I’m working under the assumption that IUFB is probably done in the portal and we’re nearly set with the current roster. I use this space to talk about the depth chart as I see it at this moment in time. Depth charts are extremely fluid, especially when practice starts so these are subject to change but the points I’m making, typically, are still what I believe even if I make a switch because until we get reports from live practices, I’m just guessing.
You can find the working Google Sheet here as well as checking the Hoosier Huddle message board where it is a pinned topic.
It’s updated with current class, weight, height, total scholarship, walk-ons and more. I recommend viewing on a desktop and not on Twitter or any “preview” type browser. It looks much better in almost any browser than the one Twitter has. Also, you can click on the players IU profile which I update as soon as players are given a page on the IU website.
Today I’m going to hit the tight end position. IU currently has 37 scholarships on offense and 16% of those scholarships are going to tight ends (6).
I’m going to be honest here…This entire exercise at tight end is a total shot in the dark. Out of every position group on the roster, this is the one we know the least about. IU’s entire tight end room in ’26 will have a combined total of ten (10) snaps between all 6 players.
I was surprised they didn’t add another guy with more experience but I’m not sure how you can devote seven offensive roster spots to a position that, essentially, played two guys all season. Obviously health played a role, but Riley Nowakowski and Holden Staes played over 1100 snaps combined in ’25. James Bomba played just 58. All three of those guys are gone.
The only IU tight end with a snap returning is Andrew Barker…And he had one (1) offensive snap as a tight end in ’25. Just given the personnel here, it would be a total shock to see IU either use an extra offensive lineman or go to more 10 personnel in order minimize having the inexperienced tight ends on the field. That said, they have all spring, fall and three buy games to figure out this position.
Brock Schott has to be the first guy up. Schott chose Miami out of high school as the No. 147 overall recruit in the ’25 class. He played in two games and had eight snaps last season. He was clearly a guy IU wanted out of high school but until IU had a proof of concept, they were just too far behind some of the bigger schools to really matter in that recruitment.
The competition caveat applies to these HUDL highlights from his senior year, but you can tell he’s a freak athlete. He essentially played as a wide receiver a bunch and was just bigger, stronger and faster than his teammates or opponents.
It will be very interesting to hear the reports on his blocking. Riley Nowakowski finished in the 90th percentile among run blocker grades for tight end (28th overall). He was a key in IU’s entire running attack. I’m not worried about Schott being able to catch the ball…I’m worried about him being able to block effectively enough for IU to continue to have the balance (running and passing) that won them a national title.
Time will tell and spring practice is where this will get decided.
Behind Schott, I have Andrew Barker and Blake Thiry in an “or” situation.
The truth is, we don’t know almost anything about them. They simply didn’t play last year.
Both have super interesting traits and the staff must be high on all three of the guys in the two-deep because they decided to roll with this group in what has been an insanely important position in offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan‘s offense.
Usually I put the guy I think has the edge above the next guy in the “or” spot but, again, I just have no idea.
Barker was very interesting out of high school. He seems much more like an “in line” type blocker than Thiry. Barker was the 88th overall tight end in the ’25 class but his team was an option offense. He didn’t really have the chance to showcase a ton of pass catching, and when he did, he was pretty good. It did give him a ton of opportunity to block and that’s really the only reason I have him above Thiry in this “or” role at this point.
Thiry was one of my favorite players in the entire class in ’25. He finished as the No. 44 overall tight end prospect and a high 3-start (88 by 247Sports) and his HUDL videos are a lot of fun. He’s much more in that do it all type, H-back that Riley Nowakowski played so well in ’25. He was a track star athlete in western Wisconsin.
Spoiler alert: Blake Thiry will be a deep sleeper of mine. I think the sky is the limit for this kid given his athletic profile so him turning into a more athletic version of former IU TE Zach Horton isn’t out of the question.
In the “they’re just true freshman” tier are the rest of the guys.
Parker Elmore comes in after shooting up the rankings in the high school class and IU kept him in the fold after a late push by Tennessee to flip him. He finished with an 89 rating by 247Sports (just below the 90 / 4* threshold) and was the 22nd rated tight end in the ’26 class. His HUDL stuff is a bit scarce as he was forced to sit out due to transfer rules and then was injured. But the athletic profile is real and he looks like an oversized WR in his HUDL videos.
Once healthy, he might have a chance to get into the mix early for playing time…and by “early” I mean, probably not in ’26 unless things go very wrong.
Trevor Gibbs is another interesting prospect. He’s listed by 247 as a LB but he played LB, DE and TE for his Crown Point (IN) team. Again, this is a prospect who shows a ton of athleticism for the position and it’s not out of the realm he’s switched back over to defense once spring and fall camp starts. If he’s seeing the field in ’26, things went very wrong at the position but his future is very bright.
PJ MacFarlane is another interesting prospect. The Ohio native hurt his knee and isn’t enrolling this spring. He’s much more in the pass catcher mold and he shows pretty good ball skills in his HUDL video…Long way to go for him.