. Repeat as often as you like.
A few hours later, at the JW Marriott in downtown Miami, head coach Curt Cignetti, linebacker Aiden Fisher, center Pat Coogan, quarterback Fernando Mendoza and defensive lineman Mikail Kamara gathered to reflect on the Hoosiers’ historic 16-0 season capped by Monday night’s 27-21 brawl of a victory over Miami.
“It was obviously a late night … I heard one of these guys hasn’t been to bed yet,” Cignetti said with a smile while looking at the players beside him. “It was a great day. Every day brings new things that need to be done and new challenges.
“I’m proud of these guys. I’m proud of their leadership. I’m thankful for the leadership that they provided this year, in their last year, and just the way they conducted themselves throughout their careers. Pat, who was with us one year (after transferring from Notre Dame), who was such a tremendous add and leader.”
Pride included the special teams excellence, under the direction of special teams coordinator Grant Cain, that helped make the Miami victory possible. That was highlighted by Kamara’s blocked punt, recovered by linebacker Isaiah Jones in the end zone for a touchdown, that helped restore Hoosier momentum during a strong Hurricanes third quarter.
“Mikail's play certainly was huge,” Cignetti said. “We didn't have a punt block called, we had a return called, but he saw it, felt it and gave it great effort and turned it into a touchdown.”
With Miami punter Dylan Joyce slow to get off his punts, Kamara saw opportunity and seized it. Joyce had been extra slow to get off a third-quarter punt. When it happened again, Kamara was ready.
Boy, was he ready.
“We saw that (Joyce) was really taking his time,” defensive coordinator Bryant Haines said. “The second one, Mikail sized up, went up, and got it. That changed the game.”
Kamara’s blocked punt was IU’s eighth over the last two seasons and the first ever recovered for a touchdown in playoff history.
For Cignetti, everyone is available for special teams duty, and if you don’t buy in, move out.
“We put people on those teams, and sometimes it changes week to week depending on what the opponent's strengths are,” Cignetti said, “but we've got starters, backups, and some try-hard, walk-on type guys sometimes on teams.
“Everybody has to buy in on teams because a big special teams play can change the momentum of a game more so than offense or defense.
“If you don't buy in on special teams, then you're not going to be on this team because it's a play for our football team.”
Kamara, a redshirt senior who played his final college game Monday night, definitely bought in.
“Coach Cain and Coach Cig made it so you really care about playing special teams,” he said. “Special teams is all about effort; it's all about grit; and it's about do you want to get it done or not.
“Special teams is a huge, huge, backbone in winning games. You can have the best offense and the best defense, but if you have a poor special teams, you're not going to win.”
No player wants to win more than Kamara, who started at James Madison and joined the Hoosiers when Cignetti got the IU job. He said he was in special teams meetings every day watching technique, “so when I went out there, it wasn't something that I've never practiced before. I did stuff that I've been taught day in and day out, so it all came natural.”
For the season, Kamara totaled just two sacks and seven tackles for loss, far below what he expected after totaling 10 sacks and 15 tackles for loss the previous season, but don’t let that fool you. Kamara led the Big Ten in quarterback pressures and was a season-long force for a dominant unit.
Against Miami, Kamara dropped into coverage multiple times when he wasn’t prowling the line of scrimmage. He was national title game defensive MVP after totaling four tackles, one sack and the blocked punt to culminate an outstanding college career.
“Mikail didn’t have the year he wanted statistically,” Haines said, “but I still think he had a really good year. He dealt with injuries.
“He’s a fantastic player. He’s a competitor and part of what makes this defense so unique and special.”
The Hoosiers showed it on Miami’s final drive on college football’s biggest stage. They got the victory-clinching stop on cornerback Jamari Sharpe’s interception.
“This is a confident group,” Haines said. ‘They’ve been in big games before. They know what this moment is. They were ready and prepared.”
That the preparation ended with a national championship, Kamara said, reflected motivation that came from last season’s playoff loss at Notre Dame.
“To have the season that we had last year (11-2) and then have it end the way that it did,” he said, “it fueled a lot of the guys to come back and work even harder throughout the summer, work even harder throughout camp. Then really just take it to them throughout the entire season.
“It brought us a lot of confidence in knowing that we could compete at this level. We're 16-0, national champions, so there's nothing else you could have dreamt of.”