Indiana in the NFL: Seven Hoosiers Make 53-Man Rosters, Six on Practice Squads in 2022-23 Season
The 2022-2023 NFL season begins on Thursday night with a matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and Buffalo Bills.
Let's take a look at the seven former Indiana Hoosier football players that made 53-man NFL rosters and the six players that begin the season on the practice squad.
Dan Feeney
New York Jets guard Dan Feeney (67) leaves the field after the game against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium.
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Dan Feeney is entering his sixth season in the NFL and second with the New York Jets. In the 2017 NFL Draft, Feeney was a third round pick and the 71st overall selection by the Los Angeles Chargers, where he played the first four seasons of his NFL career. Feeney has started 62 games while appearing in 79 total contests.
As a Hoosier, Feeney was a team captain during the 2015 and 2016 seasons. He earned Associated Press first-team All-American honors as a senior, and ESPN tabbed him as a first-team All-American in 2015. He started the first 41 games of his career at right guard and the final five at right tackle.
Peyton Hendershot
Dallas Cowboys tight end Peyton Hendershot (49) scores a touchdown during the fourth quarter against the Seattle Seahawks at AT&T Stadium.
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Hendershot was not selected in the 2022 NFL Draft, but he worked his way through training camp and onto the Dallas Cowboys' 53-man roster. Hendershot scored a touchdown during the Cowboys' preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks, and he could make his NFL debut in Week 1 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Hendershot graduated from Indiana University with the most receiving yards (1,479) and receptions (136) among tight ends. In 2021, Hendershot won Indiana's Anthony Thompson Most Valuable Player Award, as well as the team's Offensive Player of the Year Award. He tied for the team lead with 46 receptions, and he was a member of Phil Steele's first team All-Big Ten.
Micah McFadden
New York Giants linebacker Micah McFadden celebrates after causing a fumble recovery in the first half against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium.
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Micah McFadden was selected by the New York Giants in the fifth round with the 146th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. On the Giants' first depth chart, he is listed behind Tae Crowder at middle linebacker and behind Austin Calitro at the Will linebacker, also known as weak-side linebacker, position.
McFadden led the Hoosiers in tackles for three consecutive seasons dating back to 2019. In 2020, he was voted to the first team All-Big Ten by the coaches and media, and he landed on the Associated Press' third team All-American. As a senior, McFadden was honored with Indiana’s Anthony Thompson Most Valuable Player Award, finishing his career with 216 tackles, 14 sacks, 37 tackles for loss, four interceptions, three forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, and four pass breakups.
Rodger Saffold
Tennessee Titans guard Rodger Saffold III (76) during AFC practice at the Las Vegas Ballpark
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Rodger Saffold enters his 13th season in the NFL and first with the Buffalo Bills. He was the first pick of the second round in the 2010 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Rams, where he spent nine seasons before playing three years for the Tennessee Titans. Saffold was a second team All-Pro left guard in 2017, and he made his first Pro Bowl appearance in 2021.
Saffold started 41 games across four seasons at Indiana. In 2009, Saffold earned second team All-Big Ten honors by the coaches. He anchored an offensive line that allowed 16 sacks on the season, which ranked second in the Big Ten and tied for 28th in the nation.
Nate Sudfeld
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Nate Sudfeld (7) attempts a pass during the third quarter against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium.
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Nate Sudfeld approaches his fourth NFL season and first with the Detroit Lions. He was a sixth round pick by the Washington Redskins in the 2016 NFL Draft, but spent the first three years of his career with the Philadelphia Eagles. Sudfeld played 2022 preseason games with the San Francisco 49ers, but he will now be the backup to Jared Goff on the Lions. He has started four NFL games in his career, passing for 188 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Sudfeld was one of the best Indiana quarterbacks of all-time, finishing his career first in passing touchdowns (61), passing yardage (7,879), 350-yard games (6), 300-yard games (11), 250-yard games (13), 200-yard games (19), four-touchdown games (5) and three-touchdown games (10), tied for first in 400-yard games (1), second in completion percentage (60.3) and completions (593), third in total offense (8,011) and fourth in attempts (983) on Indiana's career lists.
Ian Thomas
Carolina Panthers tight end Ian Thomas (80) jogs on the field prior to the game against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium
Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
Ian Thomas was taken in the fourth round with the 101st overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers, where he started 30 games and appeared in 65 at tight end across three seasons. He has hauled in 90 receptions for 802 yards and four touchdowns.
Thomas started his collegiate career at Nassau Community College in Garden City, N.Y before playing two seasons at Indiana. As a senior in 2017, Thomas finished tied for third among Big Ten tight ends with five touchdowns, earning an All-Big Ten honorable mention.
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine
Tennessee Titans wide receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine (15) runs the ball against the Houston Texans during the second half at Nissan Stadium.
