Curt Cignetti’s rise at Indiana has been built on a lot more than coaching swagger and a relentless edge. The biggest reason the Hoosiers have gone from irrelevant to unbeatable in just two seasons is the transfer portal, and Cignetti has used it better than anybody.
Indiana is 27-2 in Bloomington under Cignetti and coming off a historic National Championship season. That kind of run doesn’t happen without landing the right players at the right time, and the portal has delivered a handful of true game-changers.
Fernando Mendoza is the headliner, and it’s not close. Indiana doesn’t go 16-0 and win the National Championship without bringing in the Cal quarterback.
Mendoza became the first Heisman Trophy winner in Indiana history and the program’s first No. 1 overall draft pick since Corby Davis in 1938. For Hoosier fans, he’s already a permanent part of the program’s story, and he stands as Cignetti’s signature portal hit.
D’Angelo Ponds was another major win, and this one came with a familiar twist. Cignetti brought the cornerback with him from James Madison, and Ponds turned into one of the country’s best at his position in Bloomington.
He earned First-Team All-Big Ten honors in both seasons with Indiana and was a First-Team All-American in 2025. His most electric moment came on the first play from scrimmage against Oregon in the Peach Bowl, when he returned an interception for a touchdown.
Ponds is now in the NFL after the Jets took him in the second round with the 60th overall pick.
Elijah Sarratt followed the same path from James Madison to Indiana and gave the Hoosiers a dependable target in the passing game for two seasons. In 2024, he led Indiana in catches with 53, receiving yards with 597, and receiving touchdowns with 8.
He topped that in the next season with 65 receptions for 830 yards and an NCAA-leading 15 receiving touchdowns. That kind of production made him one of the most important pieces in Indiana’s offense.
Pat Coogan may not have brought the flash, but he brought something just as valuable. Cignetti pulled the center away from Notre Dame for his senior season in 2025, and Coogan answered by starting all 16 games and earning Second-Team All-Big Ten honors.
He was a key part of keeping Mendoza protected during the Heisman run, and he made a little history in Indiana’s 38-2 win over Alabama in the Rose Bowl by becoming the first offensive lineman to win Offensive MVP honors at the Rose Bowl Game since USC’s Norm Verry in 1944. After the National Championship, Coogan was drafted by the Titans in the 6th round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Roman Hemby rounded out the group with a season that gave Indiana real balance. After a solid career at Maryland from 2021-24, he transferred in for his final year of eligibility and became the bellcow of the backfield.
Hemby led the Hoosiers with 230 carries for 1,120 yards and 7 rushing touchdowns, and his running style fit perfectly in Mike Shanahan’s RPO-heavy offense. He earned Third-Team All-Big Ten honors and later signed a free agent contract with the Raiders after going undrafted in April.
In Other News...
Indiana Just Won A Recruiting Battle Hoosiers Fans Never Expected
For years, Alabama made the kind of recruiting run that felt almost automatic, with Nick Sabans final five classes sitting near the top of the national race every cycle. That standard is part of why Indiana landing a major win on the trail stands out so much now, because the Crimson Tide are no longer operating with the same recruiting certainty under Kalen DeBoer.
This cycle has been a rough one by Alabamas usual standards, with a class ranked 32nd nationally and a group that has not piled up the kind of blue-chip talent Tuscaloosa fans came to expect. Against that backdrop, Indiana beating out Alabama for the nations top-ranked wide receiver recruit is the sort of result that says as much about the changing recruiting landscape as it does about one individual decision, and it leaves plenty of room to wonder how many more surprises like this are still out there. [Read more 🡒]
Curt Cignetti And Indiana Just Became A Blueprint For Contenders
Rhett Lashlees new deal at SMU was always going to say something about where the Mustangs see themselves in the college football pecking order. The extension, signed in October 2025, pushed him into the sports top financial tier at more than $9 million a year and underscored how aggressively SMU has invested in its football future, from the coaching staff to the player budget to keeping the roster intact.
What makes Lashlees stance more interesting is the larger argument behind it. With college footballs power structure feeling a little more open than it used to, he has pointed to the idea that programs outside the traditional heavyweights can build real staying power if they commit the resources and trust the process. For Indiana fans, it is the kind of validation that matters, because it suggests the path to contention may no longer belong to only the usual suspects. [Read more 🡒]