Indiana Football Stock Report: 3 Players Rising and 3 Falling After Rutgers Win

Indiana football is 5-0 and ranked among the nation's best teams, but not every player's stock is moving in the same direction.

This isn't the place for players such as Turbo Richard, Lee Beebe, Charlie Becker or Nick Marsh. They've already established themselves as some of Indiana's most consistent performers.

Instead, the stock report is about movement. Whose role is growing? Who is making a stronger case for more opportunites? And whose place in the pecking order might be slipping?

Here are three Hoosiers trending up and three trending down entering Indiana's Week 6 matchup with Nebraska.

Rising: Josh Hoover

If you look strictly at the box score, Saturday wasn't Josh Hoover's best statistical game as a Hoosier. But it might have been his most encouraging.

Hoover threw for 251 yards and four touchdowns against Rutgers while continuing to avoid the turnover problems that plagued him at TCU.

More importantly, some of the imperfections from the first few weeks started disappearing. Hoover was sharp and on time underneath, and he finally connected with Charlie Becker in stride for a 48-yard deep ball after missing several similar opportunities earlier this season.

There was still an errant would-be touchdown on a short dump-off, but this looked like the most complete version of Hoover that Indiana has seen.

Falling: Tyler Morris

Tyler Morris entered the season as Indiana's starting slot receiver, one of the offenses top four targets and the team's punt returner. His grip on all three distinctions has loosened.

Becker has taken over punt-return duties, while Shazz Preston has established himself ahead of Morris in the receiving hierarchy. Davion Chandler is making a push, too, catching his fourth touchdown of the season Saturday while Morris remains without one.

Morris played a season-low 18 snaps against Rutgers. With young slot receiver Lebron Bond also working his way back soon, opportunites could become even harder to find.

Rising: Trevor Gibbs

Trevor Gibbs didn't record a catch against Rutgers. Yet he still played his best game as a Hoosier.

The freshman tight end played a career-high 53 of Indiana's 68 offensive snaps, an increased workload aided by an early injury to starter Andrew Barker. But Gibbs did more than simply fill in.

He spent 35 snaps as a blocker and played an important role in an Indiana rushing attack that surpassed 300 yards.

Tight end entered the season as one of Indiana's bigger offensive questions. Five games in, Gibbs is beginning to look like part of the answer.

Falling: Ryland Gandy

After playing 87% of Indiana's defensive snaps during nonconference play, Ryland Gandy has nearly disappeared from the rotation since Big Ten play began.

Gandy didn't play a defensive snap against Northwestern and saw just two against Rutgers. Even with A.J. Harris sidelined by injury, Indiana has instead turned to Jaylen Bell at cornerback opposite Jamari Sharpe, and Bell has played well over the last two weeks.

Assuming Harris eventually returns to reclaim his starting role, it's becoming increasingly difficult to see where Gandy fits into Indiana's defensive rotation.

Rising: Tobi Osunsanmi

Even as Indiana's defensive line gets healthier, Tobi Osunsanmi keeps making himself difficult to take off the field.

Osunsanmi played more snaps than any Indiana defensive end Saturday and finished with a season-high seven tackles.

He recorded two tackles for loss for the second consecutive week, bringing his season total to 8.5, and extended his sack streak to four games. He also helped set the tone early with a fourth-down stop.

Osunsanmi arrived this offseason alongside fellow defensive line transfers Chiddi Obiazor and Josh Burnham. Through five games, Osunsanmi has done the most to separate himself from that group.

Falling: Preston Zachman

Preston Zachman's workload is worth watching.

After playing 97% of Indiana's defensive snaps during a difficult afternoon against Northwestern, Zachman's share dropped to 79% against Rutgers. Meanwhile, third safety Quan Sanks roughly doubled his workload from one week to the next.

Zachman was targeted six times and allowed 77 receiving yards against Northwestern. The numbers weren't nearly as damaging against Rutgers, and the seventh-year senior still ranks third on the team in tackles.

But after consecutive weeks of questions about Indiana's secondary, Zachman's declining snap share makes his role one to monitor.

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