Why Louis Moore's Eligibility Waiver Matters for Indiana Football

Curt Cignetti hasn't held punches or masked his emotions toward Indiana football safeties Louis Moore, Amare Ferrell and Devan Boykin.

It's a talented trio, one that's flashed throughout the season, but it hasn't played well enough consistently. Too many mistakes, Cignetti says. Preparation and communication haven't been good enough. Eventually, teams will capitalize — the Hoosiers have allowed explosive plays but haven't yet been fractured.

The general gist? Cignetti, twice in the past three weeks, has challenged his safeties to play better, and he's not pleased with how they've performed.

But the Hoosiers don't have many options at their disposal on the back-end, and they nearly lost their primary.

On Wednesday, Moore won his month-and-a-half-long court case against the NCAA, receiving an injunction that grants him eligibility through the remainder of the season. He finished fall camp and played the first four games of the season on three separate, continuous temporary restraining orders.

If Moore lost his case, he'd be done. His college career would be complete. His season, just four games in, would be over.

And Indiana's secondary, already on shaky ground with Cignetti, would lose a critical component.

Moore leads the Hoosiers with 23 tackles, and he's tied for the team lead with two interceptions. He has a Pro Football Focus grade of 78.7, the highest of any Indiana defensive back and fifth-best mark on the team. He's first with an 82.9 coverage grade and has played 174 snaps, third-most on the team behind Ferrell and cornerback Jamari Sharpe.

Statistically, Moore has been one of Indiana's best, most active defenders. But Cignetti said on his radio show earlier this season that "statistics are for losers." He values game film, and Moore's performance evidently hasn't been good enough to dodge public criticism from his coach.

No matter Moore's standing in Cignetti's eyes, the Hoosiers lack viable replacements.

Indiana entered the season with Bryson Bonds as its primary backup safety, but Bonds suffered a season-ending knee injury in the Hoosiers' season-opening win over Old Dominion.

Next to Bonds as an apparent second-string safety was true freshman Byron Baldwin, the highest-ranked recruit in the Hoosiers' 2025 class. Baldwin, however, hasn't played this season due to an undisclosed injury, and his status is uncertain entering No. 11 Indiana's 3:30 p.m. kickoff Saturday against Iowa inside Kinnick Stadium.

Indiana didn't release an official depth chart pre-season, but without Bonds and Baldwin, the Hoosiers have essentially been forced to scroll past their second-string safeties and move onto the third line.

Cignetti has acknowledged Indiana is thin at safety.

Bonds aside, the Hoosiers have only six scholarship safeties: Moore, Ferrell, Baldwin, redshirt freshman Jah Jah Boyd and true freshmen Seaonta Stewart Jr. and Garrett Reese.

Redshirt sophomore walk-on Anthony Chung has played the most of Indiana's backup safeties. Across four appearances, Chung has been on the field for 21 defensive snaps, logging two tackles. Boyd has played 20 snaps on defense and collected one tackle. Reese played 25 special teams snaps the first three weeks, while Stewart has yet to see the field.

Though the Hoosiers surely had contingency plans if Moore's waiver was denied, they didn't publicly disclose it. However, when Moore briefly left the field due to an injury during Indiana's 63-10 win over Illinois in Week 4, Boykin moved to safety. His vacated rover spot went to Jaylen Bell, a true freshman the Hoosiers are fond of, but he's played only 28 defensive snaps.

In essence, perhaps more important than being short on depth, Indiana lacks experience behind Moore and Ferrell — no matter how it tries to reconfigure and reassign pieces.

The Hoosiers have a difficult stretch looming. They face Iowa on Saturday in Iowa City during Homecoming weekend. After a bye week, Indiana travels to play Oregon at Autzen Stadium, one of the sport's best atmospheres.

Following a pair of home games against Michigan State on Oct. 18 and UCLA on Oct. 25, the Hoosiers have road contests against currently undefeated teams in Maryland (Nov. 1) and Penn State (Nov. 8).

Indiana has aspirations of making the College Football Playoff. It needs a leak-proof secondary to get there.

Moore's presence hasn't patched every hole thus far, but he's the Hoosiers' best bet among the available options. And while Cignetti is displeased with the safeties' collective performance, the floor can always be lower.

If nothing else, Moore keeps the boat afloat — and if he, Ferrell and Boykin turn flashes into consistency, the Hoosiers' safety trio can flip the script on Cignetti's narrative.