CFB Zeitgeist
AFAmare Ferrell

Amare Ferrell

Amare Ferrell started every game and picked off four passes on one of the best defenses in the country. He forwent the draft to keep it that way -- the continuity piece that keeps Indiana's secondary elite.

DB · Indiana · Cl 3 · #1

CFB Zeitgeist 60

Amare Ferrell started every game and picked off four passes on one of the best defenses in the country. He forwent the draft to keep it that way -- the continuity piece that keeps Indiana's secondary elite.

Ferrell was a steadying ball-producer on Indiana's top-ranked defense in 2025: every-game starter, 47 tackles, two tackles for loss, four interceptions and six pass breakups, earning All-Big Ten honorable mention and, now, an Athlon 2026 preseason All-America nod. At 6-2, 200 with eight career interceptions, he's a long coverage safety who takes the ball away. He forwent the draft to return. The forward stakes are continuity: elite defenses are hard to keep together, and Ferrell coming back is exactly the kind of veteran retention that keeps Indiana's secondary among the nation's best. He's the dependable, ball-hawking presence on the back end that lets the rest of a great defense play fast.

PLAY STYLE

Ferrell is a long, ball-producing coverage safety. The interceptions are the through-line -- four in 2025, eight for his career -- the production of a player with the range to patrol the deep middle and the instincts to read the quarterback and break on throws. At 6-2, 200 he has the length to contest at the catch point and the experience (an every-game starter) to communicate and align a secondary. He's not primarily a downhill box thumper; his value is in coverage, takeaways, and steadiness on the back end. On a defense that ranked among the country's best, he's the reliable last line that keeps it that way.

SOURCES

Career Arc

HS
Recruit
★★★
#578 national
CFB
College
Indiana
2023–2025
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Not drafted (yet)

Trophy Case · Confirmed honors

What the selectors said

1 entries
🎖

ALL-CONFERENCE

All-Conf mention (2025)

All-Big Ten

Coaching Lineage · 2023–2025

2 coaches
2023
Tom Allen
Indiana
2024
Curt Cignetti
Indiana
era →
2025
Curt Cignetti
Indiana

Coaching transition mid-career: Tom Allen → Curt Cignetti. Worth noting in scheme + development context.

2025 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

2023Indiana3-9HC: Tom Allen · Run-leaning
2024Indiana11-2HC: Curt Cignetti · Run-leaning
2025Indiana16-0HC: Curt Cignetti · Run-heavy

Savant · Box-rate percentiles

Where this profile ranks vs the DB cohort

60Solid starter
7 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: interceptions (95th). Strength: passes defended (93rd). Concern: qb hurries (22nd).

Interceptions#23 / 817 · 95th pct
4inte
Passes defended#144 / 2975 · 94th pct
6defe
Tackles#649 / 2975 · 78th pct
48defe
Solo tackles#696 / 2975 · 76th pct
26defe
Tackles for loss#1424 / 2975 · 47th pct
2.0defe
Sacks#1575 / 2975 · 24th pct
0.0defe
QB hurries#1662 / 2975 · 22nd pct
0defe

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.

Awards

Selector Grid · 2025

AP—
FWAA—
AFCA—
WCFF—
SN—
SI—

Trophy Case · Confirmed honors

What the selectors said

1 entries
🎖

ALL-CONFERENCE

All-Conf mention (2025)

All-Big Ten

Career stats

Defense

Season-by-season defensive box score for disruption and splash plays.

Season Team TOTSOLOTFLSACKPDINTFF
2025 IndianaFinal snapshot 48262.00.064--
2024 IndianaFinal snapshot 49224.01.514--
2023 IndianaFinal snapshot 880.00.0------
Career 3 loaded seasonsCareer row reflects the stat seasons currently loaded in this database. 105566.01.578--

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 15 · 2025

W 13–10

at Ohio State

5 TOT  ·  3 SOLO

A wire-to-wire battle — won by 3 on the road.

Game log

Game Log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 16 games

Box score · CFBD
WkOppTKLSOLOTFLSACKINTPDNote
Wk 1W 27-14vs Old Dominion200.00.011
Wk 2W 56-9vs Kennesaw State110.00.0—1
Wk 3W 73-0vs Indiana State321.00.0—0
Wk 4W 63-10vs Illinois310.00.011
Wk 5W 20-15@ Iowa540.00.010
Wk 7W 30-20@ Oregon730.00.0—0Season-high 7 tackles
Wk 8W 38-13vs Michigan State310.00.0—2
Wk 9W 56-6vs UCLA300.00.0—0
Wk 10W 55-10@ Maryland220.00.0—0
Wk 11W 27-24@ Penn State320.00.0—1
Wk 12W 31-7vs Wisconsin210.00.0—0
Wk 14W 56-3@ Purdue431.00.010
Wk 15W 13-10@ Ohio State530.00.0—0
BowlW 38-3vs Alabama110.00.0—0
BowlW 56-22vs Oregon310.00.0—0
BowlW 27-21vs Miami110.00.0—0
Total48262.00.046

How he plays

Savant · Box-rate percentiles

Where this profile ranks vs the DB cohort

60Solid starter
7 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: interceptions (95th). Strength: passes defended (93rd). Concern: qb hurries (22nd).

