Predicting Indiana Football’s Week 1 Depth Chart

Here's our best guess at how the Hoosiers will line up for Week 1 against Florida International.

The 2024 Indiana football team lines up during fall camp. / Indiana Athletics

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana begins the 2024 football season Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET against Florida International at Memorial Stadium.

The Hoosiers are approaching their first season with new head coach Curt Cignetti, who overhauled the roster with 30 incoming transfers. Indiana returns just 38 scholarship players, which is third fewest among all FBS teams.

Below is our prediction for Indiana's Week 1 depth chart. Indiana did not release an official depth chart before the season, and this is not meant to be one. This is just our prediction based on attending practices open to the media and insight from press conferences with coaches and players.

Some players are listed multiple times, like on the offensive line, for example, where players are more interchangeable than other positions. Indiana is especially deep at running back and wide receiver, and coaches have mentioned those positions could be more heavily rotated than others.

On the defensive side, Indiana uses a few different terms than some teams. Cignetti described the "stud" position as 70% defensive end and 30% linebacker. Jacob Mangum-Farrar switched to that position during spring practice after playing inside linebacker for Indiana last season.

Another one is the "rover," which combines safety and linebacker responsibilities, similar to Indiana's "husky" position under former head coach Tom Allen. Ideally, they have the strength and speed to stop the run and cover receivers.

So ahead of Saturday's kickoff, get to know the new-look Hoosiers with our Week 1 depth chart prediction.

Offense

QB: Kurtis Rourke, Tayven Jackson

RB: Justice Ellison, Kaelon Black, Ty Son Lawton

WR: Elijah Sarratt, Omar Cooper Jr.

WR: Donaven McCulley, E.J. Williams Jr.

WR: Myles Price, Miles Cross, Ke’Shawn Williams

TE: Zach Horton, James Bomba, Trey Walker

LT: Carter Smith, Cooper Jones

LG: Drew Evans, Tyler Stephens, Adedamola Ajani

C: Mike Katic, Tyler Stephens, Jack Greer

RG: Bray Lynch, Tyler Stephens, Austin Leibfried

RT: Trey Wedig, Austin Barrett

Defense

DE: Mikail Kamara, Venson Sneed

DT: CJ West, Tyrique Tucker

DT: James Carpenter, Marcus Burris Jr.

STUD: Lanell Carr Jr., Jacob Mangum-Farrar

LB: Aiden Fisher, Isaiah Jones

LB: Jailin Walker, Nahji Logan

CB: D’Angelo Ponds, JoJo Johnson

CB: Jamari Sharpe, Jamier Johnson

ROVER: Amare Ferrell, Terry Jones Jr., Cedarius Doss

FS: Shawn Asbury II, Nic Toomer

SS: Josh Sanguinetti, DJ Warnell Jr.

K: Derek McCormick, Nico Radicic

P: James Evans, Alejandro Quintero

LS: Mark Langston, Jaxon Miller

KR: Solomon Vanhorse, Ke’Shawn Williams

PR: Myles Price, Solomon Vanhorse

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