During the shortened 2020 COVID season, Indiana football was just one game away from going to the Big Ten title game, but a late rule change from the conference prevented that from happening. That was the best we had seen the Hoosiers look in a long time, and it looked like Indiana was taking some major strides. However, the three seasons since then have been less than ideal, and the Hoosiers are currently one of the worst teams in the Big Ten. They parted ways with Tom Allen and brought in Curt Cignetti from James Madison, but he has a lot of work to do. To make things even more difficult, he won't have one of the Hoosiers' top players back next year.

Jaylin Lucas was a major weapon on offense and special teams for Indiana football the past two seasons. He has been one of the top kick returners in the country the past two seasons, and he was a first-team All-American last year. Lucas would be a great tool for Cignetti to have in his first year, but it won't happen as he will be entering the transfer portal, according to a tweet from Max Olson.

In the Indiana backfield, Lucas wasn't as big of a threat as he is on special teams, but he still made a lot of big plays in the run and pass games. On the ground, Lucas had 67 carries for 275 yards and two touchdowns this season. He added 34 receptions for 247 yards and two touchdowns through the air.

Kick returns is where the Hoosiers star did most of his damage. In 2022, Lucas did only kick returns for Indiana and not punt returns, and he had 22 attempts for 591 yards and two touchdowns. In 2023, Lucas returned both punts and kicks, and he averaged 14 yards per return on punts. He had another good year in the kick return department as he took 22 kicks back for 572 yards and one touchdown.

Jaylin Lucas is going to get a lot of attention in the transfer portal from some really good teams. He will making any offense and special teams unit better. As for Indiana, they are losing a star, but they have the transfer portal to work with as well. They will have to look to it to find someone that can best replicate the fire power that Lucas brought to this offense and specials teams unit. That won't be an easy task.