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Indiana Transfers the Difference in 52-16 Victory over North Texas

Indiana was far from perfect in its 52-16 win over North Texas but the Hoosiers transfer portal players certainly stood out.
Jared Shlensky|
Indiana Head Coach Curt Cignetti during the Indiana versus North Texas football game at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026.
Indiana Head Coach Curt Cignetti during the Indiana versus North Texas football game at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

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Indiana Hoosiers

Two things are unequivocally certain in life: death and taxes. And there soon may be a third. Curt Cignetti doesn't miss in the transfer portal.

Prior to this season, Cignetti arguably had the best two-year run via the transfer portal. I mean, let's be honest, the players he has landed via the portal speak for themselves.

Fernando Mendoza, Pat Coogan, D'Angelo Ponds, and Elijah Sarratt were all home runs for Cignetti, and he very well may have done it again this season.

Multiple transfer portal signees stood out on Saturday for Indiana, and if IU is going to repeat as National Champs, they're going to need these transfers to continue to perform at a high level for the Hoosiers.

Josh Hoover

Of all the transfer portal signees this offseason for Indiana, Hoover was hands down the most important one. And he just happened to play the best of all the transfer portal guys on Saturday.

Despite suffering one of the worst facemask penalty's I've seen in a while, Hoover was excellent for the Hoosiers.

The TCU transfer completed 13 of his 16 passes for 231 yards and four touchdowns. I'm not ready to declare Hoover the next Mendoza, but Week 1 couldn't have gone any better for him.

Turbo Richard

Richard found the end zone twice and racked up 96 yards of total offense on just 16 touches (58 rushing yards, 38 receiving yards) and returned two kicks for 59 yards.

The Boston College transfer is electric with the ball in his hands and could very well be IU's new main weapon on offense.

Nick Marsh

Nick Marsh only caught two passes in his IU debut, but he did find the end zone on one of those two catches after making this awesome snag ...

The Michigan State transfer has gotten better each season, and he could be in line for a big season with an elite quarterback on his side in Hoover.

Joe Brunner

Could Joe Brunner be this year's Pat Coogan? Maybe. Coogan was awesome in his one season at IU after beginning his career at Notre Dame, and who knows, maybe Brunner will be too.

Similar to Coogan, Brunner played a lot of football before transferring to IU. Brunner started 24 games in four season at Wisconsin and looked great at right tackle against UNT.

Brunner could be the key piece to IU's offensive line. IU didn't allow any sacks on Saturday and Brunner was awesome on the right side of the line.

Tobi Osunsanmi

Don't worry, we didn't forget about the defense. Kansas State transfer Tobi Osunsanmi can play both defensive end and outside linebacker, but regardless of where he plays, expect to hear his name called a lot this year.

Osunsanmi recorded four tackles on Saturday, including two tackles for loss, and his versatility is going to be a serious problem for opposing offenses.

Quan Sanks

Sanks might not be a starter yet for Indiana, but he made the most of his playing time on Saturday. The Cincinnati transfer finished with three tackles, one tackle for loss and picked off a pass and returned it 31 yards.

Sanks has starting experience, so there's a chance he could start later in the year, but for now, regardless of when he plays or how often he plays, expect to see him fill up the box score.

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Jared Shlensky
JARED SHLENSKY