Indiana Football Is Here To Stay After Loaded Transfer Portal Haul

Well, that was fast.

Indiana coach Curt Cignetti mentioned during Saturday's pre-Peach Bowl press conference that 13 transfer portal recruits were on campus at the time. That cut into Cignetti's film study ahead of Friday's College Football Playoff semifinal game against No. 5 Oregon, a calendar issue that should be fixed for future seasons.

But that's a topic for another day. Perhaps one when Indiana is ranked No. 1 in the nation –– again. Because less than 48 hours after speaking about the challenge of balancing playoff prep with portal recruiting, Cignetti proved why Indiana is here to stay at the top of the college football world.

Indiana reloads through transfer portal

Josh Hoover Indiana Football — TCU Horned Frogs quarterback Josh Hoover (10) looks to pass against the BYU Cougars during the first quarter at LaVell Edwards Stadium. | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Indiana got off to a fast start in the transfer portal, securing eight commitments since Sunday morning. And perhaps most importantly, they address needs at key positions.

The Hoosiers would love to bring Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza back for another season, but he's off to the NFL. They replaced him with one of the top quarterbacks transfers available in TCU's Josh Hoover, who joins Indiana with one year of eligibility. The 6-foot-2 Hoover completed 65.9% of his passes for 3,472 yards, 29 touchdowns and 13 interceptions in 2025.

Hoover is ranked No. 5 among transfer quarterbacks by ESPN, No. 6 by On 3 and No. 9 by 247Sports. While some believe there were better options, why would anyone doubt Cignetti's quarterback evaluation and development at this point? Four different quarterbacks won conference player of the year under Cignetti at James Madison. Kurtis Rourke made the All-Big Ten second team last season, and Mendoza won the Heisman this year.

Indiana is set to lose two of its top four wide receivers at the end of the year, including Elijah Sarratt and E.J. Williams Jr. Leading receiver Omar Cooper Jr. could also be a candidate to enter the NFL Draft. Leading rushers Roman Hemby and Kaelon Black are out of eligibility at season's end, too.

But the Hoosiers have already done well to replace those skill position players, landing Michigan State transfer Nick Marsh and Boston College running back Turbo Richard. The 6-foot-3 Marsh is ranked No. 15 overall and No. 3 among transfer wide receivers by ESPN after hauling in 59 receptions for 662 yards and six touchdowns in 2025. Richard averaged 5.1 yards per carry and totaled 749 rushing yards with nine touchdowns.

Nick Marsh Indiana Football — Michigan State's Nick Marsh catches a pass while warming up before the game against Youngstown State on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Cignetti and the Indiana staff were quick to address defensive needs, too. With edge rushers Mikail Kamara, Kellan Wyatt and Stephen Daley set to graduate, Indiana has already picked up commitments from Kansas State transfers Tobi Osunsanmi (No. 4 edge, per 247Sports) and Chiddi Obiazor (No. 18 edge) and Notre Dame transfer Josh Burnham (No. 12 edge).

In the secondary, Wisconsin transfer Preston Zachman and Cincinnati transfer Jiquan Sanks will help replace graduating Hoosier safeties Louis Moore and Devan Boykin. There's still plenty of work to do in the portal, but Indiana got off to as good of a start as one could imagine.

And beyond the portal, other significant moves suggest a bright future in Bloomington.

Indiana spends big to retain staff

Part of Indiana's demise under Tom Allen revolved around not being able to retain and hire quality coordinators. Offensive coordinator Kalen DeBoer and defensive coordinator Kane Wommack played key roles in Indiana becoming bowl eligible in 2019 and 2020, but they left in consecutive offseasons to take head coaching positions at Fresno State and South Alabama, respectively. Now DeBoer is Alabama's head coach, with Wommack as his defensive coordinator. Indiana was unable to successfully replace either one.

Bryant Haines Indiana Football — Indiana defensive coordinator Bryant Haines instructs players during fall practice in 2024. | Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

But now, thanks in part to greater financial commitment in football from athletic director Scott Dolson, Indiana has been able to fend off suitors. Offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan and defensive coordinator Bryant Haines have each received outside head coaching interest, but chose to remain at Indiana. Their longstanding relationship with Cignetti and success at Indiana certainly plays a big role, but so does the financial aspect.

Cignetti's latest contract includes a clause that a good faith market review any time the staff pool ranks lower than fifth in the Big Ten Conference or tenth nationally. That allowed Indiana to increase Haines' latest extension to $3 million per year. For context, Cignetti's first contract at Indiana was worth roughly $4.5 million per year, and now his coordinators are making 66.6% of that.

Don't forget about Cignetti's player development, either

Indiana's financial commitment to football is a big reason it has gone from 9-27 in Allen's final three seasons to 25-2 in Cignetti's first two. But in no way should that diminish the way Cignetti and his staff are viewed from a player development and evaluation standpoint.

They've taken players Aiden Fisher, Mikail Kamara, D'Angelo Ponds, Fernando Mendoza –– the list could go on and on –– and turned them from overlooked high school recruits into first-team All-Americans.

Aiden Fisher Indiana Football — Indiana Hoosiers linebacker Aiden Fisher (4) celebrates a pass break up against Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (4) during the Big Ten Conference championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Dec. 6, 2025. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Some say that Indiana's high school recruiting rankings (No. 66 in 2024, No. 49 in 2025 and No. 33 in 2026) suggest the current level of success is unsustainable. And it could be true that Indiana needs to make No. 33 the floor, not the ceiling, moving forward.

But recruiting rankings are clearly not the be-all and end-all, based on Cignetti's track record. So after a quick start to transfer portal recruiting, and with the Peach Bowl coming up on Friday, Indiana fans can feel confident as any with Cignetti leading the way.

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