The biggest story of the past two seasons has been the rise of the Indiana Hoosiers as Curt Cignetti has taken a historically bad program and turned them into a National Championship contender. In two seasons, Curt Cignetti has gone 26-2 and 17-1 in Big Ten play with the Hoosiers one win away from being crowned National Championships.
The knock on the Hoosiers from anyone still left doubting this team was over how Curt Cignetti would fare once his former JMU players were no longer on the team. The players Cignetti brought with him were almost all massive keys to the team's success, but he had already proven that he could find other pieces and turn them into stars.
Fernando Mendoza came over from Cal and won the Heisman Trophy, taking a sizeable jump in production. Pat Coogan came over from Notre Dame and has been elite on the offensive line helping this team dominate in the trenches. Defensive Lineman Stephen Daley came in from Kent State and was one of the best in the Country until his injury.
Curt Cignetti's 2026 Transfer Portal haul will have the Hoosiers right back in the CFP
While Curt Cignetti is trying to win a National Championship, he also has to balance the Transfer Portal being open as he builds his roster for 2026-27. The Transfer Portal right now is a distraction, but the timing also couldn't be better for Indiana as all of these players watch the team dismantle it's opponents.
The biggest hurdle for Indiana was going to be replacing Fernando Mendoza as it'll be almost impossible to land a player as impactful as the Heisman Trophy winner. Curt Cignetti went out and quickly secured TCU transfer Josh Hoover the 7th ranked quarterback to enter the Transfer Portal. Hoover fits the Cignetti mold as a high level passer with experience which will allow this team to take little to no step back.
Omar Cooper Jr and Elijah Sarratt have been a massive part of Indiana's success on offense as two of the best wide receivers in the Country, but both will likely be early draft picks this Spring. While Curt Cignetti loses two great wide receivers, he landed the 2nd ranked transfer wide receiver in Nick Marsh giving Josh Hoover an elite weapon.
Roman Hemby has powered Indiana's rushing attack this season after transferring in from Maryland, but he's a senior. He'll be replaced by Boston College star Turbo Richard who's shown all the potential to be a breakout star with continued development.
In the secondary, D'Angelo Ponds has been one of the best cornerbacks in the Country over the past two years shutting down some of the top weapons in the Country. As he's off to the NFL, Cignetti landed former Penn State and Georgia cornerback A.J. Harris. who has the talent to be one of the best cornerbacks in the country in this defense.
Anyone who was hoping that this Indiana turnaround was going to be short lived is going to find out quickly that the Hoosiers are here to stay. Curt Cignetti isn't just going to develop the players everyone overlooked, he's going to start getting the elite transfers and recruits that the blue bloods typically only landed.
If Curt Cignetti is going to go out and land the elite playmakers like a Nick Marsh who almost every program would've been interested in, it's going to be impossible to slow down this momentum. The Hoosiers are now making the splash additions that will only make it easier on Curt Cignetti which should have everyone else on high alert.