The 2026 college football season is officially underway! A handful of teams got started in Week 0, with the rest of the country preparing for Week 1 action this weekend. After taking the college football world by storm over the past two seasons, Curt Cignetti and the Indiana Hoosiers entered the offseason in unfamiliar territory: as defending national champions.
As they prepare to enter their title-defending season, the Hoosiers have plenty of new faces in town. Despite facing a significant amount of roster turnover, there's no denying that Cignetti has Indiana football recruiting operating at an elite level––both through the transfer portal and the high school ranks.
With the season opener mere days away, let's evaluate some of the biggest developments in terms of roster turnover and recruiting from the offseason into one giant report card.
Grading Indiana's recruiting offseason piece by piece
NFL sendoffs: A+
NFL Draft picks: QB Fernando Mendoza, WR Omar Cooper Jr, CB D'Angelo Ponds, RB Kaelon Black, WR Elijah Sarratt, C Pat Coogan, TE Riley Nowakowski, LB Aiden Fisher
The biggest reason why the offseason was so unprecedented in Bloomington is because there was so much future NFL talent to replace from last year's team. Led by No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza, the Hoosiers set a program record by having eight players selected in the 2026 NFL Draft, while a handful of others signed as undrafted free agents. Those selections left Cignetti and his staff to replace a Heisman Trophy-winning QB, two 1,000-yard rushers, IU's top-two leading receivers, as well as several other impact players. That's not exactly an easy task, but Cignetti was up for it.
Player retention: A
Key returners: WR Charlie Becker, OT Carter Smith, RB Khobie Martin, DT Tyrique Tucker, DT Mario Landino, LB Rolijah Hardy, LB Isaiah Jones, CB Jamari Sharpe, S Amare Ferrell, K Nico Radicic
While plenty of big-name talent is off to the NFL, the good news is that the Hoosiers also boast a good chunk of returning production in 2026. On the offensive side, WR Charlie Becker and OT Carter Smith both return after sensational seasons a year ago. Becker is a major big-play threat on every snap, and emerged as one of the best wideouts in all of college football during Indiana's CFP run. He should be in for a monster season. Smith has been one of the best offensive linemen in the country during his time in Bloomington, and that should remain the same this season.
On the defensive side of the ball, Indiana returns four of its top-five sack leaders from last year. That kind of returning production in one area is extremely rare in today's era of college football. IU has a pair of dynamic duos returning in the forms of defensive tackles Tyrique Tucker and Mario Landino as well as linebackers Rolijah Hardy and Isaiah Jones. All four should be expected to take on leading roles this season.
The secondary lost D'Angelo Ponds and Louis Moore, but Jamari Sharpe and Amare Ferrell are both back. All in all, there is plenty of valuable roster continuity up and down the Hoosier's defensive depth chart.
Traditional recruiting: B+
Incoming freshmen:
DL Gabe Hill, LB Kevontay Hugan, ATH Henry Ohlinger, LB Ja'Dyn Williams, TE Parker Elmore, CB, Kashmir Hicks, DL Cameron McHaney, EDGE Ronelle Johnson, S D'Montae Tims, TE Trevor Gibbs, S Jamar Owens, WR Lavar Keys, OL Benjamin Novak, TE PJ MacFarlane, OL Samuel Simpson, LB Jacob Savage, DL Blake Smythe, RB Jayreon Campbell, WR Kortez Rupert, OT Kenton Mondeau, DL Rodney White, OL C.J. Scifres
One of the major successes of Cignetti's tenure at Indiana comes on the recruiting trail. Not long ago, the top high school players in the country never gave the Hoosiers a legitimate look on a consistent basis. That has changed in a major way, as now Indiana is firmly on the map for the nation's top prospects.
Indiana's incoming 2026 recruiting class is ranked as the No. 29 recruiting class in the country by On3. Interestingly enough, it's the same spot where Cignetti's 2025 class was ranked. The class features seven blue-chip prospects, with the highest-ranked player coming in the form of 4-star DL Gabe Hill. Bringing in back-to-back top-30 recruiting classes is a major win for Cignetti and his staff.
It's also worth noting that Indiana's 2027 recruiting class is also off to a hot start. Last month, Lawrence North star WR Monshun Sales became the first 5-star high school commit in Indiana program history. He is one of 17 commits in IU's 2027 class, and his presence could lead to Indiana posting its best recruiting ranking ever.
Transfer portal recruiting: A
Incoming transfers: QB Josh Hoover, WR Nick Marsh, RB Turbo Richard, WR Shazz Preston, OT Joe Brunner, EDGE Tobi Osunsanmi, EDGE Chiddi Obiazor, CB A.J. Harris, S Preston Zachman, CB Carson Williams, DL Joe Hjelle, P Billy Gowers, TE Brock Schott, EDGE Joshua Burnham, CB Jiquan Sanks, K Paddy McAteer, LS Drew Clausen
Players lost: QB Alberto Mendoza, DL J'Mari Monette, WR Makai Jackson, EDGE Triston Abram, WR Ace Ciongoli, DL Hosea Wheeler, OT Evan Lawrence, CB Jah Jah Boyd, DL Andrew DePaepe, EDGE William DePaepe, S Dontra Henderson, CB Amariyun Knighton, OL Mitch Verstegen, EDGE Aden Cannon
Cignetti's use of the portal in Bloomington has been masterful, and Hoosier fans have plenty of faith in his ability to identify and develop talent. Indiana lost over a dozen players via the portal, but none of those losses were extreme. Plus, Cignetti brought in more talent than he lost through the portal.
Indiana boasts the top-ranked transfer portal class in the country according to On3. The class is headlined by QB Josh Hoover, who has 31 starts and nearly 10,000 yards to go along with 71 touchdowns passes in his career. Cignetti has hit home runs transfer quarterbacks with Kurtis Rourke and Fernando Mendoza, and Hoover is poised to keep the train rolling.
WR Nick Marsh and RB Turbo Richard both figure to play significant roles this season. Marsh comes over from Michigan State, where he led the Spartans in receiving over the last two seasons. Now in a much better position, a breakout campaign could be looming. Richard comes from Boston College, where he ran for 749 yards and 9 touchdowns in 2025.
Final grade: A
It's hard not to love that Cignetti did in terms of recruiting during the offseason. Replacing so much production, especially on the offensive side of the ball, is a tall task. But Cignetti has brought players who are capable of keeping the momentum rolling in a major way. Cignetti also picked up even more momentum on the recruiting trail, giving IU fans plenty of optimism for 2026 and beyond.
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