IndyStar football preseason Super Team: Meet 2024's top defensive gamewreckers

The Indiana high school football season kicks off next Friday, and these defensive stars will keep offensive coordinators up at night.

Click here for Super Team offense . Here is your ALL-USA Indy-area preseason high school football Super Team. The defense.

DEFENSIVE LINE

Enoch Atewogbola, Avon, Sr.

2023 stats: The 6-4, 215-pound Atewogbola, a native of Nigeria, did not play football until his junior year of high school. He had a decent first season — 17 tackles and one sack — but the best is ahead for Atewogbola, who committed to Minnesota in the summer.

Drake or Kendrick Lamar? “I would say Drake. Drake has more hits.”

The new NCAA college football video game came out recently. What would be your best attribute on the game? “I would say my pass rush. I’m very fast at the edge, so I’d say my pass rush.”

What is your favorite thing you have watched recently? “I’m sure everybody else has said this but ‘Receiver’ on Netflix. It just came out and I’ve been enjoying that. I’m seven episodes into it.”

Why do you wear No. 7? “Seven is just a divine number. Every morning when I wake up, I say my affirmation seven times. Our quarterback (Mason Reynolds) wore this number last year (Atewogbola was 92) and I’m pretty good friends with him. I just wanted to wear it for that, also. But seven is a divine number. It’s biblical.”

What is the first thing you eat when you get home from football practice? “I make my meal addition shake and then whatever my mom makes. If she didn’t make anything, I just make some rice.”

Can you do an impression of your coach or is there anything he says a lot? Lately our practices have been getting way more competitive between offense and defense. So, we go back and forth quite a lot. So, our coach just emphasizes that we are still teammates, even though it gets chippy at practice. He emphasizes that we are still teammates and should have each other’s backs. Every time our strength coach sees me, he just says, ‘What’s up, Golden Gopher?’ He just teases everybody a lot.”

Tyrone Burrus Jr., Warren Central, Sr.

2023 stats: The 6-4, 235-pound Burrus, a Louisville recruit and all-state defensive end, had 36 tackles as a junior, including 15 for a loss, six sacks and one fumble recovery. Overall, for his career, Burrus has 67 tackles, 21 ½ for a loss, and nine sacks.

Drake or Kendrick Lamar? “Kendrick Lamar. I’ve been listening to him since I was little. I’m a big fan of Kendrick.”

The new NCAA college football video game came out recently. What would be your best attribute on the game? “I’ll probably say it will be speed or pass rush. My speed should be a smooth … I wouldn’t be mad with at least an 89. But I know I’m like a 95.”

What is your favorite thing you have watched recently? “It’s this show called ‘Law & Order Special (Victims) Unit. I saw (clips) on TikTok, and I was like, ‘I should watch it.’ So, I’ve just been binge watching it. I haven’t (finished it). It’s like 25 seasons.”

Why do you wear No. 9? “When I was little, I always had big numbers because I always used to play running back. And before I got into high school, I used to play outside linebacker. I used to just watch college guys. The best college guys at the time always wore No. 9. I was like, ‘I want to be one of those guys.’ So, I picked up ‘9.’”

What is the first thing you eat when you get home from football practice? “Chicken alfredo. That’s my favorite meal. My mom’s gotta make it or I’m not going to eat it.”

Can you do an impression of your coach or is there anything he says a lot? “He’ll be like, ‘Gosh dang it guys, you’re killing me!’ He’ll be rubbing his head. It’s so funny.”

Mason Keifer, Brownsburg, Sr.

2023 stats: The 6-2, 285-pound senior tackle, a recent Indiana State commit, had 37 tackles, including seven for a loss, two sacks and one caused fumble last season. Overall, Keifer has 80 tackles, 12 ½ tackles for loss and four sacks in two varsity seasons.

Drake or Kendrick Lamar? “Drake. I don’t know — just because he’s funny. I feel like he’s kind of friends with everybody, so gotta go Drake.

