Indiana is three weeks into fall camp, and while some spots already feel settled, a few projected starters are hearing footsteps. Josh Hoover is locked in as the QB1, and the offensive line looks set. Elsewhere, though, the battles are still alive, and a handful of veterans are trying to hold off challengers who are making this thing interesting.
One of the tighter fights is at cornerback, where Jamari Sharpe’s rise has already carved out one starting spot in the Hoosier secondary. That leaves the other job in a straight-up battle between Penn State transfer A.J.
Harris and returner Ryland Gandy. Harris brings the kind of résumé that usually wins these things: 34 appearances, 26 starts, one season at Georgia, two at Penn State, and an All-Big Ten defensive honorable mention nod in 2025 after a strong junior year.
He has the edge on experience. But Gandy has earned a look, too.
He played in all 16 games during Indiana’s National Championship-winning season last year, worked as a steady rotational piece, and finished with 12 tackles and a tackle for loss. He’s trying to turn that into a bigger role.
The backfield is just as crowded. Boston College transfer Turbo Richard is expected to lead the way after posting 749 rushing yards, 5.2 yards per carry, and 9 touchdowns for the Golden Eagles last season.
Still, Khobie Martin and Lee Beebe Jr. are both in the mix and both have reasons to believe they can carve out real work. Indiana has leaned on RB tandems under Cignetti and offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan over the past two years, and this group has the kind of balance that makes that approach easy to repeat.
Martin put together 505 yards and 6 touchdowns on 78 carries last season and seems to be taking a clear step forward in camp. Beebe Jr. showed his burst before injury cut his year short, finishing with 209 yards and a touchdown in just three games.
At receiver, the top of the depth chart already has a strong shape with Charlie Becker and Michigan State transfer Nick Marsh leading the room. The question now is who grabs the No. 3 job.
Tulane transfer Shazz Preston is the name to watch after leading the Green Wave in catches with 43, receiving yards with 723, and receiving touchdowns with 4. He averaged 16.8 yards per catch and ripped off a long of 69 yards, so the big-play ability is obvious.
But there’s pressure behind him, too. Morris arrived from Michigan after four seasons there, missed all of last year with an injury, and is trying to lock down a steady place in the passing game.
He was part of Michigan’s National Championship team in 2023 and totaled 23 catches for a team-leading 248 yards and 2 touchdowns in 2024. The Wolverines’ passing game was one of the worst in the Big Ten that season, and Morris now finds himself in a much better setup.
He’s been impressive in camp so far, and if that keeps up, he could be the one pushing for IU’s No. 3 WR spot.
In Other News...
Indiana Football Just Reached A Level Memorial Stadium Has Rarely Seen
Indiana football is on the verge of doing something Memorial Stadium has not seen in generations. Indiana University is expected to sell out all eight home games in 2026, and the schools official ticket site already shows no remaining tickets available. The significance goes beyond a hot ticket market, because this would be the programs first full season sellout since 1969, even with the stadium carrying more capacity than it did back then.
For a fan base that has spent years waiting for football at Indiana to feel different, the timing is hard to miss. The Hoosiers also enter that season with a 15-game home winning streak, the longest in the country, which has helped turn Bloomington into one of the more difficult places to visit in college football. The only real question now is how much further this surge can stretch once those stands are full from opening day through the final home date. [Read more 🡒]
Former Hoosiers Put Friendship On Hold For An NFL Showdown
Fernando Mendoza and Aiden Fisher spent their Indiana days as teammates and friends, and now they are walking into the same NFL exhibition season on opposite sidelines. Mendoza, a quarterback with the Raiders, and Fisher, a linebacker with the Texans, both made positive first impressions in Week 1, which only adds a little more intrigue to a matchup that will be watched closely by Hoosiers fans looking to track where those college relationships end up once the pads go on for real.
For Indiana followers, it is part of a broader run of updates worth noting. Kaelon Black has returned to 49ers practice, Kurtis Rourkes injury status remains a storyline to monitor, and Cam Jones has re-signed with the Chiefs. But the most immediate spotlight belongs to two former Hoosiers who know each other well, even if their usual conversation will have to wait until after the game. [Read more 🡒]
Paul Finebaum Just Gave Indiana Fans A New Reason To Push Back
Indianas perfect 2025 run ended with its first national championship under Curt Cignetti, but the Hoosiers are still finding out that winning the whole thing does not guarantee universal respect. Even after going 16-0, they opened the 2026 preseason AP Poll at No. 6, a placement that reflects both the challenge of replacing Fernando Mendoza and the reality that the rest of the country is not ready to hand them the benefit of the doubt just yet.
Paul Finebaum added to that debate by questioning Indianas nonconference slate while pointing to the grind that awaits in the Big Ten. For Hoosiers fans, it is another reminder that the defending champs will spend all season trying to prove last year was no fluke, and the ranking discussion may linger until they start stacking wins against the kind of opponents that shape the playoff picture. [Read more 🡒]