Indiana’s transfer haul is showing up loud in ESPN’s latest rankings.
On Monday, ESPN released its updated top-100 transfer list for the 2026 college football season, and five Hoosiers made the cut. Indiana placed two players inside the top 20 overall and three more in the top 50, a strong sign of how much talent Curt Cignetti’s program has already stacked through the portal.
The headliner is Michigan State transfer wide receiver Nick Marsh, who landed at No. 14 overall and No. 3 among transfer wideouts. Only Texas receiver Cam Coleman and Arizona State’s Omarion Miller ranked ahead of him at the position.
ESPN’s Max Olson called Marsh “a terrific get for the Hoosiers offense who should step right in for graduating senior Elijah Sarratt as a true No. 1 receiver next year.” Olson also pointed to Marsh’s two games against Indiana, when he caught 12 passes for 142 yards and two touchdowns.
Marsh is viewed just as highly by 247Sports, which has him at No. 14 overall and No. 5 among transfer receivers. He enters the fall as a 2025 All-Big Ten Honorable Mention and is projected as a 2027 first-round NFL Draft pick, joining IU breakout junior Charlie Becker and redshirt senior Tyler Morris in the passing game.
ESPN’s Steve Muensch praised Marsh’s downfield ability, writing: “Marsh's speed makes him a threat to get behind the coverage, and he tracks the deep ball well. He runs hard and breaks some tackles after the catch. He dropped too many passes in 2025, and he can do a better job of attacking the ball with his hands, but he's a taller target with the frame to box out underneath and win 50-50 balls downfield.”
Right behind him is Indiana’s new quarterback, Josh Hoover, who checks in at No. 17 overall and No. 5 among transfer quarterbacks. The former three-year TCU starter arrives as the active FBS leader in career passing yards and No. 2 in career passing touchdowns.
Olson noted that “Indiana's Curt Cignetti and his staff have coached five QBs who've earned conference Offensive Player of the Year honors since 2019,” and added that Hoover “gets to try to be next in line as an overqualified successor to No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza.” Olson also pointed out Hoover’s unusual path back to Bloomington, writing that he was once committed to Indiana before flipping to TCU as a high school recruit. Now he returns to lead what Indiana hopes is another CFP push in 2026.
Hoover will follow Mendoza, the 2025 Heisman Trophy winner, and seventh-round draft pick Kurtis Rourke, who finished ninth in Heisman voting. He is also set to become the seventh transfer quarterback in as many seasons to start for a Curt Cignetti-led team.
Muensch described Hoover this way: “Hoover has enough zip on his passes to throw into tight windows when he gets the ball out on time and throws with a strong base. He can get the ball out quickly and hit receivers in the numbers running RPOs.
He can keep his eyes downfield as he negotiates the pocket and can make accurate throws when he gets outside the pocket. He has limited size and is not a dynamic athlete, but he has enough to get out of trouble.
Hoover is an ideal fit for any Air Raid system and plays a lot like (Chandler) Morris at Virginia.”
Indiana also landed Wisconsin transfer Joe Brunner, ESPN’s top-ranked interior offensive line transfer and the No. 45 overall player in the rankings. Brunner is coming to Bloomington for his final year of eligibility and reunites with former Wisconsin offensive line coach Bob Bostad, who first worked with him in Madison.
Olson said, “The Hoosiers continue to build one of the top portal classes in the country and add our highest-ranked interior offensive lineman to the fold,” while also noting that Indiana’s starting guards, Drew Evans and Bray Lynch, both have another year of eligibility. 247Sports is lower on Brunner, ranking him No. 86 overall and No. 3 among transfer interior linemen.
Brunner was named to ESPN’s preseason All-America second team entering 2025 and has developed into a two-year starter at left guard. According to ESPN Research, he allowed four pressures and one sack over 316 pass-blocking snaps last season and was flagged only once.
Former Kansas State EDGE Tobi Osunsanmi comes in at No. 51 overall and No. 10 among transfer edge rushers. The 6-foot-2, 251-pound defender posted 20 tackles, six tackles for loss, four sacks and two quarterback hurries in six games last season before a season-ending injury cut his year short.
Olson wrote that Indiana “made Osunsanmi a major priority from the start” and that he should help replace the production left behind by seniors Mikail Kamara, Stephen Daley and Kellen Wyatt. 247Sports is even higher on Osunsanmi, ranking him No. 28 overall and No. 5 at edge. A Wichita, Kan., native, he was a four-star Top247 recruit in the 2022 class.
Muensch described Osunsanmi as “a former linebacker who moved to edge toward the end of the 2023 season,” and added: “He stacks and sheds tight ends as a run defender. He mixes the dip-and-rip with long-arm and quick inside moves as a pass rusher. He flashes good short-area closing burst.”
Rounding out Indiana’s group is Penn State cornerback A.J. Harris, who sits at No. 76 overall and No. 5 among transfer corners. Harris, a former five-star recruit who started his career at Georgia, earned third-team All-Big Ten honors in 2024 after transferring to Penn State.
Olson wrote that Indiana “needed to replace an All-America playmaker at corner in D'Angelo Ponds and is getting a Big Ten starter with size and 26 career starts.” ESPN ranks Harris higher than 247Sports, which has him at No. 136 overall and No. 9 among transfer cornerbacks. Harris is competing this offseason with returning redshirt senior Ryland Gandy to start opposite returning starter Jamari Sharpe.
Muensch said, “Harris is coming off a disappointing season, but he played better in 2024 and has a good skill set. He's long, and he can reroute receivers when he gets his hands on them in press coverage.
He reads the receiver, and he breaks on the ball in off coverage. He had five pass breakups and flashed good timing breaking up passes in 2024.”
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