LOS ANGELES – Kahlil Benson and Louis Moore began their IU careers in a locker room that was, more often than not, a losing room. They were among the crowd who reluctantly sang the fight song after beating Akron in triple overtime.
The 3-9 season in 2023 ultimately led to the firing of Tom Allen and the hiring of Curt Cignetti. Both Benson and Moore had the option to remain in the program, but opted to enter the transfer portal. Benson went on to play for Deion Sanders in Colorado, while Moore went to Ole Miss.
After one of the biggest upsets in college football history last season in Bloomington, both found their way back to their former home. Now they play an instrumental role in No. 1 Indiana’s path to the Rose Bowl game on New Year’s Day against No. 9 Alabama.
“I thought they were good players when they were here,” Cignetti said in November. “They were productive players where they came. They saw the program changing here and wanted to be a part of it.”
The graduation of Trey Wedig opened a spot at right tackle, reuniting Benson with offensive line coach Bob Bostad, a familiar face from his first stint with the Hoosiers. According to Benson, returning was the best choice, not only on the field from a development perspective, but also off it.
He wanted to become coachable and Indiana gave him the best opportunity.
“Coming back here just means a lot,” Benson said during Tuesday’s Rose Bowl media availability. “I got a chance to come back and play with a lot of the guys I played with before I left, and I just wanted to see some familiar faces and see these guys again.”
When Cignetti met the 6-foot-4, 319-pound Benson upon his return, there were no hard feelings. Instead, the brief meeting was filled with laughter, signaling to Benson that he would be welcomed back with open arms and a clean slate. The only similarity to his first stint in an Indiana uniform would be his uniform number 67; the same one he wore in 14 career games.
With a completely different mindset and motivation to become the best version of himself, Benson won the open starting position at right tackle from fellow transfer Zen Michalski in fall camp. He started 10 of 13 games on an offensive line that protected Heisman quarterback Fernando Mendoza, allowing just 18 sacks.
“This is where I needed to be,” he said.
Like his attacking teammate, Moore’s return to Bloomington from Oxford was welcomed with open arms. Even knowing Moore would soon be eligible, Cignetti decided to bring back the senior he couldn’t keep a year earlier.
The move paid off – and then some.
He powered Ola Adams’ safety room with his ballhawk skills. The Mesquite, Texas, native finished the regular season with six of Indiana’s 17 interceptions on the season, tying for second nationally among all FBS players.
The 13-0 season, capped by a Big Ten championship, was not something Benson and Moore could have imagined when they arrived in Bloomington to play for Allen. The reality of the first IU experience for Benson and Moore was a series of frustrating losses and dashed hopes by Halloween.
Both players felt the culture change as soon as they stepped back on campus. The ‘LEO’ signs that once covered the football facilities have now been replaced by ‘WIN’, ‘Fast. Physically. Merciless.’ and the College Football Playoff logo.
Two years had passed since Moore last heard about “loving each other,” yet he smiled slyly when asked about it in Pasadena.
The team still embraces the concept in the locker room, but it isn’t forced on the players. Moore believes the organically built relationships in Indiana’s locker room have helped far more than his first go-around.
“It’s more business this time,” Moore said. “[camaraderie and love for one another] is an unspoken more than anything.”
The duo noticed a difference during their walks around campus and the Bloomington area. They were no longer ignored on the streets, but were stopped for photos by fans around town.
“The fans are everything, man,” Benson said. “We also have something bigger to play for within ourselves.”
Once members of a program defined by losing, they now stand as pieces in place against a national championship contender. The wins are no longer few and far between and the fight song, once an obligation, now feels earned.
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