Curt Cignetti and Indiana flip Deion Sanders' top recruit from Colorado

The Indiana Hoosiers football recruiting class for the 2026 season just got even better today as they flip former 2026 Colorado three-star safety commit D’Montae Tims on Thursday, according to On3 Sports’ Hayes Fawcett on X.  

Tims joins former Penn State wide receiver commit LaVar Keys and and former Wisconsin offensive lineman commit Benjamin Novak as the third recruit to flip to Indiana since Sunday.  

Per 247 Sports’ composite rankings,Tims a native of Seffner, Florida ranks as a three-star recruit and the 108th best safety in the 2026 class. The sunshine state recruit also ranks as the 133rd best player in the talent rich state of Florida and 1,210th overall in the 2026 class. The arrival of Tims adds to Indiana’s 25th nationally ranked 2026 recruiting class, per 247 Sports.

Tims was in Bloomington over the weekend to watch the second-ranked Hoosiers defeat Wisconsin, 31-7 this past Saturday.

“You can tell they’re building something,” Tims said. “What I liked most was how genuine everybody was. Indiana feels like a place where they’re investing in players on and off the field. 

“The staff is locked in, the culture is growing, and you can see the vision. Definitely a great environment.” Tims told Rivals.com after his visit

Tims aka "Chico" picked Indiana over schools that included: Georgia Tech, Louisville, Iowa, Illinois, Miami and Florida State among others.

He had originally committed to Missouri in April before changing his commitment to Colorado in July, but an official visit to IU last week changed Tims’ mind again.

Indiana also recently came in as the No. 2 team in the country in all three Top-25 rankings, the College Football Playoff Rankings, AP and Coaches. The Hoosiers sit behind only Ohio State in all three rankings, with both teams on a collision course for the Big Ten Championship at 11-0 overall and 8-0 in the Big Ten Conference.