Indiana’s pursuit of AJ Williams just got a lot more urgent.
The 6-foot-7, 200-pound small forward from Stockbridge, Georgia had been sitting atop the 2028 recruiting class as the No. 1 overall player, but multiple reports say he is reclassifying into 2027. That kind of move always changes the temperature of a recruitment, and in Williams’ case, it turns an already crowded chase into something even more intense.
Williams remains one of the most sought-after prospects in the country. He holds 25 offers, with Duke, North Carolina, Auburn, BYU, Kansas, Georgia and others already in the mix.
Even after moving up a class, he did not tumble far in the national rankings. He is no longer the top player in 2027, but 247Sports still has him inside the Top 5.
That says plenty about the level of buzz around him. Reclassifying usually comes with a bigger drop than that, but Williams’ stock keeps climbing.
Indiana has been involved early. The Hoosiers were among the first Power 4 programs to offer him, doing so in July of last year. He was also one of the first players to get an offer from Darian DeVries after DeVries took over the program in March 2025.
Now the question is whether Indiana can stay in the mix as the recruitment accelerates.
That will not be easy. North Carolina, Duke, Arkansas, Auburn, BYU, Kansas and Georgia all have offers out, and several reports have pointed to Jon Scheyer and the Blue Devils as a major contender. Georgia, as Williams’ home-state school, is also a team to watch.
For now, Williams is expected to begin setting official visits for the fall. Indiana will be hoping Bloomington lands on that list.
In Other News...
Indiana Still Looms Over Oregon As Dante Moore Revisits That Loss
Dante Moore is back preparing for the 2026 season at Oregon after choosing to return instead of jumping to the NFL Draft, and a familiar name from Indiana still sits in the background of that reset. The Ducks quarterback has spent part of his offseason studying film of former Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who helped lead Indiana to a national championship, as Moore looks for ways to sharpen his own game and move forward from the postseason disappointment that ended Oregons run.
Moore has also been revisiting that CFP semifinal loss to Indiana, the kind of game that lingers because it exposed just how thin the margin can be on the biggest stage. He said he is excited about what comes next, but the film study and the memory of that defeat make clear that Indiana has not faded into the rearview mirror for Oregon yet, at least not for the quarterback trying to turn the page. [Read more 🡒]
Indiana Defense Is Earning National Respect All Over Again
Indiana football is starting to draw the kind of defensive buzz that usually comes with programs farther up the national pecking order. CBS Sports has projected the Hoosiers to field one of the top defensive fronts in the country for the 2026 season, slotting them No. 8 overall and No. 2 in the Big Ten, a sign that last years momentum on that side of the ball has not gone unnoticed.
Much of that respect comes from the pieces Indiana already has in place, with Mario Landino, Tyrique Tucker, Rolijah Hardy and Isaiah Jones all back in the mix. The Hoosiers also went into the portal to add help from Kansas State and Notre Dame, and the group now carries a mix of preseason honors and breakout potential that suggests Indianas defensive reputation is growing beyond Bloomington. [Read more 🡒]
Indiana Fans Have A New Reason To Rally Around Curt Cignetti
Indiana has spent plenty of recent seasons looking up at the rest of the Big Ten, but the first preseason coaches poll offered a different kind of headline. USA Today slotted the Hoosiers at No. 6, making them the third-highest-ranked conference team behind only Ohio State and Oregon. For a program that has been building momentum under Curt Cignetti, it is another sign that the outside view of Indiana has changed in a hurry.
The ranking also gives Hoosier fans a fresh reason to circle the calendar as the new season approaches. Indiana opens against North Texas, and the early buzz around the program will only grow if the Hoosiers can turn preseason respect into a fast start. Cignetti has already helped shift the conversation around Indiana, and now the challenge is proving the ranking was more than just offseason optimism. [Read more 🡒]