Cam Jones was dominating. Then got hurt. He gritted it out. Spoke up. And IU won.

BLOOMINGTON — Yes, Tom Allen confirmed, it was Cam Jones. That’s who spoke up.

Indiana had been in similar situations last season — against Cincinnati and Michigan State. The Hoosiers led at halftime in both of those home games, before ultimately folding. On Friday night, here they were again. Indiana led 16-10 at halftime. By the end of the third quarter, Illinois had a one-point lead.

In between the third and fourth quarters, Allen spoke to the team. Then Jones spoke up.

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“He just pretty much said that ‘this is our field, we got to protect it,’” teammate Aaron Casey recalled. “‘Our time is now to pretty much show out and just show Hoosier Nation like that we’re back. And just keep putting our foot on their neck and keep going.’ Just motivational words.”

While it was Indiana’s offense that punched in the winning touchdown, the Hoosiers’ defense put the team in position to win the game time after time. Following the pep talks, Illinois’ offensive drives resulted as follows: turnover on downs, interception, made field goal, fumble. Indiana’s 23-20 win over Illinois, which at times seemed somewhat improbable, was in large part due to its defense and, concurrently, in large part due to Cam Jones.

Perhaps Jones’ intangibles symbolize the intangibles of this IU team. Early in the second half, Jones went down with an apparent injury, forcing him to leave the game. Not long after, though, he came back. He finished the game with a team-high 12 total tackles. But it was also his grit and perseverance that stood out. Allen said postgame he didn't know the severity of Jones' condition. Similarly, Indiana largely won the game because of its intangibles — the same displayed by Jones. Last season’s team probably would’ve lost this game. But Indiana didn’t fold this time. This win was an indication this team can be different than last season’s.

“He gritted right through it,” Allen said of Jones. “... He didn’t just go out there, he went out there and made plays after he got injured. Just so much respect for him as a person, as a player. And I can go on and on about this team. But this team’s got character, this team’s got toughness, this team’s got grit.”

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It also speaks to the evolution of Jones — both tangibly and intangibly. He is now in his fifth season at IU, having enduring peaks and valleys in the program. He played both offense and defense in high school. But as a freshman at IU, he played on defense as a husky. Ever since that season, Jones has been at linebacker. Friday's performance gave the impression he is now one of the premier guys in the Big Ten. Not only that, but Jones spoke up, exemplifying the strides he has made as a leader.

“Growing up, you couldn’t pay me to get a couple of words out of me,” Jones said in July. “I just wasn’t that type of guy. I was the type of guy that I was all do, no talk. And being (with) a leader like coach Tom Allen, that just doesn’t get the job done. Coach Allen saw something in me that, you know, I really didn’t see in myself at the time. And he challenged me. Every single year was a challenge. Every single year was ‘OK, you did this, but now you need to do this to take your leadership to the next level.'”

Jones and Casey were both in Indiana’s 2018 recruiting class. Casey said — as a freshman — Jones wasn’t too quiet. But he wasn’t like he is now vocally, Casey said. It was at the beginning of last year that Casey noticed Jones make strides in his vocal leadership.

And now?

“He’s like the main one you go to,” Casey said. “You want someone to say something to the team? C4.”

More broadly, there have been changes in Indiana’s defense since last season. Charlton Warren, Indiana’s defensive coordinator/linebackers coach last season, left the program. Allen is now calling plays defensively, another off-season decision. And also, Indiana was playing without former Hoosiers star Micah McFadden, who graduated. On top of that, this is a defense that needed to regain the 2020 version of itself. In 2020, Indiana forced lots of turnovers, including a Big Ten-leading 17 interceptions. Last season, Indiana was dead last in the Big Ten in interceptions.

Against Illinois, Indiana’s defense looked a lot closer to the 2020 version of itself. Although the Hoosiers gave up 448 total offensive yards, they forced four Illini turnovers, plus a turnover on downs. In the fourth quarter, Indiana’s defense kept it in the game, giving the offense more chances, in which it finally punched in a touchdown.

Asked if this was the Indiana defense Allen envisioned, he said “partly.” There were contributors from multiple players. Noah Pierre and Casey were tied for second on Indiana in total tackles with seven each. Josh Sanguinetti came up with an interception. Miami (Fla.) transfer Bradley Jennings Jr. had six total tackles, including a sack.

Perhaps that’s part of what makes Indiana’s defensive performance impressive. There were a variety of players to make an impact — outside of the more widely known names, such as Tiawan Mullen. In game one, Indiana’s defense looked like it could be its backbone this season, especially given the state of the offense.

Most importantly, Indiana is 1-0. That’s in part thanks to Indiana’s defense. That’s also in part thanks to Cam Jones, who had the voice to help ignite Indiana — and perhaps the rest of the season to follow.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana football: Cam Jones shakes off injury, rallies IU by Illinois