Indiana

‘It just felt like home.’ Warren Central DE Tyrone Burrus explains decision to flip to IU.

Published

1 year ago

November 15, 2024

Press Room

‘It just felt like home.’ Warren Central DE Tyrone Burrus explains decision to flip to IU.

The more Tyrone Burrus Jr. thought about his college decision, the more he kept coming back to Bloomington.

Of course, the Hoosiers’ magical 10-0 season and current No. 5 ranking in the College Football Playoff rankings did not hurt IU’s chances. Burrus, a 6-4, 235-pound senior defensive end at Warren Central, picked Louisville over IU in late June. But he never completely got IU out of his mind.

“I just wanted to see improvement,” Burrus Jr. said of Indiana’s program. “I knew it was a whole new staff coming in and I knew they had plans to change everything. I told them I’d continue looking out. And then they started winning games and I’m like, ‘OK, let me go see for myself in person.’ I like the scheme of how I’d play if I was there and (when I got there), it was ever better.”

Burrus visited twice — once for the Nebraska game last month and again on Saturday for the Michigan game. He made his decision to commit to IU public on his Instagram account on Thursday morning.

Through 11 games this season, Burrus has 42 tackles, including nine for a loss, and six sacks for the Class 6A fifth-ranked Warriors (10-1), who will host Center Grove (7-4) in a Class 6A regional Friday. He cited his “great relationship” with IU defensive ends coach Buddha Williams and defensive tackles coach Pat Kuntz as a major factor in his commitment.

“I just got to thinking about where I wanted to go and where I wanted to spend my next four years,” Burrus said. “I just kept going down to games (at IU) to see and talk to the coaches and what really did it was I have a real good relationship with coach (Elijah) Jones at my high school. I got the same type of vibe that Buddha gives me. And it just felt like home.”

Burrus is rated as a three-star prospect on the 247Sports composite and the No. 9 overall prospect in the state in the 2025 class. He also had offers from Illinois, Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas, Michigan State, Minnesota, Purdue and West Virginia.

Indiana now has 21 known commitments in the 2025 high school graduating class. Lawrence North wide receiver Davion Chandler, Carmel offensive lineman Evan Parker, Kokomo tight end Andrew Barker and Bloomington South kicker Bryce Taylor are other in-state recruits currently in the recruiting class.

Burrus said the energy IU plays with on defense was appealing when he was able to watch the team in person.

“When I was watching, even in crucial moments, they were hyping each other up a lot like we do (at Warren Central),” he said.

Chandler, the Lawrence North receiver, said on Friday IU’s 10-0 start, “should be message to every kid in Indiana.” Interestingly, the top in-state player in the 2026 class is Burrus’ teammate and fellow defensive lineman Jerimy Finch Jr.

Burrus just committed to IU, so he has some catching up to do with Finch. His high school teammates, offensive lineman Cam Herron (Notre Dame), and defensive end Damien Shanklin (LSU) have been recruiting on behalf of their respective schools. Finch has offers from Indiana, LSU and Notre Dame, in addition to Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Penn State, Tennessee, Wisconsin and many others.

“I’m listening to all of them,” Finch said with a laugh. “I’m hearing their opinions about where they are going in a couple months.”

Burrus said more of those conversations are coming, though.

“I want to let him focus on high school ball right now,” Burrus said. “He has a lot of potential. I just want to help him out in the weight room and keep talking to him.”

Burrus said his own recruiting process took an unexpected twist with the decommitment from Louisville and flip to IU. But he believes he ultimately ended up in the right place.

“The day of my commitment was really confusing,” he said. “I was going back and forth. I couldn’t really find any differences and I ended up picking Louisville. But then I just kept thinking about where I wanted to be the next four years, and it was IU.”

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

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Indiana

Police arrest suspect in Westfield homicide

Published

4 hours ago

March 27, 2026

Press Room

Police arrest suspect in Westfield homicide

WESTFIELD, Ind. (WISH) — Police have arrested someone in connection to a homicide earlier this month in the Hamilton County city.

In a Friday night social media post, the Westfield Police Department announced the arrest but gave no details, including who was arrested or what preliminary charges the person may face.

“Due to the active nature of this case, limited details are available for release at this time,” the post said.

As WISHTV.com previously reported, James “Matt” Lushin, 47, was found dead shortly after 7:25 p.m. March 12 with trauma at his home in the 3900 block of Westfield Road, also known as State Road 32.

