Indiana doesn’t look anything like the feel-good outlier it was in 2024. What started as a surprise College Football Playoff run turned into something bigger in 2025, when the Hoosiers ripped off 16 straight wins and finished as national champions. That changes the conversation fast.
Less than three years into Curt Cignetti’s tenure, Indiana is no longer chasing relevance. It’s defending it.
And with that comes a 2026 roster that has plenty of new faces trying to replace a long list of departures. Fernando Mendoza is gone at quarterback.
Two workhorse backs are off to the NFL. Three of the top four receivers from 2025 are out of the picture.
On defense, Indiana also lost stars at every level, including D’Angelo Ponds, Aiden Fisher and Mikail Kamara.
Still, this isn’t a rebuild from scratch. The Hoosiers bring back several important pieces, especially on defense, and Cignetti’s staff also did strong work in the transfer portal. With that in mind, here’s how the major statistical categories appear to line up for 2026.
At quarterback, there’s no real mystery. Josh Hoover, a TCU transfer, is set to start, and he should be the team’s clear leader in passing yards.
The backfield is a little less straightforward. Boston College transfer Turbo Richard is projected to be the lead runner, but sophomore Khobie Martin has also created real buzz after posting 506 yards and six touchdowns last season.
The expectation is that Richard and Martin will share the load, with Lee Beebe Jr. also getting touches, though Richard gets the slightest edge here. It would not be shocking if both Richard and Martin pushed past 1,000 yards, the way Roman Hemby and Kaelon Black did a year ago.
At receiver, Nick Marsh and Charlie Becker both have a path to finishing first on the team in receiving yards. Becker brings the bigger deep-ball threat, but Marsh is likely to see more volume in Indiana’s RPO-heavy offense as the projected “X” receiver. Marsh also has real big-play juice, which only strengthens his case.
On defense, Rolijah Hardy is the easiest call on the board. He led Indiana with 103 tackles last season and now enters 2026 as one of the top linebackers in the country. Matching that number feels well within reach, and topping it is certainly on the table.
Stephen Daley is another name to watch. He started only six games in 2025 because he was a backup early and later dealt with an injury, but he still managed 5.5 sacks, which ranked fourth on the team. If he stays healthy and plays a full season, he should spend plenty of time in opposing backfields and sail past double digits.
Then there’s Amare Ferrell, one of the nation’s best ballhawks over the last two seasons. He picked off four passes in 2024 and four more in 2025, giving him eight interceptions over that stretch.
Picks are always harder to project than tackles or sacks, but Ferrell keeps finding the football. As a veteran heading into 2026, a career-high total feels like the natural next step.
In Other News...
Indiana Faces Uncomfortable Questions After Tim Garl Takes Legal Action
Tim Garls exit has now become a legal fight, and it adds another uncomfortable layer to Indiana basketballs offseason conversation. The longtime former head trainer, who spent 44 years in the role, has filed a lawsuit against Indiana Universitys Board of Trustees and athletic director Scott Dolson, accusing the school of wrongful termination and age discrimination. His case is bolstered by letters of support from notable coaches and former players, underscoring how much his name still carries inside the program.
The suit asks for reinstatement, attorney fees and monetary damages, putting Indiana in the position of defending a decision that reaches well beyond one staff change. Garl says the university wanted to move on from him after decades of service, and the dispute now turns on what was said behind the scenes and why the move was made. For a program that values continuity and tradition, it is the kind of public clash that invites even more questions than answers. [Read more 🡒]
Omar Cooper Jr. Is Already Facing Early Pressure With The Jets
Indianas draft haul this spring was the sort of thing that changes the way a program is viewed nationally, with a record eight players hearing their names called in the 2026 NFL Draft. Fernando Mendoza and Omar Cooper Jr. were both first-round selections, a reminder of how much high-end talent the Hoosiers pushed into the league at once and how quickly their former stars have moved from campus headlines to pro expectations.
Coopers transition, though, has already brought a little early-season pressure in New York. The Jets are counting on him to be part of the passing-game picture this season, but his spot in the receiver pecking order is not settling as smoothly as hoped in training camp, where another young wideout has made a strong case to climb the depth chart. For Indiana fans watching from afar, it is the first real reminder that a promising college resume does not guarantee a clean path once the NFL preseason starts sorting roles. [Read more 🡒]
Indiana Transfers Are Already Shaping The Tone Of Fall Camp
Indiana kept building through fall camp as it prepares for the 2026-27 season, and a big part of the early tone has come from the newcomers who are settling in quickly. The Hoosiers are working through player development and team cohesion, and both the running back room and the wide receiver group have already started to reflect that mix of returners and transfers. Turbo Richard, who came over from Boston College, is part of a running back rotation that is giving Indiana more variety, while the receiver unit has leaned on the depth and versatility of players such as Charlie Becker and Nick Marsh.
What stands out at this stage is how smoothly some of those transfers are fitting into the program. Rather than just learning the system, a few are already taking on leadership roles in practice, which is usually a good sign for a camp still taking shape. For Indiana, the hope is that this kind of buy-in carries over once the intensity rises and the roster has to translate offseason momentum into something more durable. [Read more 🡒]