Best Indiana Football Players Of The 2020s So Far: No. 5 Peyton Hendershot

Peyton Hendershot provided Indiana with a reliable target during the early part of the decade.

Indiana Hoosiers tight end Peyton Hendershot (86) dives away from Rutgers Scarlet Knights defensive back Shaquan Loyal (25) during the second half at Memorial Stadium. The Scarlet Knights won 38-3. | Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Tight end isn’t the first position you hear about or that is typically prized in recruiting. However, when a team has a good one? It can be invaluable.

Such was the case for Indiana when it had Peyton Hendershot to call upon. The Lizton, Ind., native was a great resource for quarterback Michael Penix Jr.

Hendershot played the majority of his career in the 2010s. He was part of coach Tom Allen’s first team in 2017, though the extent of his play was only enough for him to maintain his redshirt status.

Hendershot showed promise in 2018 with 15 catches, and he exploded into prominence in 2019 with a career-high 52 catches for 622 yards and four touchdown catches. The Hendershot-Penix connection was a major reason Indiana went 8-5 in 2019 and advanced to the Gator Bowl.

With those seasons as the grounding for Hendershot, much was expected as the decade began. And much was delivered.

The reception total went down to 23 in 2020, but that was achieved in five fewer games than 2019 due to the COVID-19-shortened season. Hendershot equaled his four touchdowns from 2019 despite the abbreviated schedule.

Indiana’s 6-2 season in 2020 created great optimism for the 2021 season, but the Hoosiers collapsed under the weight of those expectations. A 2-10 season was the beginning of the end for Allen’s coaching regime.

One bright spot was Hendershot. After a slow start, he had at least five catches in six of the final 10 games. He exceeded 100 yards in two of the games – including a 6-catch, 106-yard, two-touchdown performance against Maryland.

In the 2020s, Hendershot had 69 catches for 694 yards and eight touchdown catches. Pro Football Focus backs up the traditional numbers with its grades. Hendershot reached an outstanding grade of 90.5 in pass receiving in 2021.

While Hendershot’s blocking grades weren’t as strong, he wasn’t called upon to block very often anyway (the majority of his snaps had him run passing routes), so his pass receiving grade helped him achieve an overall PFF grade of 84.2 in 2021. Only two other Indiana players in the 2020s – Micah McFadden and Kurtis Rourke – had a higher single-season grade.

That helped Hendershot rise into the top five of Indiana football players in the 2020s.

After his Indiana career ended, Hendershot played three seasons in the NFL. He had 15 catches for the Dallas Cowboys from 2022-23 and five catches for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2024.

Previous football top 16 players of the 2020s

No. 6 - D'Angelo Ponds
No. 7 - Tiawan Mullen
No. 8 - Aaron Casey
No. 9 - Carter Smith
No. 10 - Donaven McCulley
No. 11 - Aiden Fisher
No. 12 - Jaylin Williams
No. 13 - Jailin Walker
No. 14 - CJ West.
No. 15 - Ty Fryfogle.
No. 16 - Mike Katic.

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