The new NCAA college football video game came out recently. What would be your best attribute on the game? “I would have to go probably strength. Probably strength and pass rush, really, at the 3-tech or nose because I can sort of manhandle dudes right now but (when) I get to college I’m going to have to put more strength on. But we do a good job at Brownsburg of putting strength on, so I’d probably say that. Maybe high 70s (for a number). I’ll work my way up. College is different. We’ll have to get there.”

What is your favorite thing you have watched recently? “The new ‘Outer Banks’ and the new ‘All American’ season just came out so I’ve kind of been watching them. I’m not crazy TV (watcher); I don’t binge watch too often, but I’ll say that. ‘All American’ for sure.”

Why do you wear No. 5? “So, I grew up wearing ‘5’ and then I got to high school, and I didn’t really take football too seriously growing up. I was just kind of big and liked hitting people. I took a d-line number because ‘5’ was a medium jersey. That’s the main reason right there. … I don’t like to tell a lot of people that.”

What is the first thing you eat when you get home from football practice? “Anything that’s on the table. I’ve been on a ‘see food’ diet. If I see it, I eat it. Mainly that. Dad’s always got burgers and tacos ready. Mom, when she’s home, normally has a salad and steak. Dinner is always ready and food on the table. Cutting weight is not even an option anymore. I took that out of my vocab after freshman year wrestling. We’re done with that.”

Can you do an impression of your coach or is there anything he says a lot? “We’ll be in the locker room kind of hanging out, singing. ‘Get out of here!’ Or we’ll make a bad play or something or miss a tackle and he’ll kind of grab his hat and throw on the ground real hard and kind of say a few bad things to us and then we’ll be alright the next play. He always gets us fired up, though. All of his sayings are funny. He’s my guy for sure. Coach Hart’s awesome.”

Damien Shanklin, Warren Central, Sr.

2023 stats: The 6-5, 235-pound LSU commit is arguably the top prospect in the state. Shanklin led Warren Central’s defense with 66 tackles last season, including 17 for a loss, three sacks and one interception. He was also Warren Central’s primary punter and handled some of the kickoff duties last season.

Drake or Kendrick Lamar? “I’m going to go with Drake. I listen to a couple songs.”

The new NCAA college football video game came out recently. What would be your best attribute on the game? “The pass rush and stuff, that’s going to come. I’m going to be patient with it. But with the NCAA (game), I’ve been LSU ever since I got the game. I’ve been doing good. I beat Cam (Herron). He had Iowa. I beat him.”

What is your favorite thing you have watched recently? “Honestly, I’ve been watching Power Book. I think it’s called ‘Ghost.’ I’ve been watching that. It’s really chill. That’s really it.”

Why do you wear No. 4? “Honestly, I’ve got four reasons. Just how I grew up, how I want to have that great outcome and just be better and push myself every day and also be able to motivate myself as well. Just with my grandmother, my siblings and my dad and everything that happened in my life, those are four reasons I wear No. 4.”

What is the first thing you eat when you get home from football practice? “Honestly, I just got some Chick-fil-A because I was really hungry, but I don’t like eating fast food. The majority of the time (with fast food) it’s Subway. Lately I’ve been eating healthy, so I don’t really eat fast food. (Healthy) is like a sub sandwich with vegetables and all that. I’ve been eating a lot of fruit as well. Watermelon. And, what’s it called? Cantaloupe. I tried that as well.”

Can you do an impression of your coach or is there anything he says a lot? “I’m not doing it this year because I got in trouble last year. So, I’m not going to do the hat trick or nothing. But a funny joke is when he starts rubbing his head, it starts raining. He determines the weather with his head.”

Michael Thacker, New Palestine, Sr.

