‘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.”

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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.