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Despite signing as an undrafted free agent with the Tennessee Titans before the 2020 season, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine has appeared in 30 games with eight starts in the first two years of his NFL career. In 2021, Westbrook-Ikhine carved out a meaningful role on the Titans, catching 38 passes for 476 yards and four touchdowns.
Graduating in 2019, Westbrook-Ikhine became the seventh Hoosier to reach 125 receptions and 2,000 yards, and appeared in a program-record 52 games with 36 starts. He made the Biletnikoff Award Watch List before the 2017 and 2018 seasons, and as a team captain in 2019, he shared the team lead with five receiving touchdowns.
In addition to the seven Hoosiers on the 53-man roster, there are six former Indiana football players that have been signed to NFL practice squads.
Ryder Anderson
New York Giants defensive end Ryder Anderson (90) reacts to a sack against the Cincinnati Bengals. during a preseason game at MetLife Stadium on August 21, 2022, in East Rutherford.
Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK
Ryder Anderson will begin his NFL career in 2022 as a defensive end for the New York Giants' practice squad. Anderson played one season at Indiana in 2021 after beginning his career at Ole Miss, where he spent four years. As a Hoosier, Anderson was second the team with 3.5 sacks, earning an All-Big Ten honorable mention.
Caleb Jones
Green Bay Packers offensive tackle Caleb Jones (72) leaves the field after a game against the Kansas City Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
The 6-foot-9, 370-pound Caleb Jones joins the Green Bay Packers practice squad after five years at Indiana. He started the final 30 games of his career, making 24 starts at right tackle and six at left tackle. Jones was an All-Big Ten honorable mention in 2019, and he was Indiana's Offensive Player of the Week in the team's win over Michigan in 2020.
Raheem Layne
Los Angeles Chargers safety Raheem Layne (41) during rookie minicamp at the Hoag Performance Center.
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Raheem Layne starts his professional career on the Los Angeles Chargers' practice squad, following five years at Indiana that featured 50 total games with 13 starts at cornerback and 12 starts at safety. After missing the 2020 season due to injury, Layne finished second on the team with 65 tackles in 2021.
Wes Martin
Washington Football Team offensive guard Wes Martin (67) lines up against the Cincinnati Bengals at FedExField.
Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Wes Martin was selected in the fourth round with the 131st overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins. He started five games at right guard in 2019 and five games at left guard in 2020 for Washington, before joining the New York Giants in 2021. Martin is back in Washington for the 2022 season as a member of the Commanders' practice squad.
Martin was a two-year team captain for the Hoosiers, making 37 starts and appearing in 50 games at left guard. He earned All-Big Ten honorable mentions in 2017 and 2018 by the coaches and media, and he won Indiana's Chris Dal Sasso Outstanding Lineman Award.
Marcelino McCrary-Ball
San Francisco 49ers linebacker Marcelino McCrary-Ball (40) makes a catch during training camp at the SAP Performance Facility near Levi Stadium.
Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports
Marcelino McCrary-Ball begins his NFL career on the San Francisco 49ers practice squad, following six seasons as an Indiana Hoosier. McCrary-Ball was Indiana's Defensive Newcomer of the Year and a 247Sports True Freshman All-American in 2016. He was a mainstay at Indiana's husky position – a linebacker and defensive back hybrid – starting 44 in his career. McCrary-Ball was a team captain in 2021, and finished his Indiana career with 241 tackles, 166 solo, 5.5 sacks, 16.5 tackles for loss, four interceptions, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, 17 pass breakups, and 10 quarterback hurries.
Tegray Scales
Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Tegray Scales (45) tackles Los Angeles Rams running back Jake Funk (34) in the first half at Paycor Stadium.
Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports
Tegray Scales appeared in five games for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 2020 to 2021, but he'll start the 2022 season on the Cincinnati Bengals' practice squad. In 2016, Scales became the first Indiana linebacker to earn All-America honors, and in 2017, he was the first Hoosier linebacker to gain first team All-Big Ten recognition since 1988. Scales won Indiana’s Anthony Thompson Most Valuable Player Award as a senior, making 89 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, six sacks, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries. In 2016, Scales was named Indiana's Male Athlete of the Year.
Related stories on Indiana football:
- HOOSIER ROUNDTABLE PODCAST: During the first episode of the ''Hoosier Roundtable'' podcast on HoosiersNow.com, we sat down and talked at length with Indiana linebacker Cam Jones and tight end AJ Barner to break down the Hoosiers' 23-20 win over Illinois. Here's the entire 33-minute podcast. CLICK HERE
- FOURTH QUARTER WARRIORS: Indiana's season-opening win will be remembered by Connor Bazelak’s game-winning two-minute drill, but the Hoosiers wouldn’t have been in position to win the game without three second-half takeaways by the Indiana defense. CLICK HERE
- MEET THE IDAHO VANDALS: Following a 23-20 win over Illinois in the season opener, the Indiana football team will host the Idaho Vandals at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday at Memorial Stadium. It's time to meet the Vandals. CLICK HERE
