Indiana Football Early Signing Day Tracker: Every Player Coming to the Program in 2026

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Follow along as Indiana football builds its 2026 recruiting class during the Early Signing Period. This real-time tracker features every official signee, individual breakdowns, position group insights, and how the class stacks up nationally.

Full List of Indiana football's 2026 Early Signees

Name	Position	Height	Weight	High School	Hometown	Star Rating, Composite Ranking by 247Sports
Blake Smythe	DL	6' 4"	300	Franklin Community	Trafalgar, Ind.	3-star T-No. 1,003
Jacob Savage	LB	6' 1"	219	Ryle	Union, Ky.	3-star No. 900
CJ Scifres	OL	6' 6"	325	Center Grove	Bargersville, Ind.	3-star No. 1,904
Parker Elmore	TE	6' 5"	230	Columbus North	Scipio, Ind.	3-star No. 740
Lavar Keys	WR	5' 9"	165	DeMatha	Hyattsville, Md.	3-star No. 769
Kevontay Hugan	DL	6' 1"	215	Booker	Sarasota, Fla.	4-star No. 326
D'Montae Tims	DB	6' 1"	195	Armwood	Ruskin, Fla.	3-star T-No. 1,219
PJ MacFarlane	TE	6' 5"	205	Lakota East	Liberty Township, Ohio	3-star T-No. 1,003
Henry Ohlinger	LB	6' 1"	210	Grandview	Columbus, Ohio	4-star No. 296
Cameron McHaney	DL	6' 0"	315	IMG Academy	Indianapolis, Ind.	3-star No. 351
Jamar Owens	DB	6' 0"	150	Douglas County	Jonesboro, Ga.	3-star No. 966
Jayreon Campbell	RB	6' 0"	190	McEachern	Powder Springs, Ga.	3-star T-No. 1,219
Rodney White	DL	6' 1"	295	Concordia	Baltimore, Md.	3-star T-No. 1,606
Samuel Simpson	OL	6' 4"	275	River Falls	River Falls, Wis.	3-star No. 859
Gabriel Hill	DL	6' 0"	290	Naperville North	Naperville, Ill.	4-star No. 219
Trevor Gibbs	TE	6' 2"	220	Crown Point	Crown Point, Ind.	3-star No. 546
Ben Novak	OL	6' 7"	300	Andrean	Crown Point, Ind.	3-star No. 821
Ja'Dyn Williams	LB	6' 2"	205	Massillon-Washington	Massillon, Ohio	4-star No. 438
Kasmir Hicks	DB	5' 11"	160	Decatur Central	Camby, Ind.	4-star No. 458
Kortez Rupert	WR	6' 1"	160	East Saint Louis	East Saint Louis, Ill.	3-star T-No. 1,606
Ronelle Johnson	DL	6' 4"	245	Blue Springs	Blue Springs, Mo.	4-star No. 332
Kenton Mondeau	OL	6' 7"	315	Eau Claire North	Eau Claire, Wis.	3-star No. 1,310

Position-by-Position Breakdown

Offense

QB (0): Indiana lost its only 2026 quarterback commit in Cash Herrera on Nov. 20, and the Hoosiers haven't yet added another signal caller. They do, however, have young talent on the roster in redshirt freshman Alberto Mendoza and true freshmen Jacob Bell and Maverick Geske.

RB (1): The Hoosiers signed Jayreon Campbell as their lone ball-carrier. Indiana will lose Roman Hemby and Kaelon Black to graduation after this season, but redshirt junior Lee Beebe Jr., redshirt freshman Khobie Martin and true freshman Sean Cuono are each slated to return.

WR (2): Indiana landed Lavar Keys, who decommitted from Penn State after the Nittany Lions fired coach James Franklin, along with Kortez Rupert. The Hoosiers have promising young pieces at receiver in sophomore Charlie Becker and true freshmen LeBron Bond and Davion Chandler, but there's a path to early-season, late-game playing time for Keys and Rupert, as Bond and Chandler discovered this season.

TE (3): The Hoosiers added Trevor Gibbs, PJ MacFarlane and Parker Elmore at tight end, a position set for an offseason overhaul. Indiana will lose Riley Nowakowski, Holden Staes and James Bomba to graduation, leaving only true freshmen Blake Thiry and Andrew Barker on the roster. Gibbs, MacFarlane and Elmore should arrive on campus with a chance to fight for snaps.

