Inside The Star
Mikail Kamara’s rise from an unranked recruit coming out of high school to a National Champion Defensive MVP shows why his production, toughness, and consistency make sense for Dallas.
If you look at recruiting rankings, Mikail Kamara was never supposed to matter.
Out of high school, he was completely unranked. A zero-star prospect, no national grade, and no position ranking. He wasn’t just overlooked, he was invisible.
That is why I think the Dallas Cowboys should be paying attention.
Kamara production didn’t come out of nowhere one season. He has been consistent at both of the stops in his college football career.
As a redshirt sophomore at James Madison in 2023, he put together a season where he had 53 total tackles, 18.5 tackles for a loss, and 7.5 sacks, while forcing four fumbles along the way.
He was a defender living in the backfield.
After that season, he followed head coach Curt Cignetti to Indiana through the transfer portal. Even then, nobody was rushing to get him. He entered the portal ranked 997th and 99th among defensive lineman.
Then we saw him back his numbers up in the Big 10.
In 2024, Kamara broke out with 47 tackles, 15 tackles for a loss, and 10 sacks, and added multiple forced fumbles and recoveries.
He dominated the Big 10, so much that offenses were forced to adjust protections and game plans.
This past season, we watched the sack total dip, and Kamara finished 2025 with 34 tackles, seven tackles for a loss, two sacks, and a pass deflection. This drop in numbers may scare some fans.
It doesn’t scare me.
His second season at Indiana his role changed, and protections slid his way.
Indiana didn’t let him just pin his ears back the way he did in 2024. The disruption didn’t disappear, it just didn’t show up as sacks. This kind of thing happens when offenses know exactly where you are.
I don’t see this as regression, I see this as respect.
I found over the last three seasons, Kamara played 40 games and recorded 40.5 tackles for a loss.
That’s just over one tackle for a loss per game across multiple levels, different roles, and different competition.
It's really hard to draft statistical outliers in Round 1.
I can get behind smaller players IF they were awesome in college.
But betting on non-productive college players to be productive in the NFL is a losing proposition. https://t.co/owXdUzHFOE
— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) January 20, 2026
When you look at the league’s best pass rushers, that’s the common thread; they live in the backfield, and Kamara has done that consistently.
Kamara didn’t disappear when the stage got bigger.
If you watched the College Football...
