Projecting 2025 Indiana Football Depth Chart Before Spring Practice

After reloading the roster with transfer portal and high school recruiting, here’s what Indiana football’s depth chart could look like going into spring practice ahead of the 2025 season.

Jack Ankony | Feb 17, 2025

Indiana coach Curt Cignetti before the College Football Playoff game at Notre Dame Stadium. / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

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Indiana Hoosiers

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Curt Cignetti and the Hoosiers are approaching spring practice after a busy offseason of roster moves. Indiana signed a 42-player recruiting class of 2025, including 19 transfers and 14 freshmen who have enrolled for the spring semester.

Indiana had a lot to replace, and its historic 2024 season, winning a program-record 11 games, certainly helped fill those holes.

“I think winning opens doors,” Cignetti said Feb. 5 “There's no doubt about it. Now, whether they're more talented remains to be seen. We haven't had a practice yet. We like who we got. They checked the boxes in terms of character, athletic ability. Almost all of them were starters where they came from.”

Indiana has not announced when spring practice will begin, but it will hold the spring game April 19 at Memorial Stadium.

Here’s a projection of what Indiana’s depth chart could look like heading into spring practice.

Offense

Quarterback

Fernando Mendoza, Grant Wilson, Alberto Mendoza

Notes: Mendoza, a transfer from California, steps in as the likely replacement for All-Big Ten quarterback Kurtis Rourke. At 6-foot-5, Mendoza completed 68.7% of his passes for 3,004 yards, 16 touchdowns and six interceptions in 2024, and he was named ACC quarterback of the week three times. After suffering a knee injury before the playoff, Tyler Cherry is not on the 2025 roster. He will serve as a student coach and could return in 2026.

Running back

Roman Hemby, Kaelon Black, Lee Beebe Jr.

Notes: Indiana lost leading rushers Justice Ellison and Ty Son Lawton, who split carries in most games and combined for 1,516 yards and 22 touchdowns last season. But it should be able to create a similar, balanced dynamic after adding Maryland transfer Roman Hemby, who rushed for 607 yards in 2024, and UAB transfer Lee Beebe Jr., who rushed for 885 yards last season.

ROMAN HEMBY 75-YARD TD!!!! 💥 @TerpsFootball pic.twitter.com/rswW469gkx
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 28, 2024

Wide receiver

Elijah Sarratt, E.J. Williams Jr.

Omar Cooper Jr., Charlie Becker

Makai Jackson, Tyler Morris

Notes: Sarratt and Cooper return after leading Indiana in receiving yards in 2024. To replace slot receivers Myles Price, Ke’Shawn Williams and Miles Cross, Indiana added senior transfers Tyler Morris from Michigan and Makai Jackson from Appalachian State. E.J. Williams Jr. also returned despite entering the transfer portal midseason.

Tight end

Holden Staes, James Bomba, Riley Nowakowski

Notes: Zach Horton graduated after playing 688 snaps at tight end and serving an integral role in the run and pass game. Bomba was second among tight ends with 108 snaps, and he has mostly played as a blocking tight end during his Indiana career. Former Tennessee and Notre Dame tight end Holden Staes brings pass-catching experience with 30 career receptions for 307 yards and five touchdowns, while Wisconsin transfer Riley Nowakowski should mostly help in the run game.

Breakout game from second year Notre Dame TE Holden Staes, was an On300 prospect in 2022 as an athletic two-way player https://t.co/lynzFmRrQR pic.twitter.com/OvJbHsfMyn
— Charles Power (@CharlesPower) September 9, 2023

Offensive line

Left tackle: Carter Smith, Austin Leibfried

Left guard: Drew Evans, Bray Lynch

Center: Pat Coogan, Bray Lynch

Right guard: Kahlil Benson, Adedamola Ajani

Right tackle: Zen Michalski, Austin Barrett

Notes: Indiana had to replace two key positions with center Mike Katic and right tackle Trey Wedig graduating. It added Notre Dame transfer Pat Coogan, Ohio State transfer Zen Michalski and Colorado transfer Kahlil Benson, who all figure to compete for starting jobs. Perhaps the biggest point of uncertainty is Drew Evans, who was Indiana’s starting left guard in nine games before suffering a season-ending achilles injury. If he’s not ready for Week 1, the replacement could be Bray Lynch, Indiana’s starting right guard in all 13 games in 2024. James Madison transfer Nick Kidwell was expected to be Indiana’s right guard in 2024 before a season-ending knee injury in fall camp. He did not get a medical redshirt to return in 2025.