2023 stats: The 6-1, 270-pound Ball State commit has put up big numbers consistently since his freshman year, through he was limited to eight games last year after returning from a knee injury. Thacker still filled up the stat sheet with 60 tackles, 19 for a loss, and seven sacks. For his career, he has 252 tackles, including a staggering 75 ½ for loss, with 25 ½ sacks, six caused fumbles, four fumble recoveries and two blocked punts.

Drake or Kendrick Lamar? “Probably Drake. He’s got some bangers. Kendrick Lamar is also good. I don’t know. I’d go Drake.”

The new NCAA college football video game came out recently. What would be your best attribute on the game? “Strength, probably. My brother is on there though (Ball State receiver Isaiah Thacker). His attribute is speed. He’s a 92. I’ll probably be like a 70.”

What is your favorite thing you have watched recently? “I’d probably say the Olympics. I’ve watched the (4x) 100-meter relay. That was interesting. Almost a three-way tie. It was nice. I watched movie ‘White Chicks.’ That’s about it.”

Why do you wear No. 52? “Ray Lewis. That’s about it. I had it through high school, but I was No. 56 when I was young because of Lawrence Taylor.”

What is the first thing you eat when you get home from football practice? “It just depends, really. Sometimes a bag of chips, which is not the best choice. Or my mom has dinner made. Like a burger or grilled chicken.”

Can you do an impression of your coach or is there anything he says a lot? “He had one today. He’s like, ‘You potatoes!’ Or he’ll call you a Muppet. Or he’ll say, ‘Good grief!’ when you mess up. But I love coach Ralph. He makes practice fun. I couldn’t tell you what ‘Muppet’ means.”

Isaiah White, Ben Davis, Sr.

2023 stats: The 6-3, 285-pound Illinois commit was one of the leaders for the Giants’ state championship defense as he made 69 tackles, including 11 ½ for a loss, with 7 ½ sacks and one caused fumble last season.

Drake or Kendrick Lamar? “I’ll say Kendrick right now. Definitely recently been better and overall, with the back and forth I feel like Kendrick’s been better.”

The new NCAA college football video game came out recently. What would be your best attribute on the game? “I’d say my strength. I feel like I’m really strong, benching over 400 pounds, so I feel like that is going to be my best attribute. I’d say like a 94. I think that’s fair.”

What is your favorite thing you have watched recently? “A show called ‘Snowfall.’ I think that’s the best show I’ve watched. Definitely a show to look into. It’s on Hulu.”

Why do you wear No. 95? “Two players I watch a lot — Chris Jones (of the Kansas City Chiefs) and Quinnen Williams (of the New York Jets), I feel like are the most dominant players to wear it. I kind of idolize them but also want to create my own legacy with the number, too.”

What is the first thing you eat when you get home from football practice? “It could be many things. Could be a peanut butter and jelly some days or another day might be a quick like a granola bar to get something in my stomach while I wait on dinner.”

Can you do an impression of your coach or is there anything he says a lot? “When we’re on the field early in the morning and everybody is still tired or sleepy, he’ll be yelling on the field, ‘Bring ‘em out, bring ‘em out!’ He’s yelling, hyped and jumping around. I think that’s probably what he does most.”

LINEBACKERS

Israel Oladipupo, Noblesville, Sr.

2023 stats: The 6-3, 235-pounder was one of Noblesville’s defensive leaders last season as he finished with 75 tackles, including 6 ½ for loss, with two sacks and two caused fumbles. Oladipupo committed to Boston College in June over Duke.

Drake or Kendrick Lamar? “Honestly with all that’s been going on I’ll just say Kendrick. He has a way better flow than Drake. I feel like Kendrick, the way he goes with his lyrics, is pretty insane. So, I’ll go Kendrick.”

The new NCAA college football video game came out recently. What would be your best attribute on the game? “I feel like my best attribute would be my speed, like my ‘get off’ off the line of scrimmage. So that would definitely be something that would be helpful for me. I can be the first one to make contact so that will be my best attribute. … I definitely feel like I could be like an 85 overall.”

