In two seasons under Curt Cignetti, the Indiana Hoosiers have taken the college football world by storm. The Hoosiers are coming off a perfect 16-0 season that culminated in a historic National Championship, and with Cignetti leading the way, they look primed to remain a national power in 2026 and beyond.
Indiana lost several stars from last year's team to the NFL, including QB Fernando Mendoza, WR Omar Cooper, WR Elijah Sarratt, CB D'Angelo Ponds, and RB Roman Hemby, among others. But there are still a handful of big names returning to Bloomington, and Cignetti has brought in plenty of talent through the transfer portal.
The start of the new college football season is still over two months away, but preseason All-America projections are making the rounds on social media. Not surprisngly, a plethora of Hoosiers are set to enter the 2026 campaign with high expectations.
8 Hoosiers named to Athlon Preseason All-America Teams
In the lead up to the new season, Athlon Sports has released its College Football 2026 All-America Teams. The Hoosiers are well-represented with eight total players scattered among the four teams.
Three Hoosiers were featured on the First and Second Teams, with one IU representative appearing on the Third and Fourth Teams. Here is where each Hoosier was featured:
First-Team: OL Carter Smith, DL Tyrique Tucker, LB Rolijah Hardy
Second-Team: WR Charlie Becker, LB Isaiah Jones, CB Amare Ferrell
Third-Team: WR Nick Marsh
Fourth-Team: CB Jamari Sharpe
Athlon Sports gives Indiana even more hype heading into the 2026 season
Indiana's eight representatives on the Athlon Preseason All-America Teams are the second-most among a single team in the country. Indiana's eight players was tied with Georgia and trailed only Oregon's 11. Ohio State and Texas followed just seven representatives each.
The 3 most important Indiana football players not named Josh Hoover
It's important to note that Athlon's Preseason All-America projections are just that -- projections. Per Athlon's release, career statistics and previous awards matter when evaluating players, but names featured on these teams are based largely on predicting who will shine in 2026.
The Hoosier hype from Athlon continues to raise the expectations for Indiana in its title-defending season. Indiana is all but a lock to be a Top-10 team in the Preseason AP Top-25 Poll for the first time in program history, and are well-positioned to earn a Top-5 ranking. Furthermore, it wouldn't be surprising to see the Cream and Crimson claim the No. 1 overall ranking.
Times have changed under Cignetti. Indiana was once a vastly overlooked program, but is now considered a national powerhouse after going 27-2 in the first two seasons of Cignetti's tenure. Coming off one of the most improbably Nationals Championships in the history of the sport, Cignetti has IU in a great spot to get back to the College Football Playoff for the third consecutive season. The eight players featured on Athlon's Preseason All-America Teams figure to play a key role in making that become a reality.
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