Stars don’t matter to Indiana, yet Hoosiers adding blue-chip recruits
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Curt Cignetti has made it clear he doesn’t care about star ratings, but with the final release of the Rivals300 on Tuesday, Indiana is getting some serious blue-chip prospects in its 2026 class.
The Hoosiers are coming off an improbable, impossible run to an undefeated season and the national championship, and Indiana’s evaluations on the high school level this recruiting cycle have been nothing short of impressive as well.
“There has been a lot of talk about how Indiana proves that stars don’t matter but we’re going to look at this roster in two or three years and it’s going to have a bunch of blue-chippers on it,” said Rivals’ director of scouting and rankings Charles Power.
“They’re going to parlay this into high school recruiting success.”
Much of Indiana’s production this year came from players out of the transfer portal, but the Hoosiers hit pay dirt with high school recruits too. In the 2026 recruiting cycle, Indiana added athlete Henry Ohlinger, defensive lineman Gabe Hill, tight end Parker Elmore, cornerback Kasmir Hicks, edge Ronelle Johnson and linebacker Ja’Dyn Williams, who all made the final Rivals300.
Cignetti brought a ton of veteran players from James Madison with him to Indiana and then struck gold with Cal transfer quarterback Fernando Mendoza, so it will be intriguing to see what balance is struck between high school recruits and portal ones now that Indiana has reached the top of the mountain.
“It’ll be interesting to see how Indiana builds out their roster for the next several years,” Power said. “When Cignetti came over to Indiana, a lot of the players that came with him from James Madison were all-conference players and they had some great finds in the transfer portal and some holdovers.
“The evaluations and their ability to mine talent does transfer. In our final Rivals300, they’re going to have several four-stars and many of them were inside the Rivals300 prior to committing to Indiana or prior to their magical 16-0 season.
“They did a good job evaluating several in their backyard.”
With the focus turning to the 2027 class, Indiana has jumped out with four early pledges — all Midwest prospects — including four-star athlete Monsanna Torbert and four-star receiver Ja’Hyde Brown.
The Hoosiers are also doing a phenomenal job with in-state talent, as Indiana is battling Alabama and others for five-star receiver Monshun Sales from Indianapolis Lawrence North and numerous in-state four-stars.
A few years ago Indiana would have a slim-and-none chance at many of these top prospects.
“IU is one of the top programs in the country with a Joe Moore Award finalist offensive line so it’s definitely a program I’m seriously considering,” four-star offensive lineman Mason McDermott from Noblesville said. “This season was nothing short of amazing under coach Cignetti and really changed the way people view IU as a football program. It’s not just a basketball school anymore.”
New Palestine four-star tight end Mason Oglesby said: “They are definitely a top team in my recruitment. Seeing them win it all definitely adds to the fuel. I see the direction of the program as the years go on. Coach Cignetti is a great coach. It is great to know that there’s a possibility I’ll be playing under a coach of that caliber.”
What happens next in Indiana recruiting is anyone’s guess and one of the most captivating things to watch for the 2027 cycle.
Do the Hoosiers have the discipline to stick to their recruiting principles and get players that fit Cignetti’s system no matter their ranking or does Indiana fall into the trappings of chasing big names with big star ratings as elite players flock to Bloomington?
Listening to Cignetti on the Next Up podcast with Adam Breneman, there’s a system and it works and the Hoosiers could be sticking to it.
“You have to have that good foundation of high school guys and then the portal guys fill in,” Cignetti said.
“What you really can’t measure and this is what’s important to me – What drives a guy? What’s his why? How motivated? Is he committed? Is he disciplined? What kind of family does he come from? What kind of habits has he formed at a young age?
“Right and wrong. Freedom of choice but not freedom of consequence. What are you getting? What are you buying? I’m into production over potential.”
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