Marcelino McCrary-Ball has seen Indiana football from just about every angle during his six years in Bloomington. He lived through the good stretches, the ugly ones and the long climb in between. What he had never seen, though, was anything close to the 2025 Hoosiers.
Nobody had.
From 2016 to 2021, McCrary-Ball’s time at IU included three postseason trips, with appearances in the 2016 Foster Farms Bowl and the 2019 Gator Bowl, plus an injury-limited view of the 2020 Outback Bowl as his teammates played on. He also lived through the rougher years - 5-7 finishes in 2017 and 2018, then a 2-10 season in 2021 to close out his college career.
That’s why the 2025 run hit differently. Back-to-back College Football Playoff appearances.
A 16-0 season. A team that turned into college football royalty in a hurry.
McCrary-Ball watched that rise from a distance, and it meant even more when two of the players behind it landed with him on the New York Jets during the NFL Draft.
“Omar Cooper Jr. got drafted and I said, ‘Bring that IU culture here’ and when [he and D’Angelo Ponds] got here I told both of them I appreciate what they did because when I think back,” McCrary-Ball told Amanda Vogt for the New York Jets. “I was there for six years and I stuck around because I wanted to ultimately complete and accomplish what they did. It’s just really cool, that’ll stick with me for a long time.”
McCrary-Ball’s own NFL path has been a grind. He entered the league in 2022 as an undrafted free agent, first signing with the San Francisco 49ers before joining the Jets’ practice squad in August 2023. He has since spent time on the active roster from 2023 through 2025 and was named the Jets’ special teams captain ahead of the 2025 season.
A hamstring injury in Week 3 slowed him down this year, but he still appeared in five games, piling up 23 tackles while logging 120 special teams snaps and 106 defensive snaps.
Now the Jets could have a strong IU thread running through their roster in 2026. McCrary-Ball, Cooper and Ponds all appear positioned for meaningful roles as New York tries to build its own version of a turnaround story.
And the Hoosiers’ reach isn’t stopping there. With a big wave of players from that 2025 national championship team entering the league, Indiana’s culture is starting to show up all over the NFL.
The Jets are one of six NFL teams with multiple former Hoosiers on their training camp roster, and one of 16 with at least one former IU player competing for a roster spot.
In Other News...
New IU Bloomington Summer Update Raises Fresh Campus Safety Concerns
Fresh summer reporting has added another layer of concern around campus safety at IU Bloomington, where the police department has already logged multiple sexual violence complaints in 2024 and is tracking more this year. The universitys police records show 23 reports so far in summer 2026, following 60 cases on campus in 2024, a number that underscores how frequently these incidents are surfacing in the background of daily campus life.
Several June reports illustrate how varied the complaints can be, from incidents tied to Walnut Grove and Bradford Woods to one that reaches back into 2025. Some of the cases have been sent to university officials for review, while others remain under investigation, and the latest round of reports leaves the same uneasy question hanging over Bloomington: how much more is still coming to light as summer continues. [Read more 🡒]
Indiana Has Two 2026 Breakout Candidates Fans Should Be Watching
Indianas offense and defense both have a couple of names worth keeping on the radar as the program starts looking ahead to 2026. Sophomore wide receiver Davion Chandler and transfer EDGE Joshua Burnham have both drawn positive internal reviews, and 247Sports has flagged each as a potential breakout candidate for the seasons ahead. Chandler flashed as a freshman and is expected to take on a much bigger role, while Burnham turned heads in spring and looks like the kind of pass rusher this defense can build around.
Chandlers next step could matter in a hurry for a receiver group that needs emerging playmakers, especially if his spring usage carries over into the fall. Burnham, meanwhile, arrives with a different kind of buzz after impressing coaches in workouts and putting himself in position to become a key piece on the edge. The interesting part now is how quickly both players can turn that offseason optimism into something more concrete once the games start counting. [Read more 🡒]
Indiana Recruiting Momentum Faces A Massive Test With Blue-Chip Decision Near
Elijah Kimbles college decision is set for Friday, giving Indiana a chance to put a bow on what has already been a promising run on the recruiting trail. The 4-star running back from Buffalo, N.Y., has become a major name to watch for the Hoosiers, who are trying to keep building momentum in a 2027 class that already sits inside the top 30 nationally. With Kimble down to Indiana, Syracuse, Ohio State and North Carolina, this is the kind of blue-chip battle that can say a lot about how far Indianas pitch is resonating.
For Indiana, the stakes go beyond one commitment. The Hoosiers would love to add another cornerstone piece to a class that still has room to grow, especially at running back, where they have only one pledge so far. Recruiting services have treated the race as a close one, with Ohio State holding a slight edge in one industry consensus view, but Indiana remaining right there. Fridays announcement will show whether the Hoosiers can turn that momentum into a signature win. [Read more 🡒]