Interceptions#23 / 817 · 95th pct
4inte
Passes defended#144 / 2975 · 94th pct
6defe
Tackles#649 / 2975 · 78th pct
48defe
Solo tackles#696 / 2975 · 76th pct
26defe
Tackles for loss#1424 / 2975 · 47th pct
2.0defe
Sacks#1575 / 2975 · 24th pct
0.0defe
QB hurries#1662 / 2975 · 22nd pct
0defe

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.

PLAY STYLE

Ferrell is a long, ball-producing coverage safety. The interceptions are the through-line -- four in 2025, eight for his career -- the production of a player with the range to patrol the deep middle and the instincts to read the quarterback and break on throws. At 6-2, 200 he has the length to contest at the catch point and the experience (an every-game starter) to communicate and align a secondary. He's not primarily a downhill box thumper; his value is in coverage, takeaways, and steadiness on the back end. On a defense that ranked among the country's best, he's the reliable last line that keeps it that way.

2026 Outlook

Returning to Indiana for 2026

2026 Depth chart

Projected starter

Defensive back · Indiana

Returning around him

  • 25% of 2024 offensive production back (Heavy turnover)
  • 8 Indiana players drafted to NFL
  • Transfer portal: +1 net (17 in / 16 out)

2026 Award watch

No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)

Indiana · Last season: 16-0 (AP #1) · Talent rank #72 · 2026 recruiting class #47

Perception vs tape

Amare Ferrell started every game and picked off four passes on one of the best defenses in the country. He forwent the draft to keep it that way — the continuity piece that keeps Indiana's secondary elite.

Ferrell was a steadying ball-producer on Indiana's top-ranked defense in 2025: every-game starter, 47 tackles, two tackles for loss, four interceptions and six pass breakups, earning All-Big Ten honorable mention and, now, an Athlon 2026 preseason All-America nod. At 6-2, 200 with eight career interceptions, he's a long coverage safety who takes the ball away. He forwent the draft to return. The forward stakes are continuity: elite defenses are hard to keep together, and Ferrell coming back is exactly the kind of veteran retention that keeps Indiana's secondary among the nation's best. He's the dependable, ball-hawking presence on the back end that lets the rest of a great defense play fast.

How he plays

Ferrell is a long, ball-producing coverage safety. The interceptions are the through-line — four in 2025, eight for his career — the production of a player with the range to patrol the deep middle and the instincts to read the quarterback and break on throws. At 6-2, 200 he has the length to contest at the catch point and the experience (an every-game starter) to communicate and align a secondary. He's not primarily a downhill box thumper; his value is in coverage, takeaways, and steadiness on the back end. On a defense that ranked among the country's best, he's the reliable last line that keeps it that way.

2026 outlook · as of 2026-06-13
src

DNA match

Player DNA

The Centerfielder

Single-high range who erases the deep middle of the field.

S

His 2025 production profile sits closest to Jaise Oliver’s 2023 season.

Jaise Oliver

92%match

Tulsa · 2023

#2

Giovanni Biggers

North Carolina · 2021

87%
#3

Hugh Nelson

Hawai'i · 2022

86%
#4

Jalen Huskey

Bowling Green · 2023

All-MACNFL Rd 3 · Pk 36
87%
#5

Deane Leonard

Ole Miss · 2021

NFL Rd 7
84%

Matches Jaise on

Tackle volume
Weight
Interceptions
Based on 6 features · 3 seasons in pool · Opponent-adjusted weighted z-score distance

Not enough data yet for this comparison.

As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to Randon Fontenette's junior season at Vanderbilt (2025).

Randon Fontenette

87%match

Vanderbilt · 2025

#2

Mychal Yharbrough

Miami (OH) · 2025

80%
#3

Mekhi Garner

LSU · 2022

All-Sun Belt
78%
#4

Braylon Johnson

Wake Forest · 2025

75%
#5

Antoine Jackson

UCF · 2025

73%

Matches Randon on

Class year
Height
PD rate
Opponent-adjusted stats · junior cohort across all seasons

Peer comparator

Peer Comparator · Fingerprint match

Three closest profiles by box-rate percentile

3 peers · 7 metrics
Amare FerrellIndianaTahj Ra-ElPurdue· 86% simDalton JohnsonArizona· 81% simDevin LafayetteTroy· 79% sim
Interceptions
95
Ferrell
95
Johnson
75
Lafayette
Passes defended
94
Ferrell
91
Ra-El
96
Johnson
91
Lafayette
Tackles
78
Ferrell
99
Ra-El
98
Johnson
99
Lafayette
Solo tackles
76
Ferrell
100
Ra-El
97
Johnson
98
Lafayette
Tackles for loss
47
Ferrell
56
Ra-El
47
Johnson
56
Lafayette
Sacks
24
Ferrell
24
Ra-El
63
Johnson
63
Lafayette
QB hurries
22
Ferrell
22
Ra-El
22
Johnson
22
Lafayette

Closest peers by overall box-score percentile profile at the same position.