Indiana football’s reach is all over NFL Week 1.
Curt Cignetti’s program has not only climbed to new heights in Bloomington, it has started sending a wave of former Hoosiers into the league. That surge showed up again this offseason, when Indiana had eight players selected in the 2026 NFL Draft, a program record. Fernando Mendoza went No. 1 overall and enters the season as one of the most closely watched players in the NFL.
Mendoza is part of a much larger group of Indiana alums set to take the field this week. In all, 18 former Hoosiers made 53-man rosters after training camp, and five more opened the season on practice squads.
Some are brand-new to the league. Others have already carved out steady jobs and are carrying Indiana’s name into another NFL season.
Here’s the Week 1 rundown.
The 49ers open Thursday night against the Rams, and Indiana fans will have plenty to track there. Kaelon Black is listed at running back, Kurtis Rourke is at quarterback, and CJ West is on the defensive line. Mikail Kamara is also with San Francisco, though he’s listed as injured.
Sunday brings the biggest cluster of Hoosiers. The Buccaneers visit the Bengals with Dan Feeney at guard and Luke Haggard at offensive tackle for Tampa Bay, while Ke'Shawn Williams is on the Cincinnati side as a wide receiver and kick returner.
The Jets-Titans matchup has one of the deeper Indiana connections of the week. New York has Omar Cooper Jr. at wide receiver, D'Angelo Ponds at cornerback, and Marcelino McCrary-Ball at linebacker. Tennessee counter has Pat Coogan at center.
Baltimore travels to Indianapolis with Elijah Sarratt on the Ravens’ roster at wide receiver. Nick Westbrook-Ikhine is with the Colts as a practice squad wide receiver.
The Steelers will have Riley Nowakowski available at tight end/fullback when they face the Falcons. Houston’s group includes Aiden Fisher at linebacker for the Texans.
Later Sunday, Mendoza makes his NFL debut with the Raiders against the Dolphins. Las Vegas also has Roman Hemby on the practice squad at running back and Ian Thomas at tight end.
The 4:25 window also includes Myles Price, who is listed as a Vikings wide receiver and kick returner for Minnesota’s matchup with Green Bay.
The Sunday night Cowboys-Giants game and Monday night Broncos-Chiefs matchup were also part of the Week 1 slate, though no Hoosiers were listed for those games in the guide.
In Other News...
Indiana Still Faces An Eligibility Fight With Two Key Players
A court hearing that could affect several athletes, including two Indiana University football players, has been pushed back to Monday, leaving the Hoosiers in a familiar holding pattern as the season gets underway. For now, a temporary restraining order remains in place, giving those players an extra year of eligibility and clearing them to take the field this weekend while the legal fight plays out.
The case centers on a challenge to an NCAA eligibility rule tied to athletes in the high school class of 2022, and it has become one of those off-field issues programs would rather not have hanging over the roster. For Indiana, the immediate concern is simple enough: the players are available today, but their longer-term status is still tied to a hearing that has yet to happen. [Read more 🡒]
Indianas Dominant Rise Is Turning Into A Debate Fans Will Hate
Curt Cignetti arrived in Bloomington before the 2024 season and changed the conversation around Indiana football almost immediately. The Hoosiers went 11-2 in his first year, reached the College Football Playoff, then followed it with a perfect 16-0 run and a national championship, the kind of rise that can make a program feel brand new overnight. They opened this season ranked No. 6 and backed it up by handling North Texas 52-16, with Josh Hoover completing 13 of 16 passes for 231 yards and four touchdowns.
Now the success that once felt impossible has created a different kind of pressure, because when a program climbs this fast, the debate stops being about whether it belongs and starts being about how long it can keep this up. Indiana fans have spent years waiting for a breakthrough, but the better the Hoosiers look, the more every new win seems to invite a tougher question about what comes next and whether the standard has already become too high to sustain. [Read more 🡒]
Indiana Is Gaining Early Momentum With A Tackle Recruit To Watch
Indianas season opener against North Texas did more than give fans an early look at Curt Cignettis program. It also put the Hoosiers in front of one of the more intriguing young linemen to watch in the 2028 class, as Jacob Van der Kooy of Oconomowoc High School made the trip to Bloomington and came away impressed by what he saw on and off the field.
Van der Kooy singled out Cignetti, Bob Bostad and Zack Leeds for the way they carried themselves, and he also noted the gameday atmosphere and the academic offerings at Indiana. He does not yet have an offer from the Hoosiers, but he sounds open to the possibility if his development keeps trending the right way, which gives Indiana at least an early foothold with a prospect worth tracking. [Read more 🡒]