In what should add to an already impressive class, it was revealed Sunday night that defensive end Brandon Wilson, who had originally committed to Virginia in late September, has flipped to Indiana. The Winter Garden, FL native who is currently a senior at West Orange High School, relayed the news via his Twitter account. Wilson made an official visit to Bloomington on December 12th while still a soft verbal commitment to the Cavaliers.
Oh. And it looks like he's committed to IU. #iufb RT @Brandon_Wilson8
Brandon Wilson is a #IU Hoosier http://t.co/hbeeSV9nuI”— Coach K and Joe (@CoachKandJoe) January 5, 2015
Wilson’s commitment brings the total number of players in head coach Kevin Wilson’s 2015 recruiting class, the fifth of his tenure at IU, to 18. Bringing in solid defensive players continues to be a point of emphasis for the Hoosiers. Much has been made about their struggles on that side of the ball in recent years but they did show inklings of improvement in 2014 under first-year defensive coordinator Brian Knorr despite the disappointment of a 4-8 record.
The 6’3″, 238 pounder is the third defensive end to commit to Indiana for 2015, joining two in-state products Joe Belden and Jacob Robinson. He’s rated as a three-star prospect at the position according to Rivals.com. The Hoosiers, like most schools, tend to recruit the Sunshine State pretty hard, and Wilson becomes the fourth commitment for IU from Florida, joining wide receivers Nick Westbrook and Donovan Hale, along with athlete Jonathan Crawford.
For Hoosier football fans, the nature of Wilson’s decision to come to IU after originally committing to another school should somewhat ease the sting of a similar development earlier in the year in which Indiana was on the wrong side of the whole recruit flip-flopping saga. A few days after dropping a 13-7 decision to Penn State on November 8th, Tommy Stevens, rated as the 18th-best dual threat quarterback in the nation, announced he was backing out of his pledge to play for Indiana and opting for the Nittany Lions instead.
These developments surrounding Wilson come on the heels of other positive news regarding Indiana’s addition of two players from UAB’s now defunct program. Both wide receiver Marqui Hawkins and running back Jordan Howard will be joining the Hoosiers next year and will not have to sit out a year given the situation at their previous school. Howard should have an immediate impact in the IU running game given Tevin Coleman’s decision to declare for the NFL Draft.
Despite the adversity on the field associated with another losing season, Indiana’s 2015 recruiting class is beginning to come together quite favorably. After Wilson’s addition, the Hoosiers class is currently ranked 43rd nationally by Rivals which puts them sixth among Big Ten teams. Expect a handful of other prospects to commit leading up to Signing Day to round out the class as IU will probably look to get a tad over 20 signings.
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