What is your favorite thing you have watched recently? “I don’t remember what (game) it was, but it was a football game. It was a Boston College game, a bowl game actually. It was a pretty insane game to watch because it was sort of like a back-and-forth game. It was hard to figure out who was going to win but Boston College came out on top.”

Why do you wear No. 0 (he wore No. 1 for pictures because the new jerseys weren’t ready yet)? “One of the seniors that was somebody I looked up to when I first when to Noblesville, he wore ‘0’ my sophomore year. I was like, ‘I feel good enough that I could wear that number.’ I got to that point and was able to pick my number and I picked zero. I feel like it’s a number that makes me stick out because zero is definitely an interesting number. It’s like ‘Zero’ who is that?”

What is the first thing you eat when you get home from football practice? “There’s a wide variety of things because it particularly depends on what my mom or my dad cooks. I’m Nigerian so there’s a bunch of Nigerian food here and there. There’s one that’s pounded yam and Egusi soup so that’s something I typically enjoy a lot. My dad or my mom makes it — probably my dad more. … that’s something I have typically after practice.”

Can you do an impression of your coach or is there anything he says a lot? “If something is going wrong, he’ll come up and say, ‘What are you doing! What are you doing!' And it’s so hilarious because it’s like, ‘We got to deal with this right now.’ He’s losing his mind, throwing his hat off. He has shades on, but you can literally tell what his eyes look like.”

Ife Adeoba, Pike, Sr.

2023 stats: The 6-2, 220-pound defensive end/outside linebacker broke the school single-season sack record last year with 14 and scored three touchdowns on defense and special teams. Adeoba finished the season with 60 tackles, including 19 for a loss, with two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.

Drake or Kendrick Lamar? “Kendrick Lamar in the afternoon and Drake at night. It’s just simple: I don’t really listen to Drake in the afternoon. It’s just like, ‘I’m cool, about to go to sleep and have a good night.’”

The new NCAA college football video game came out recently. What would be your best attribute on the game? “Pass rush. Oh my god, pass rush. Overall, realistically as a freshman they are probably going to give me an 80. But I see a 90-plus if you ask me.”

What is your favorite thing you have watched recently? “‘Love Island.’ It’s a real interesting show. It’s real funny. Catches you off guard. It’s cool to me. It’s like a dating show. One day you’ll see somebody with somebody and the next day they are with somebody else. It’s just real entertaining. Like a roller-coaster type show.”

Why do you wear No. 33? “‘Trey 3’ got brought to me as a nickname at first because I wore 33 my sophomore year but I wanted 9. I couldn’t get it, so I did three times three … nine had everything. A lot of things happen in nine months. So, I just did three times three. ‘Trey 3.’ Nobody really sees the ‘33’ a lot. That’s the good thing about it, though. When people think the ‘33’ they think of me.”

What is the first thing you eat when you get home from football practice? “My momma can cook. I’m African so she’ll make like Jollof rice, white rice with stew. I got goodies from my moms. I gotta be in the kitchen with my mom. She gets mad when I’m upstairs playing a game while she’s cooking. She’ll be like, ‘You gotta be down here and learn how to cook so you can cook when I pass away.’ I’m like, ‘Momma, you’ll never pass away.’”

Can you do an impression of your coach or is there anything he says a lot? “‘Y’all gotta be great! It’s either life or death.’ That’s coach (Mike) Brevard. Coach Brevard has the best speeches, I promise you. Coach (Carrington) Smith, ‘Effort, effort, effort, effort! We don’t coach effort, you gotta give it!’”

Mikeah Webster, Westfield, Sr.

2023 stats: The 6-1, 225-pound Ball State commit was the leading tackler as a junior for the 11-2 Shamrocks, a Class 6A regional champion. Webster finished with 152 tackles, including 11 for a loss, along with two sacks, two fumble recoveries, one interception and one blocked punt. Webster also ran for 92 yards and five TDs in short-yardage situations.

