Indiana football fans had plenty to smile about Friday night, and it had everything to do with Branden Sharpe.
The 2027 wide receiver, a 4-star commit out of Brownsburg High School, added another highlight to a senior season that is already piling up big numbers. Sharpe, who pledged to Indiana in May, became the all-time leading receiver in Brownsburg history on an 21-yard touchdown catch that put him over the top.
Check out this catch. Branden Sharpe 21 yards from Oscar Frye. Sharpe breaks Brownsburg all-time receiving record pic.twitter.com/akwI4UXJRC
- Kyle Neddenriep (@KyleNeddenriep) September 11, 2026
Sharpe finished the game with 5 catches for 88 yards, and Brownsburg rolled past Avon 48-7. The win pushed Brownsburg to 4-0, with the program sitting as the top team in Indiana and No. 14 in the country.
For the season, Sharpe has already put up 21 receptions for 382 yards and 5 touchdowns. His career totals now stand at 148 catches, 2,723 yards and 25 touchdowns.
That kind of production is exactly why Indiana has been so aggressive about landing and keeping elite in-state talent under Curt Cignetti. The Hoosiers have signed back-to-back Top-30 recruiting classes, and a big chunk of that success has come from inside Indiana’s borders.
Sharpe fits right into that picture, especially with the way Indiana has developed receivers in recent years. Omar Cooper Jr. and Elijah Sarratt formed one of the nation’s most dangerous wideout tandems last season before Cooper, after helping Indiana to a historic National Championship, was taken in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft by the Jets and Sarratt went in the fifth round to the Ravens.
There’s already more buzz building in Bloomington at the position. Charlie Becker is drawing first-round talk and even some Heisman buzz after his electric start to the season, while Michigan State transfer Nick Marsh is starting to find his stride too.
Sharpe could also end up paired with another major Indiana commitment in the future. Lawrence North star Monshun Sales became the first 5-star high school commit in Indiana football history in July, beating out heavy hitters such as Ohio State, Alabama, LSU and Texas to choose the Hoosiers. If both end up in Bloomington, Indiana’s receiver room could be loaded for years to come.
In Other News...
Indiana's Defensive Rotation Just Put A New Spotlight On Its Depth
Indianas defense spent the season opener against Howard spreading the work around, and the snap counts showed just how many options the Hoosiers are willing to use on that side of the ball. Mario Landino and Chiddi Obiazor were among the pressure leaders, Rolijah Hardy added an interception return for a touchdown, and a long list of freshmen and players seeking extra eligibility got meaningful run in the 55-0 win.
That kind of rotation is useful in a blowout, but it also hints at how Indiana may want to defend when the games tighten up. The mix of established contributors and newer faces gives the staff plenty to sort through, especially as it tries to determine which players can keep the standard high when the competition gets stronger. [Read more 🡒]
Indiana Freshmen Are Already Pushing For Bigger Hoosiers Roles
Indiana got another look at its young depth in the win over Howard, and a cluster of true freshmen on offense wasted no time getting into the mix. Jayreon Campbell, Parker Elmore, Lavar Keys and Kenton Mondeau all logged their first college snaps in the second game, with Campbell making the biggest immediate imprint by carrying the ball five times for 36 yards.
The early returns were just as encouraging on the other side of the ball, where linebacker Jacob Savage followed up his previous outing with 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack. For a program trying to build reliable depth, those kinds of first steps matter, and the next question is how quickly those freshmen can turn a brief taste of action into roles that actually stick. [Read more 🡒]
Josh Hoover Is Giving Indiana Real Buzz Before The Games That Matter
Josh Hoovers fast start has given Indiana something it rarely gets this early in a season: real national buzz around a quarterback. The TCU transfer has opened with back-to-back games in which he threw four touchdown passes and did it without an interception, a clean start that has people beyond Bloomington taking notice. It has also started to show up in the betting markets, where Hoover has climbed into the Heisman conversation as one of the names worth tracking.
Still, the useful context is that Indiana has not yet faced the kind of schedule that really tests a quarterbacks standing. The Hoosiers early opponents have been relatively weak, and Hoovers candidacy will live or die on what he does when Big Ten play brings a higher level of resistance. For now, he has earned the attention, but the games that matter most are still ahead. [Read more 🡒]