Indiana’s quarterback room has one clear answer, and the receiver group looks loaded enough to make the whole offense hum.
That’s the shape of IU football’s passing game heading into 2026, with Josh Hoover entrenched as the starter and a wideout trio of Charlie Becker, Nick Marsh and Tyler Morris set to carry the load. After three weeks of practice and conversations with players and coaches this month, the picture at both spots is coming into focus.
The coaching setup is part of the reason for that confidence. Offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan has been with Curt Cignetti since 2016 and has coached the wide receivers throughout that run.
Four of Shanahan’s receivers from the past two seasons are on active NFL rosters to begin the 2026 season. Tino Sunseri is back as quarterbacks coach after leaving before the 2025 season to become offensive coordinator at UCLA.
He had worked with Cignetti since 2021, when he began coaching quarterbacks at James Madison, and he guided Kurtis Rourke in 2024. Shanahan and Sunseri were college teammates at Pitt.
Hoover, listed at 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds, has been locked into the job since spring. His résumé at TCU is hard to miss: over four seasons, he finished No. 3 in school history in completions with 771 and No. 4 all-time in passing yards with 9,629, touchdown passes with 71, total offense yards with 9,619 and points responsible for with 474.
The backup quarterback battle was more of a real competition. Veteran Grant Wilson and Tyler Cherry, a former 4-star recruit, split the No. 2 snaps through spring and fall camp. Wilson will open the year as the backup, but Cherry is still moving forward and should get on the field too.
At receiver, Becker and Marsh were never really in doubt on the outside, and Morris’ recovery from a knee injury gave the staff the confidence to move him into the slot. Becker, at 6-foot-4 and 208 pounds, comes in as one of the hottest receivers in the country after a huge finish to the 2025 season. He brings track-star speed, serious vertical ability and strong hands.
Marsh, who is 19 and already has 100 career catches for 1,311 yards in two seasons at Michigan State, gives IU a different kind of problem for defenses. At 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds, he has the size and athleticism to overpower defensive backs.
Morris, a three-year Michigan receiver, missed all of 2025 but is back in the mix now. He has 39 career receptions for 470 yards and three touchdowns.
The push for additional roles came from Tulane transfer Shazz Preston and second-year receiver Davion Chandler, while Lebron Bond and Jackson Wasserstrom are also part of the mix. Chandler has been the name generating the most buzz all offseason.
The Indianapolis native from Lawrence North H.S. played in seven games as a freshman, and his first college catch went for a 65-yard touchdown at Purdue. He’s a quick-twitch player who can separate and has the speed to turn catches into bigger gains, and he can line up inside or outside.
The biggest question hanging over Hoover is how he stacks up against Fernando Mendoza. But that comparison only goes so far. No one is replacing 16-0, a Big Ten title, a national championship, a Heisman Trophy and the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft.
What matters most for Hoover is whether he can deliver in the biggest moments the way Mendoza did at Iowa, at Oregon, at Penn State and through the postseason, while also taking care of the ball. Those clutch situations and turnover control will shape his season.
There isn’t much concern in the receiver room. In fact, the view here is that IU might actually be better at wideout in 2026 even after two 2025 starters went in the first four rounds of the NFL Draft and two more ended up in NFL camps.
Becker and Marsh are both drawing first-round NFL Draft attention, and any injury to either one would obviously matter. Still, that’s the kind of issue every team has with its stars.
The prediction for Hoover across a 12-game regular season is 69.3% completions, 3,036 yards, 29 touchdowns, eight interceptions and a 174 QB rating. For Morris, the projection is even bolder: more catches in 2026 than his current career total of 39.
That’s the big takeaway for IU’s passing game. Cignetti values proven production over upside, and with Hoover and this receiver group, he has plenty of it. The Hoosiers look ready to score in bunches in 2026.
In Other News...
Indianas Season Opener Just Got Another National Stage
Indianas 2026 season opener against North Texas is already drawing a bigger spotlight than most opening-week games get, with FOXs Big Noon Kickoff set to broadcast live from the South Lawn outside Memorial Stadium in Bloomington. The pregame build-up will turn into an all-morning event, starting with a tailgate at 7:30 a.m. ET, followed by a Barstool pregame show at 9:00 a.m. and then the main Big Noon Kickoff broadcast at 10:00 a.m. ET.
For a program under Curt Cignetti that has spent the last stretch getting used to national attention, this is becoming part of the routine rather than the exception. Indiana has hosted multiple national pregame shows in recent years, and the return of another major TV stage only reinforces how much the Hoosiers profile has risen heading into another season opener in Bloomington. [Read more 🡒]
Former Indiana QB Opens Up About Facing The Hoosiers Again
Indiana footballs 2026 opener already has a little extra edge to it, and not just because the Hoosiers will be welcoming North Texas to Memorial Stadium at noon ET. The matchup will bring former Indiana quarterback Tayven Jackson back to Bloomington, this time as the Mean Greens starter, adding an unusual layer of familiarity to a game that otherwise opens the new season.
Jackson spent his media availability reflecting on the path that led him to this point, including his time at multiple schools and the way each stop shaped his college career. He also addressed his mindset heading into the reunion with his old program, which makes the season opener feel like more than a routine nonconference game for both sides. [Read more 🡒]
Former Hoosier Kaelon Black Is Suddenly In Line For Early NFL Snaps
Kaelon Blacks rise has been one of the quieter storylines of the summer, but it has put the former Hoosier in a striking spot as the NFL season opens. The San Francisco 49ers took him with the 90th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, kept him on the 53-man roster, and now have him listed as the second running back on their unofficial Week 1 depth chart after a strong run through training camp and preseason.
For a player who arrived with some intrigue but not a spotlight, that is a meaningful climb. Black now appears positioned to be the primary backup to Christian McCaffrey, which puts him one play away from a much larger role than many expected when the summer began. The next question is how much of that confidence from the 49ers will translate once the games count for real. [Read more 🡒]