Tight End Transfer Riley Nowakowski Commits To Indiana

Former Wisconsin tight end Riley Nowakowski will have one season of eligibility left.

Wisconsin tight end Riley Nowakowski (37) blocks Northwestern defensive back Coco Azema (0) during the first quarter of their game Saturday, November 11, 2023 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin. / Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – So far, all but one of Indiana’s transfer portal additions came from Group Of Five schools. On Wednesday, Indiana not only got a Power Four commitment, but one from another Big Ten Conference school.

Tight end Riley Nowakowski, who played five seasons at Wisconsin, announced via his social media account that he’s transferring to Indiana.

#committed @IndianaFootball pic.twitter.com/BAPgUh2wXd

— riley nowakowski (@rnowakowski14) December 18, 2024

Nowakowski has a year of eligibility left despite having spent five seasons with the Badgers. In two of his seasons, he did not reach the four-game threshold to trigger a full season of eligibility.

Nowakowski has only played regularly for Wisconsin since the 2022 season. He played 13 games in 2022, but had no receptions.

In 2023 and 2024, Nowakowski combined for 18 catches and 131 yards over two seasons. He caught one touchdown pass in his career during the 2023 season. He played 410 snaps for the Badgers in 2024.

Indiana loses starting tight end Zach Horton as he will have exhausted his eligibility at the end of the 2024 season. Trey Walker’s eligibility also runs out.

The Hoosiers should return James Bomba and Sam West, who have played 162 snaps between them this season.

Though Nowakowski is a tight end, he likely would have worked with Indiana offensive line coach Bob Bostad when Bostad was a Wisconsin assistant. In 2022, Bostad was the run game coordinator and offensive line coach for the Badgers.

Nowakowski, listed at 6-foot-1, is from Milwaukee and attended Marquette High School, a football power in the city. He was a celebrated linebacker coming out of high school as he won the 2019 John Anderson Award as the state’s top linebacker.

The only other Power Four transfer Indiana has secured to date is Central Florida punter Mitch McCarthy.

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