OL (4): Indiana secured four new pieces to its offensive line in CJ Scifres, Samuel Simpson, Ben Novak and Kenton Mondeau. Novak was a late flip from Wisconsin. The Hoosiers may return three starters on their offensive line, as left tackle Carter Smith, left guard Drew Evans and right guard Bray Lynch each have another year of eligibility remaining. There's considerable young talent, too, and the incoming quartet likely faces an extended wait for playing time.

Defense

DL (6): The Hoosiers bolstered their defensive line in significant fashion this class, adding Blake Smythe, Kevontay Hugan, Cameron McHaney, Rodney White, Gabriel Hill and Ronelle Johnson. Hill, Hugan and Johnson are 4-star recruits in the 247Sports composite rankings. Hugan is Indiana's highest-ranked prospect in 247Sports' national rankings, while Hill is the team's highest-graded recruit in the composite. Indiana will lose several proven contributors to its defensive line after 2025, but it has several promising pieces both in this class and the year prior.

LB (3): Indiana secured a trio of linebackers in Jacob Savage, Henry Ohlinger and Ja'Dyn Williams, the latter two of whom are graded as 4-star prospects in the 247Sports composite. The Hoosiers will lose senior Aiden Fisher to graduation, but sophomore Rolijah Hardy and redshirt junior Isaiah Jones are both poised to return as starters in 2026. Redshirt juniors Kaiden Turner and Jeff Utzinger have played in reserve roles this season, while Indiana likes freshmen Quentin Clark and PJ Nelson, too.

DB (3): The Hoosiers added D'Montae Tims, Jamar Owens and Kasmir Hicks to their secondary. Tims and Owens play safety, while Hicks, the highest-graded recruit of the three, is a cornerback. Indiana will lose starting safety Louis Moore and rover Devan Boykin to graduation, but the Hoosiers are fond of true freshmen defensive backs Byron Baldwin and Jaylen Bell. Starting cornerbacks D'Angelo Ponds and Jamari Sharpe, along with starting safety Amare Ferrell, each have another year of eligibility.

Top Commitments in the Class

Indiana landed two 4-star recruits — defensive lineman Kevontay Hugan and linebacker Ja'Dyn Williams — in 247Sports' national rankings, while the 247Sports composite gave the Hoosiers six 4-star recruits in Hugan, Williams, linebacker Henry Ohlinger, defensive lineman Gabriel Hill, cornerback Kasmir Hicks and defensive lineman Ronelle Johnson.

The takeaway? Indiana's defense added significant talent in the 2026 class.

Recruiting Surprises, Flips & Misses

Indiana lost a commitment from quarterback Cash Herrera on Nov. 20. Herrera committed to Boise State on Tuesday night, and the Hoosiers were left without a signal caller in the 2026 class. Indiana does, however, have quarterback Jameson Purcell verbally committed in the class of 2027.

The Hoosiers flipped in-state offensive lineman Ben Novak from Wisconsin on Nov. 19, while receiver Lavar Keys de-committed from Penn State and chose Indiana in the aftermath of the Nittany Lions' coaching staff changes.

There were no last-minute or day-of surprises for the Hoosiers during this cycle.

Historical Context & Class Ranking

Here's how Indiana's 2026 recruiting class stacks up across various outlets, and where the Hoosiers rank in comparison to the rest of the Big Ten:

247Sports: No. 32 nationally (No. 9 Big Ten)
ESPN: No. 27 nationally (No. 7 Big Ten)
Rivals: No. 30 nationally (No. 9 Big Ten)

The 2026 recruiting class is Indiana coach Curt Cignetti's third since being hired Nov. 30, 2023, but it's his second full cycle. Cignetti has mentioned several times this year the Hoosiers' success in 2024 — finishing 11-2 and making the College Football Playoff — helped their recruiting efforts, and they secured their highest-ranked class to date during Cignetti's tenure.

Indiana's 2025 class finished at No. 39 on 247Sports and No. 53 on Rivals. The 2026 class has more talent on the defensive line and throughout the front seven at large.