Indiana football lands commitment from highly prized defensive tackle CJ West

BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football got a verbal commitment from Kent State defensive tackle CJ West on Wednesday morning.

The 6-foot-2, 315-pounder was one of the most highly coveted players at his position remaining in the portal with Wisconsin, Michigan, LSU and Florida State among the schools that had targeted him.

The Hoosiers came out of spring practice with very little depth or experience at the position behind JMU transfer James Carpenter and returning tackle Marcus Burris Jr. West, who announced his decision on social media, solidifies the team's two-deep alongside the recent addition of JMU transfer Tyrique Tucker.

More: Projected 2024 Indiana football defensive depth chart after spring practice

In four seasons at Kent State, he had seven sacks, 19.5 tackles for loss and 58 quarterback pressures in 36 games. According to Pro Football Focus, he had a 85.9 overall grade and 79.9 pass-rushing grade.

West signed with Kent State as part of the 2020 signing class. He was a three-star recruit coming out of Nazareth Academy in Illinois with eight offers including ones from Minnesota, Toledo, Western Michigan and Bowling Green.

Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Indiana football lands one of top defensive tackles in portal