Drake or Kendrick Lamar? “I think the battle Kendrick won but overall, I think Drake is better. I personally think Drake.”

The new NCAA college football video game came out recently. What would be your best attribute on the game? “I’d say hit power or toughness. One of those two. I’d say maybe high 80s somewhere around there. Toughness probably low 90s.”

What is your favorite thing you have watched recently? “Netflix, the Tom Brady roast. That was a funny one.”

Why do you wear No. 25? “I’ve always liked it since I was a kid. I wore it in baseball. I had 85 when I was a tight end freshman, sophomore year. Then 25 and 9 was open and I went with 25.”

What is the first thing you eat when you get home from football practice? “I have a protein shake and some sausage and biscuits. A little scrambled eggs, too. Like a sausage egg sandwich. That’s when we have morning workouts.”

Can you do an impression of your coach or is there anything he says a lot? “Coach (Josh) Miracle always talks about getting the ball out. So, whenever we wrap up, he’s always saying, ‘Punch the ball, punch the ball, punch the ball!” He keeps screaming it. He says that a lot.”

DEFENSIVE BACKS

Mason Alexander, Hamilton Southeastern, Sr.

2023 stats: The 6-foot, 180-pound Pitt commit is one of the top prospects on this list. Alexander, also a track standout, has 60 tackles, five interceptions, two fumble recoveries and one caused fumbles in his two seasons as a starter. He has averaged 23.1 yards on kickoff returns and played some offense as a sophomore, catching three passes.

Drake or Kendrick Lamar? “I don’t really like either of them, but music wise I’ll say Drake.”

The new NCAA college football video game came out recently. What would be your best attribute on the game? “Speed, I hope. Somewhere in the 90s (for speed). Like a 97, 98 for speed. Agility I hope still in the 90s. Like a 94, 95. Ball awareness, like a 94. … I’m trying to be up there (for a freshman).”

What is your favorite thing you have watched recently? “There’s this movie Kevin Hart was in (“Lift”). They steal art, right? So, they had this one heist where they got caught. So, they had to steal half a billion tons of gold on a plane and they dealt with another plane and a whole bunch of stuff. That’s probably the best thing I’ve watched recently. It’s on Netflix.”

Why do you wear No. 15? “It has like a triple meaning. I’ve got it tatted right here (on arm) “John 15.” That’s my dad’s name. He passed June 14 ^th of 2015, but I didn’t find out until the 15 ^th . I was born Sept. 15 ^th at 5:15, which is another reason I got it tatted on me. John 15:5 is my favorite chapter (of the bible). “I am a vine. He is a branch. He who abides in me shall bear much fruit.” I get asked that question all the time ‘Why 15?’ To me, it’s a God-given number. Since birth, since my dad’s death, since everything, it’s just a God-given number. And I look good in it.”

What is the first thing you eat when you get home from football practice? “Definitely hitting up Chipotle. Chipotle, I need a sponsorship from this. I’m trying to get free Chipotle for the rest of my life because I go there way too much. Pretty sure last month I spent a cool probably $200 on Chipotle. But it’s just so good — I’m not going to lie.”

Can you do an impression of your coach or is there anything he says a lot? “Every time I think of coach Kelly, I always think of him getting mad. Pretty sure I said same thing last year. He’s just yelling, ‘Frick’n a! Frick!’ His facial expressions with it are so funny. Another thing he does is give off this big smile (shows it).”

Max Phenicie, Zionsville, Sr.

2023 stats: The 6-2, 205-pound safety, an Army commit, was one of Zionsville’s leaders last season with 58 tackles, two for a loss, and one fumble recovery last season that he returned for a touchdown. Phenicie has 109 tackles for his career.

What would you buy with your first NIL (name, image, likeness) check? “I’d say the smart answer would be to save it, but I think buying a new truck would be cool. The Ford Raptor, I see those all the time and think those are cool. I do have a Nissan truck. It’s not quite as big as a Ford Raptor, but I’ve seen them on the streets, and they are pretty cool.”