Social media posts from the scene showed police tape and emergency vehicles at a red brick house between Shady Nook Road and Gray Road.

Lushin’s obituary said the Kokomo native was a key partner with the real estate investment company, FLF Property. The obituary also said, “Matt was also a respected and accomplished member of the international poker community. He traveled the world competing in tournaments and built an impressive and successful career.”

Police have previously said the death was believed to be isolated, posing no ongoing threat.

Officials have not released a specific cause or manner of death.

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Retro Indy: Five years ago Covid confined March Madness to Indiana

Published

16 hours ago

March 27, 2026

Press Room

Retro Indy: Five years ago Covid confined March Madness to Indiana

Just three days before Selection Sunday in March of 2020, the NCAA announced that March Madness, like so many other events that spring, would be cancelled due to the new virus upending life. The decision marked the first time in tournament history that the final weeks of the college basketball season would not be played, squashing Atlanta’s plans to host the Final Four.

When the following year rolled around, the NCAA decided that March Madness would not succumb to the virus once more.

With a vaccine only on the horizon and hundreds of Americans still dying each day, the organization announced in November of 2020 that while the tournament would go on, it would certainly not be business as usual. All 67 games, NCAA officials said, would be held in one location. Central Indiana was the first choice as Indianapolis had been on tap to host the Final Four April 3-5.

The plan, said NCAA senior vice president of basketball Dan Gavitt in a November 2020 IndyStar article was to present “a safe, responsible and fantastic March Madness tournament unlike any other we’ve experienced.”

In January the NCAA made it official: All games would be played in and around Indianapolis in a modified version of a bubble.

Holding the tournament in one place just made sense, NCAA officials told IndyStar. Unlike in a typical year when a winning team would travel multiple times before the championship, this system would minimize travel, which could inadvertently expose players and coaches to the virus.

Two months later when the tournament kicked off on March 18, 55 of the 67 games were scheduled to be played in Indianapolis venues, such as Gainbridge (then Bankers Life) Fieldhouse, Lucas Oil Stadium, Indiana Farmers Coliseum and Butler’s Hinkle Fieldhouse. Purdue’s Mackey Arena and IU’s Assembly Hall also hosted games.

While the first Covid vaccine had arrived a few months earlier, few people outside of first responders and the most vulnerable had been immunized, so in an effort to avoid large crowds, the Indianapolis sites all capped tickets at 25% capacity. That meant only 17,500 people could attend games at the largest venue, Lucas Oil Stadium. The college arenas allowed far smaller audiences, with IU limiting attendance to 500 people.

A week before the tournament began Marion County Public Health Department officials and Mayor Joe Hogsett asked attendees to make smart public health choices, such as social distancing and obeying the face masks mandate. Referees donned masks as much as possible as did coaches and players on the bench.

The NCAA regularly tested athletes, administering 28,311 tests Covid tests during the tournament, 15 of which came back positive.

Post-mortems after the tournament asked whether the NCAA had made the right call. Two high profile deaths occurred in the aftermath of the tournament — one a University of Alabama superfan who had traveled to Indy for the games and the other a St. Elmo bartender. But proving a direct link between their deaths and the tournament would prove impossible, and some public health experts said the NCAA had done everything it could to protect athletes and fans short of canceling the event.

A study conducted by IU, Regenstrief researchers and others that appeared in August 2021 in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that while mask wearing had theoretically been compulsory, about a quarter of attendees at the games were either not wearing masks or doing so inappropriately. Still, in an IndyStar article about the study Indiana Sports Corps president Ryan Vaughn termed the event “a resounding success.”

The following year, with a vaccine widely available and far fewer daily deaths from the virus, the tournament returned to a typical schedule, concluding in New Orleans’ Ceasars Superdome. More than 69,00 fans attended the final games, according to the NCAA. Local authorities had lifted the mask requirement by this point.

“Last year was about survival. Just having championships in any way, single site, keep everybody safe and be successful,” Gavitt said in an NCAA news release in late April 2022. “I think this year was about advancing.”

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Federal legislation that Braun calls ‘crazy’ is aimed at Bears and Indiana – Indianapolis Business Journal

Published

1 day ago

March 26, 2026

Press Room

Federal legislation that Braun calls ‘crazy’ is aimed at Bears and Indiana – Indianapolis Business Journal

U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Greg Casar, D-Texas, say the bill would protect taxpayers from being extorted by team owners for huge subsidies. The legislation would likely face an uphill climb in the Republican-controlled Congress.

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