The Indiana Hoosiers have taken the college football world by storm under head coach Curt Cignetti. Taking over for the losingest program in the history of the sport, Cignetti has led IU to an overall record of 27-2 to go along with two College Football Playoff appearances, a Big Ten Championship and a National Championship in his two seasons in Bloomington.
After seeing plenty of team success over the past two years, the Hoosiers are primed to send a plethora of players to the NFL in next month's draft. Indiana set a program record by sending nine players to the NFL Combine in Indianapolis last month, which is made even more impressive when considering the fact that IU sent just one player, LB Aaron Casey, to the combine two years ago.
D'Angelo Ponds would be the perfect fit to make this elite NFL defense even better
Barring any wild unforeseen circumstances, Fernando Mendoza will be the No. 1 overall pick by the Las Vegas Raiders when the draft begins on April 23. Along with Mendoza, several Hoosiers could be in line to hear their names called early on. In total, Indiana's group of players bound for the next level have a chance to break a historic record in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Indiana eyeing program record for NFL Draft picks in 2026
Indiana is on the cusp of breaking the program record for most players selected in a single NFL Draft. The current high is seven, which occurred in the 1976 draft. After sending nine players to the NFL Combine, this year's class of Hoosiers is primed to either break or tie that record.
That 1976 NFL Draft featured a whopping 17 rounds, although there were only 28 teams in the league. Today's drafts have just seven rounds for the league's 32 teams. In 1976, only one Hoosier was selected before the 7th Round. Here's a look at the full list of Hoosiers selected in that draft:
- OT Greg McGuire: 6th Round, 181st overall (Dallas Cowboys)
- DT John Jordan: 8th Round, 221st overall (New York Giants)
- LB Donnie Thomas: 11th Round, 298th overall (New England Patriots)
- K Frank Stavroff: 12th Round, 339th overall (Baltimore Colts)
- DB Quinn Buckner: 14th Round (Washington Redskins)
- DT Jack Hoffman: 15th Round, 407th overall (San Diego Chargers)
- WR Trent Smock: 15th round, 419th overall (Detroit Lions)
In last year's draft, the Hoosiers had two players selected, but neither went in the any of the first three rounds. DT CJ West was drafted in the 4th Round with the No. 113 overall selection by the San Francisco 49ers, while QB Kurtis Rourke was taken in the 7th Round with the No. 227 overall pick also by the 49ers. Looking ahead to next month's draft, the Hoosiers could have multiple first rounders and a handful of players picked before the end of Day 2.
Indiana's Pro Day is upcoming on April 1, and that will provide Hoosiers with the opportunity to show off their skills directly to NFL teams just a few weeks before the draft commences. A total of 23 players are expected to participate in Pro Day activities in Bloomington.
The 2026 NFL Draft is scheduled for April 23-25 in Pittsburgh, and Hoosier fans are eager to see if Indiana breaks a 50-year old program record by having eight or more players selected.