Drake or Kendrick Lamar? “I’m going to have to go Drake. I don’t listen to much Kendrick Lamar. I listen to more Drake songs so I’m going to have to go with him.”

The new NCAA college football video game came out recently. What would be your best attribute on the game? “I think for me personally, it’s tackling. I’m not sure on the exact number on the game. I’d like to say maybe some picks, too. Interceptions. Ballhawk.”

What is your favorite thing you have watched recently? “‘Breaking Bad.’ I’ve been watching that on Netflix. I just finished that. It was one of my favorite shows to watch. It was interesting. It got boring there for a little bit but toward the end it picked up and got a little better.”

Why do you wear No. 5? “There’s not really a great story. Freshman year I wanted to be a single digit number, and this is the only one they had. I took it and haven’t looked back since. I like the No. 5. My lucky number was always 25. I played receiver freshman year so had the 5 and it kind of stuck.”

What is the first thing you eat when you get home from football practice? “Whatever my mom cooks. She makes a lot of salmon, chicken, stuff like that. Good protein. After that I eat ice cream so it kind of offsets all that other stuff. I burn it all off so it’s all good.”

Can you do an impression of your coach or is there anything he says a lot? “If you get beat deep, he says, ‘Smoked like a pack of Luckys.’ That’s a big one. Luckily, I don’t hear it very often. I hear it on some of my teammates. That’s a big one. Or ‘Soft like baby poop’ when you don’t hit them very hard. Those are the common ones for sure.”

Jerome Smith, Lawrence North, Sr.

2023 stats: The 6-2, 180-pound Smith, a Miami of Ohio recruit, made 45 tackles last season (18 solo), including three for a loss, three interceptions and one caused fumble. He also had offers from Michigan State, Marshall, Ball State and other Mid-American Conference schools.

Drake or Kendrick Lamar? “I gotta go Kendrick. With everything that’s going on, everyone is listening to Kendrick and bashing Drake. So, Kendrick.”

The new NCAA college football video game came out recently. What would be your best attribute on the game? “Speed. I ran a 21.4 200-meter in track. I was No. 1 in the state in track, so I feel like they’ll look at that and say, ‘Oh, speed.’ Probably a 90.”

What is your favorite thing you have watched recently? “I was just watching the ‘Receiver’ show on Netflix that just came out. I just watched that. And I watched the YouTube video of when we played LC at Lucas Oil. I just finished the ‘Receiver’ show. It was nice.”

Why do you wear No. 11? “I grew up wearing No. 7 and 11. Then I was just like, 11 fits me better.”

What is the first thing you eat when you get home from football practice? “Usually when I come home, my mom has cooked already. If I want to get a snack to hold me over, I get some Lil’ Bites or Cap’n Crunch cereal or something like that.”

Can you do an impression of your coach or is there anything he says a lot? “He’ll say, ‘What’s up little bro?’ or something like that. If it’s during the game he’ll say, ‘You gotta be fast! You gotta play fast if you want to be on the field!’ It’s crazy. It’s a lot.”

Jimmie Winbush Jr., Carmel, Sr.

2023 stats: The 5-11, 185-pound Winbush was one of Carmel’s top defenders as a junior. The outside linebacker/safety had 82 tackles, four tackles for a loss, one sack, one fumble recovery, one caused fumble and one blocked punt as a junior.

Drake or Kendrick Lamar? “I’d say Drake just like to chill, but Kendrick is probably a better rapper.”

The new NCAA college football video game came out recently. What would be your best attribute on the game? “I would say awareness and tackling. Probably tackling. I’d go 90. I’m a pretty good tackler.”

What is your favorite thing you have watched recently? “‘Supacell.’ It’s about all these people with sickle cell anemia and they get superpowers.”

