Indiana football is stacking preseason honors again, and this time The Sporting News put three Hoosiers on its All-America teams ahead of the 2026 season.
Redshirt senior offensive tackle Carter Smith and junior linebacker Rolijah Hardy were named to the preseason All-America First Team. Junior wide receiver Charlie Becker earned a spot on the preseason All-America Second Team.
Smith, who was a second-team Sporting News All-America pick last season, drew praise for his steady play on the edge. Bill Bender noted that Smith started all 16 games for Indiana last season and returns as a leader on the offensive line.
He allowed only two sacks, both coming in the CFP championship game, and was described as a reliable presence through the Big Ten schedule. Bender also pointed out Smith’s work as a run blocker, with Indiana averaging 212.9 rushing yards per game.
Hardy’s rise has been just as notable. Bender called the Navy transfer a disruptive force at linebacker for Indiana’s national championship team last season after he piled up 102 tackles, eight sacks and 15 tackles for loss.
Hardy also broke up five passes in coverage. Bender said he is one of the key returning pieces for the Hoosiers in 2026 along with Isaiah Jones and Tyrique Tucker.
The Sporting News also slotted Indiana near the top of the national picture in its preseason rankings and College Football Playoff projections, picking the Hoosiers as the No. 1 seed in the 2026-27 CFP and giving them a first-round bye.
Bender wrote that Indiana should open the year in the Preseason AP Top 25’s top five and pointed to a non-conference slate of North Texas, Howard and Western Kentucky. He also highlighted the back-to-back Big Ten road games at Rutgers on Oct. 3 and Nebraska on Oct. 10 before what he called one of the biggest home games in school history on Oct. 17, when Indiana hosts Ohio State in a matchup of the last two national champions. Indiana beat the Buckeyes 13-10 in the Big Ten championship game last season, but the Hoosiers have not beaten Ohio State at home since 1988.
Indiana’s schedule also includes two teams The Sporting News projects into the CFP field, Ohio State and USC, plus four teams in its preseason top 25: No. 2 Ohio State, No.
10 USC, No. 13 Michigan and No.
24 Washington. The Hoosiers travel to Michigan on Oct. 24 and Washington on Nov. 21, and host USC on Nov.
Bender summed up the challenge this way: "It's a tough schedule, but the Hoosiers should be good enough to get back to the CFP for a third straight season under Cignetti."
At quarterback, new Indiana starter Josh Hoover also made TSN’s “Heisman Hopefuls” list. Bender wrote that "(Fernando) Mendoza and Kurtis Rourke averaged close to 3,300 yards and 35 TDs the last two seasons with Curt Cignetti at Indiana," before adding that Hoover "averaged more than 3,700 yards and 28 TDs the last two seasons at TCU. He needs to reduce the interceptions, but the arm talent is there."
The Sporting News’ projected 2026-27 College Football Playoff field follows.
In Other News...
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For the Hoosiers, the practical effect is simple: two injured defenders are back in the fold, and the defense suddenly looks deeper because of it. Indiana has been able to bring back Stephen Daley and Kellan Wyatt, a welcome development for a unit that can use every available body as it prepares for the next season. [Read more 🡒]
Charlie Becker Became The Indiana Weapon Fans Never Saw Coming
Charlie Becker spent two years in the kind of role that rarely draws much attention, working as a backup wide receiver and contributing on special teams before his chance on offense finally arrived. When a starting receiver went down, Indiana had to lean on a player who had already built a reputation for being ready to do a little bit of everything, and Becker has since turned that opportunity into a much larger part of the offense.
What has made his rise so notable is how quickly he has gone from depth piece to one of the programs most important playmakers, with his work showing up in major games and earning him preseason All-American recognition. The larger question now is how Indiana keeps folding him into the attack, because the preparation that made him useful in the first place has only made the next step more intriguing. [Read more 🡒]
Former Hoosiers Are Suddenly Facing Big NFL Camp Stakes
At the start of NFL training camp, Indiana had a sizable footprint across the league, with 27 former Hoosiers attached to NFL teams and all of them trying to turn summer reps into something more lasting. For a program that has been working to push more players into pro conversations, that kind of presence matters, especially when a few of those names are suddenly in spots where depth chart movement and special teams work can change the shape of a roster chase.
Fernando Mendoza even found himself taking first-team reps for the Raiders, while Riley Nowakowski sits as the only fullback on the Steelers depth chart and Zach Horton was brought back by Detroit after another tight end went down. Elsewhere, injuries have already complicated the picture for Kaelon Black and DAngelo Ponds, reminders of how quickly camp can turn from opportunity to attrition for players trying to hold their place. [Read more 🡒]