Regardless of how talented a football player is in high school, playing and making an impact in their freshman year of college at a Division I program does not happen that often.

But in Bloomington, Indiana, 2024 Emmaus High School graduate Mario Landino has stepped up in his first season at Indiana University and is seeing the field for meaningful snaps.

Graduating early from Emmaus and heading to campus for spring practice certainly helped, but it is still a testament to Landino’s work ethic that he learned while a Green Hornet.

Through 10 games this season, Landino has appeared in eight games, recording five tackles, two tackles-for-loss and 0.5 sacks.

“It’s been amazing being able to get on the field and help my team so early,” said Landino. “But it’s been tough. Back in the spring, I had an injury that kept me out of spring practice. That’s the time when most players get acclimated to the playbook and competition level, but I had to miss that. I had to hit the weight room and get stronger and faster because these are Division I athletes and are very strong and athletic. It was all about getting my body right.”

His former Emmaus program, which just played in the District 11 6A championship game, taught him a lot and prepared him well for being a DI student-athlete, led by head coach Harold Fairclough.

“Coach Fairclough and his staff does an amazing job getting us prepared for college,” Landino said. “It starts in the weight room and that program. Everything we did in preseason in the weight room, I knew from what we did at Emmaus. I felt like I was ahead of the curve, especially compared to other freshmen.”

The Hoosiers are having one of their best seasons in program history this season, starting 10-0. Their ranked fifth in the nation and will have a chance to make a statement this Saturday when they take on No. 2 Ohio State.

“This season has been amazing so far,” said Landino. “The team is just playing with so much confidence and have been since the preseason. We are just looking to go 1-0 every week. Every player has the same mindset. We expect to keep this thing rolling.”

Landino is majoring in business management.