Indiana football unveiled its 2026 active roster this week, with some notable additions mixed into the highly-touted transfer class that Curt Cignetti and company brought in after the National Championship.
Tyler Cherry, for example, is back in the mix after missing last season with a non-contact injury.
Besides new numbers, questionably accurate height and weight listings, and a lot of new names to know, the roster gives us a glimpse into how the depth chart could shake out come September. Some positions, like starting quarterback, appear to be locked up, but there are a few positions that look competitive heading into spring ball.
Based on the new roster, here are a few positions and position battles that stand out in February:
(Backup) Quarterback
Okay so this may be of most interest to me, as a longtime Tyler Cherry believer, but as last season showed, Indiana finds plenty of opportunities to break in their backup signal-callers in blowouts throughout the season. And there’s always the possibility of injuries.
Last season, Alberto Mendoza saw action in eight games, attempting passes in six of them and regularly showing off his legs on designed runs and scrambles. There were moments of promise, but after all of that game action, the staff opted for Josh Hoover, a more experienced option who can also utilize the run game.
This year, it’ll be Grant Wilson and Tyler Cherry battling it out for the second spot. Wilson is in his final year of eligibility, while Cherry will be a redshirt freshman.
Considering their age, if Wilson ends up as the backup, you can probably take it as a sign that the staff will hit the portal again. He has no eligibility remaining next season, so he isn’t a prospect Indiana can count on in the future.
Cherry, on the other hand, was a former four-star prospect who many expected to be competing for snaps as a freshman at Duke before he flipped his commitment to Indiana. If he can develop as he was projected to in the backup role this season, Mike Shanahan and Tino Sunseri may have a long-term solution on their hands.
Defensive line
Defensive line play has become a point of emphasis for Indiana in its first two seasons in Bryant Haines’ defense, so it’s good news that the Hoosiers are returning multiple players up front from the National Championship team.
The interior is likely locked up Tyrique Tucker and Mario Landino, though the addition of Joe Hjelle from Tulsa could make things interesting. At the very worst, he’s a good rotation player with his size and production last season. Then there’s a few incoming freshman who will probably take a year to develop.
The edge spots will be a little more interesting.
Daniel Ndukwe had some impressive moments last year when injuries to Stephen Daley and Kellan Wyatt thrust him into a starting role. The staff also brought in Joshua Burnham from Notre Dame and a pair of edge rushers from Kansas State, Chiddi Obiazor and Tobi Osunsami.
All four will likely be heavily featured in the rotation, but how the snaps are divided is something to watch through spring ball. As of now, it looks like it will be another position of strength for Indiana in 2026.
Wide Receiver
Nick Marsh, a receiver from Michigan State, is arguably the biggest name Indiana added in the portal. Through two seasons with the Spartans, he has demonstrated WR1 ability and production in the Big Ten.
Putting Marsh next to Charlie Becker, last season’s breakout star, will give Indiana two proven deep threats that should help ease the transition out of the Omar Cooper Jr. and Elijah Sarratt era. Then there’s Shazz Preston, who was pretty productive last season with Tulane.
In addition to those two potential All-Conference selections, I’m interested to see how Tyler Morris will fit in to this year’s offense. Before tearing his ACL, Morris was projected to be the starting slot receiver, a spot he should be in the mix for this year.
Assuming Morris can return to form, Hoover will have three proven Big Ten receivers as his top options heading into 2026.
How things look deeper on the depth chart remains to be seen, but Becker’s emergence last year proved that there are good things going on behind the scenes with that position group, so we may see another weapon break out over the course of the season.
Either way, this looks like another position of strength for Indiana, setting the Hoosiers up for another high-scoring season on offense.
