The stars could be aligning for Indiana TE Holden Staes to come back to Bloomington for another season of college football.
Last Friday, an eligibility ruling from a U.S. District Court judge in Colorado granted a preliminary injunction to plaintiffs challenging the NCAA’s new age-based eligibility rule. In short, the ruling gave athletes in the high school Class of 2022 who thought they had previously exhausted all of their eligibility an addition year of eligibility. It's the same ruling that paved the way for Indiana EDGE rusher Stephen Daley to come back.
Having never redshirted in his college career and having never signed professional contract, Staes is among those athletes impacted.
Now, On3's Pete Nakos has reported that Staes is exploring a possible return to Indiana. Should he come back to Bloomington, Staes would elevate Indiana's TE room in a major way.
Holden Staes would give Indiana's TE room a major lift
Firstly, Staes would bring some much-needed veteran experience to Indiana's young group of tight ends. All five TEs on the Hoosier roster this season are either freshmen or redshirt freshmen, and between them they have just 17 snaps of college football experience. Brock Schott owns 16 of those during his redshirt freshman campaign at Miami (FL) last season.
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Staes has four years of college football experience under his belt after stops at Tennessee, Notre Dame, and Indiana. In total, he has accumulated 38 catches for 380 yards and 7 touchdowns. Last season, he appeared in all 16 games for Indiana and totaled 7 catches for 62 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Needless to say, that experience would be a welcome sight in Indiana's TE room for the upcoming season.
Along with bringing experience and being a reliable receiving threat, Staes would bring key depth to Indiana's thinnest position group. The lack of proven production in the Hoosier TE room is the most glaring hole in Indiana's offense. With a handful of returning starters on both sides of the ball, as well as an influx of veteran talent through the transfer portal, experience is not lacking on the Indiana roster for the 2026-27 season. The biggest exception is the TE room, but Staes can help change that.
At this point in time, it remains to be seen if Staes will actually make things official and come back to Indiana for another season of college football. But with the recent eligibility ruling, the path is certainly there. It could make for a great fit for all parties involved.
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