Curt Cignetti and Indiana have put themselves in the middle of a recruiting moment the program has never quite had before.
The Hoosiers have never signed a 5-star high school recruit, but that could change on Friday, July 17, when Monshun Sales makes his commitment. Sales, a 5-star wide receiver from Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis, is ranked by Rivals as the No.
2 WR and No. 7 overall player in the 2027 class. For Indiana, the hometown angle has been there from the start.
Landing a player like Sales has required a full-court push from Cignetti and his staff. According to On3/Rivals Vice President Steve Wiltfong, Indiana has been unusually aggressive in this recruitment and has made a major investment in building the relationship.
"I've never seen Curt Cignetti and this coaching staff be as aggressive as they have been for a high school prospect, showing how much they value Monshun Sales," Wiltfong said on the Wiltfong Whiparound this week. "They've poured a lot into this recruitment from a relationship standpoint...and have gotten him to campus several times. He was at the National Championship ceremony, and he took his Official Visit in April and I believe that was the most fun he's had on an Official Visit out of all the trips he's taken."
That kind of effort is exactly what Indiana has been leaning into with Sales. He’s the sort of prospect a program goes all-in for, and the Hoosiers’ recent momentum has helped put them on the radar of top national recruits. With Sales playing right in Indiana’s backyard, a win here would stand out as a major recruiting splash for Cignetti.
Wiltfong still thinks the Hoosiers are in a strong spot.
"The investment that Indiana has made in this recruitment, I still think they're in prime position," says Wiltfong.
Sales is set to announce his decision Friday at Noon live on The Pat McAfee Show. Indiana is in the mix with Ohio State, Alabama, Texas, and LSU, and the Rivals Industry Consensus currently gives the Hoosiers an 81.7% chance to land him.
Indiana already sits at No. 29 in the country in the 2027 recruiting class. If Sales chooses the Hoosiers, that ranking is going to look a lot better in a hurry.
In Other News...
Indiana Footballs 5 Biggest Recruiting Wins That Changed Everything
Over the last decade, Indianas football recruiting story has been defined less by splashy rankings than by players who arrived with something to prove and left a real imprint on the program. The list of five biggest wins includes names like Omar Cooper Jr., Carter Smith, Michael Penix Jr. and Whop Philyor, a reminder that the Hoosiers rise has been built through a mix of development, patience and a few evaluations that turned out far better than the industry expected.
What makes that group stand out is how each one helped shift the ceiling of the program under different coaching regimes. Some became foundational pieces on offense, some turned into professional prospects, and some left behind records that still shape how Indiana measures success. The broader takeaway is clear enough, even if one part of the story is still unfolding: the Hoosiers have found more than a few recruiting hits that changed the conversation around what this program can be. [Read more 🡒]
Curt Cignetti Just Reached A New Level Of National Spotlight
Curt Cignettis rise in Bloomington has now spilled well beyond the sideline. After leading Indiana through an undefeated national championship season, the Hoosiers coach has become a familiar face in the kind of promotional work that tends to follow a breakthrough run, and his latest stop is a national commercial shoot that puts him in an even bigger spotlight.
The appearance is another sign of how far Cignettis profile has climbed in a short time, with his success drawing attention from outside the usual college football circles. He has already done other media and promotional work tied to the achievement, and this latest project adds another layer to a story that keeps expanding as Indianas title season continues to resonate. [Read more 🡒]