This week, Indiana continued its fall camp ahead of the 2026-27 college football season. As time passes, the start of the season becomes increasingly more relevant in conversation and in preparation.
“The focus is getting 11 guys to do their job to the standard,” Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti said after practice on Monday, “so it looks more game-like, every day we get a little better in that regard. Developing players, depth, finding out about your team and who can do what. So, far from perfect, a lot of install going on and situations change daily.”
A few observations from week two:
Spry, nimble and agile running backs
Indiana’s running back room, composed of proven production from returners and potential production from transfers, is expected to at least come close to matching the success of last season’s running backs.
Turbo Richard, a junior, transferred in from Boston College in the offseason, joining two returners redshirt sophomore Khobie Martin and redshirt senior Lee Beebe Jr. towards the top of the position group. There are underclassmen elsewhere on the roster who identify as running backs, but by and large, that transfer and those returners are likely to contribute the most.
Richard, Martin and Beebe Jr. exhibit some common characteristics. These running backs are strong, of course, like compact muscle cars, but also spry.
Spry, nimble, agile.
Although representatives of this position group can simply bulldoze defenders when necessary, they also present the potential to elusively step around and wriggle free from defenders. Last year’s running backs, at their best, twisted and flexed for extra yardage.
This unit, like the last one, isn’t entirely dependent on strength and speed, which could be the difference between a good group and a great one.
Immense wide receiver talent
When wide receivers line up for drills, the depth and versatility of that position group is evident. Charlie Becker and Michigan State transfer Nick Marsh are the headlining acts, but even beyond that tandem, there is an abundance of talent.
It’s a mix of local talent that committed to Indiana out of high school and experienced transfers.
Sophomores Davion Chandler and LeBron Bond, as well as redshirt senior Jackson Wasserstrom, fit the first category. Meanwhile Shazz Preston, a redshirt senior transfer from Tulane and Tyler Morris, a redshirt senior transfer from Michigan, fit the second category.
This expanse of talent, first and foremost, aims to thrive on the field in the fall. In practice, that talent also tests defenders, helping the entire team improve.
“It makes us great,” senior defensive back Amare Ferrell said after practice on Thursday, “going against Charlie Becker, Nick Marsh, Tyler Morris, guys like that and then especially going against Coach (offensive coordinator Mike) Shanahan, they’re making us better and we’re making them better every single day.”
Iron sharpens iron. Indiana’s receivers sharpen one another, while simultaneously sharpening the defense it competes against every day in practice. When it’s time to lace up the cleats against an actual opponent, those difficult tests will benefit both sides of the ball.
Transfer assimilation
It takes time for transfers to assimilate into their new program in full effect. At Indiana, that process doesn’t take particularly long. By this point in fall camp, many new faces are less recognizable as transfers and more recognizable as true Hoosiers.
On Monday, Kansas State transfer defensive lineman Tobi Osunsanmi rallied the team together at the end of the warmup period. Confidently and authoritatively, Osunsanmi exclaimed messages of motivation.
Earlier in the calendar year, that role primarily belonged to Hoosiers who are in, at minimum, their second season on the roster in Bloomington. A different Hoosier has carried that torch on each day of fall camp, and for the first time this month, a transfer took that torch.
On the other side of the line of scrimmage, Wisconsin transfer offensive lineman Joe Brunner appreciates the way the Hoosiers warmly welcome transfers into the team.
“I give credit to the guys in this program,” Brunner said after practice on Tuesday. “When I came here in January and the way that they welcomed me, it seemed like I had been here before. It’s made it easy to grow as a person and as a player and then take on that leadership role with the younger guys.”
Transfers, by now, are more than just transfers. In some cases, they’re already leaders. What was once an amalgamation of returning production, wide-eyed freshmen and unfamiliar faces is now a true team.
Indiana’s repeat championship hopes are all the better for it.