Defense

Defensive line

End: Mikail Kamara, Ta’Derius Collins

Tackle: Tyrique Tucker, Marcus Burris Jr.

Tackle: Hosea Wheeler, Dominique Ratcliff

End: Mario Landino, Daniel Ndukwe

Notes: Kamara returns after an All-American season, but Indiana lost a lot here with CJ West, James Carpenter, Lanell Carr Jr. and Jacob Mangum-Farrar graduating. Wheeler was an All-Conference USA player for Western Kentucky, and Indiana will need him and Ratcliff to help fill in for those departures. But Tucker, Burris and Landino were part of the defensive line rotation last year, so there is some quality experience returning.

👀🤧 pic.twitter.com/6V3qlRJf3M
— Mikail Kamara (@Mikail_kamara6) January 30, 2025

Linebackers

Aiden Fisher, Isaiah Jones

Rolijah Hardy, Kaiden Turner

Notes: Another All-American, Fisher, is back in the middle of Indiana’s defense. The Hoosiers lost his running mate, Jailin Walker, but Jones and Hardy were the third- and fourth-most productive linebackers a year ago. The group isn’t particularly deep, but the top three options were key to last year’s group that allowed the lowest single-season scoring average and total offensive output in program history. Keep in mind, Indiana could play three linebackers like it did at times in 2025, but for now we’ll stick with a five defensive back base.

Defensive backs

Cornerback: D’Angelo Ponds, Jamari Sharpe

Cornerback: Ryland Gandy, Amariyun Knighten

Slot: Amariyun Knighten, Devan Boykin

Safety: Amare Ferrell, Devan Boykin

Safety: Louis Moore, Bryson Bonds

Notes: Cignetti said Indiana didn’t lose anyone who was projected to start at this position, which implies he had Pittsburgh transfer Rylan Gandy and Northern Illinois transfer Amariyun Knighten ahead of Jamier Johnson, who was a starting cornerback for Indiana in 2024 but has since entered the transfer portal. Ponds is the third All-American returning on this defense, and Sharpe was a regular in the rotation the two previous seasons.

Safety is a bit more unknown for a few reasons. Ferrell has played a variety of defensive back positions throughout his Indiana career. Boykin missed the entire 2024 season with an injury but played over 100 snaps at free safety, slot corner and in the box at NC State in 2023. Moore moved around similarly at Indiana in 2023 and after transferring to Ole Miss in 2024. There are some nuances to be determined in the defensive backfield after losing Shawn Asbury, Terry Jones Jr. and Josh Sanguinetti, but the group is still shaping up well.

Year 2✅ #NeverDaunted pic.twitter.com/rAs33bo8o6
— D’Angelo Ponds (@DangeloPondss) February 13, 2025

Special teams

Place kicker: Nico Radicic

Kickoff specialist: Brendan Franke, Quinn Warren

Punter: Mitch McCarthy

Punt returner: Solomon Vanhorse, Tyler Morris, Makai Jackson

Kick returner: Solomon Vanhorse

Notes: Indiana lost punter James Evans and kickoff specialist Derek McCormick, but it went to the portal to add UCF transfer Mitch McCarthy and Texas State transfer Brendan Frankes. Quinn Warren also handled kickoff duties in seven games last year while McCormick was hurt. Radicic returns after scoring 99 points in 2024, sixth most in a single season in program history. Solomon Vanhorse is back for an eighth collegiate season and has experience returning punts and kicks. Graduating Hoosiers Myles Price and Ke’Shawn Williams were Indiana’s top punt returners last year, so that job could be filled by Vanhorse or transfers Morris and Jackson, returners at their previous schools.

Offense

Defense

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