Indiana Hoosiers Football: 3 Questions After Spring Practice

The Indiana Hoosiers head into the summer after a successful spring practice, and the program is faced with three major questions that could have an effect on the future.

What do the Hoosiers need to focus on over the next few months? What's the biggest position concern, and what are the key injury situations?

Can Indiana land a 5-Star recruit?

The Hoosiers' recruiting efforts have seen an uptick since Curt Cignetti's arrival, as evidenced by IU's 2025 class finishing 39th in the country and the 2026 class finishing 20th, according to 247Sports.

Indiana's 2027 class sits at a relatively disappointing 49th nationally, but Cignetti and his staff are going big game fishing. The Hoosiers recently hosted three five-star recruits, all of whom are top-30 nationally rated prospects.

Defensive tackle Jalen Brewster (No. 1 DT) and Monshun Sales (No. 1 WR) have both made multiple trips to Bloomington over the last year. Brewster is a Texas Tech commit, while Sales, who is from Indianapolis, has the Hoosiers at or near the top of his list.

The other five-star that was on campus was running back Landen Williams-Callis, who has the Hoosiers near the top as well. The Hoosiers need to see some payoff from their success in the high school recruiting ranks, and if they can land one of these five-star prospects, it can change the story in Bloomington.

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Indiana's Carter Smith (65) during Indiana football spring practice on Thursday, April 16, 2026. | Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

How quickly do the Hoosier stars return from injury?

Curt Cignetti said it multiple times during Indiana's spring football game, "the fall will look different."

Indiana had some injuries to quite a few players who are projected starters in the fall.

Reigning Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year, Carter Smith, missed all of spring practice after shoulder surgery following the national championship game, and wide receiver Charlie Becker was held out most of spring ball with a hamstring injury. It's an injury he dealt with last fall as well.

Other key players like Bray Lynch (ankle) as well as cornerbacks Ryland Gandy (undisclosed), and AJ Harris (undisclosed), also missed large chunks of time. All three are expected to be in the running to replace the starter lost to the NFL Draft.

Cignetti did say that all of the players who missed the spring game should be back for the fall and that the Hoosiers did not suffer any additional injuries during its spring game. The sooner these players can return, the easier it will be to get them up to speed.

What does Indiana do at tight end?

This is the one question that was not really answered during the spring. Indiana loses nearly all of their production from the tight position from a year ago and only brought in one transfer at the position in redshirt freshman Brock Schott.

The Hoosiers also only had two healthy tight ends who participated fully in spring, in Blake Thiry and Andrew Barker. However, they have played in just one game between the two of them.

Schott was limited coming off shoulder surgery, and true freshmen Parker Elmore and Trevor Gibbs were also limited with injury. Incoming freshman PJ MacFarland has not joined the team yet, either.

If there is one glaring hole that needs to be filled, it's tight end. Right now the Hoosiers do not really have an answer yet.

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