Why do you wear No. 7? “Actually, I wanted 20 because my dad and uncle had 20 when they were in high school. But my coach said he wanted all the leaders on the team to wear single digit numbers, so I chose No. 7 because I thought it was a good number. I had 38 last year. I didn’t get to choose it last year.”

What is the first thing you eat when you get home from football practice? “I would say steak and mashed potatoes. I’m making that.”

Can you do an impression of your coach or is there anything he says a lot? “‘Stay off the ground!’ ‘Keep your teammates up!’ Because we get after each other and some guys will be on the ground and he’ll say, ‘Stay off the ground!’”

Mark Zackery IV, Ben Davis, Sr.

2023 stats: The 6-foot, 165-pound Notre Dame recruit is a two-way standout and two-sport star as the point guard on the Ben Davis’ basketball team. Last year, Zackery caught 53 passes for 823 yards and eight TDs and had 39 tackles, four interceptions, three fumble recoveries and two caused fumbles.

Drake or Kendrick Lamar? “That one (battle) Kendrick Lamar. But overall, I like listening to Drake.”

The new NCAA college football video game came out recently. What would be your best attribute on the game? “I would probably say awareness. I feel like my catching should be pretty good at DB. Not all DBs are good at catching but I feel like one of them. First year they are probably going to do me bogus, so I’ll say awareness like 70 and catching 72. But I know how his rankings work so I’m going to work my way up.”

What is your favorite thing you have watched recently? “I’d probably say ‘Love Island’ with my girlfriend. That’s pretty good and interesting, but the new ‘Planet of the Apes’ movie is pretty good. I actually downloaded (the new ‘Receivers’ show) and started watching it on the plane going to South Carolina (for basketball). It was really good. I’m on the second episode right now.”

Why do you wear No. 4? “I wear No. 4 because I’m the fourth Mark Zackery so I just wear it to represent who I am and the Mark Zackerys who came before me.”

What is the first thing you eat when you get home from football practice? “I eat probably two peanut butter and jellys and a protein shake. I get a shower, do my homework and then eat. Before I go to sleep, I drink another protein shake. I’ve got a routine of maintaining my body weight because it’s super hard for me to keep it up or gain.”

Can you do an impression of your coach or is there anything he says a lot? He mentions a lot of, ‘the rock, the jellybean and the marshmellow.' It’s a real deep meaning to it, but we want to be rocks. That’s the main goal. You want to be a rock.”

KICKER

Ashton Vogel, Decatur Central, Sr.

2023 stats: The 6-foot, 180-pound senior was outstanding last season as he connected on 18-for-22 on field goals with a school-record long of 51 yards. Vogel connected on 10 field goals of 40 yards or more and had 48 touchbacks on kickoffs. In two seasons, he is 23-for-29 on field goals. Vogel also handled the punting duties, averaging 34.9 yards.

Drake or Kendrick Lamar? “I’m going with Drake. But I’m a big country guy. I’m not a big rap guy. Probably Shaboozey (is my favorite country singer). I’m a big Morgan Wallen guy. I’ve got the mullet.”

The new NCAA college football video game came out recently. What would be your best attribute on the game? “I’m feel like my speed is underrated. I feel like I could outrun some guys. Maybe not on the college level. I’d say length (on kicking is a strength).”

What is your favorite thing you have watched recently? “I’m not a big Netflix guy. I watch a lot of YouTube golf. Watching ‘Good Good’ and Garrett Clark and all those guys.”

Why do you wear No. 15? “I don’t know. I always wore No. 0 growing up and everything. Maybe because Aug. 15 is my birthday. I really don’t know.”

What is the first thing you eat when you get home from football practice? “Probably some ice cream if I’m being honest. I have to go with cookies and cream.”

Can you do an impression of your coach or is there anything he says a lot? “‘Fast and physical, boys. Fast and physical.’ If I had a penny for every time, he said that I’d be rich.”

Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IndyStar football preseason Super Team: Meet 2024's top defensive gamewreckers