Written by: TJ Inman
Spring football is right around the corner and the reigning College Football National Champions reside in Bloomington! Curt Cignetti’s Hoosiers lost a number of key contributors their historic 16-0 run to the title but they restocked the shelves in the transfer portal and will be among the favorites to repeat in the Big Ten and make another run in the College Football Playoff. Who are the five most-impactful offensive transfers for the Indiana Hoosiers?
Josh Hoover – Quarterback from TCU
Take a quick look at a list of recent quarterbacks that played for Mike Shanahan and Curt Cignetti: Fernando Mendoza (IU), Kurtis Rourke (IU), Jordan McCloud (James Madison), Todd Centeio (James Madison), Cole Johnson (James Madison) and Ben DiNucci (James Madison). Each of those players ended up earning All-Conference honors and many of them were selected as their Conference Player of the Year.
Of course, we know Fernando Mendoza was unbelievably good and emerged as the Heisman Trophy winner. Josh Hoover is the next man up at quarterback in Bloomington and he comes in as the nation’s active FBS leader in both career passing yards and touchdowns. Much like Fernando Mendoza, Hoover has experience playing in an RPO heavy system and that gives him a head start in adjusting to Shanahan’s offense with the Hoosiers. Hoover is not perfect, he really needs to cut down on his turnovers (33 interceptions in 36 games) and IU’s coaches will use this spring to work on that plus help him develop familiarity with his new receivers.
Joe Brunner – Offensive Guard from Wisconsin
The skill position players get the headlines but those guys will only have success if the offensive line can block for them. IU’s line has taken gigantic leaps forward under position coach Bob Bostad and IU returns starters Carter Smith, Bray Lynch, Adedamola Ajani and Drew Evans. Vocal and emotional leader Pat Coogan is gone and his center position is vacant.
We expect Bray Lynch to slide over to be the new starting center, leaving open a vacant guard spot for former All-Big Ten Badger Joe Brunner. Brunner looks exactly how you’d picture a standout offensive guard from Wisconsin to look, complete with the bushy beard and wild hair. Brunner gives Indiana a proven commodity on the interior of the offensive line and his addition should ensure that unit continues to perform at a high-level.
Nick Marsh – Wide Receiver from Michigan State
The Indiana Hoosiers had a fantastic passing attack in 2025 and the play of Elijah Sarratt and Omar Cooper Jr. was a big reason for their 16-0 campaign. Cooper had 69 receptions for 937 yards and 13 touchdowns while Elijah Sarratt had 65 catches for 830 yards and 15 touchdowns. E.J. Williams chipped in six touchdowns and Jonathan Brady added three. Williams, Brady and Sarratt exhausted their eligibility while Cooper Jr. wisely declared for the NFL Draft after his breakout season.
“Super Cooper” is expected to be selected in the first round in April with Sarratt projected to be picked on day two of the NFL Draft. Charlie Becker’s late season emergence has his primed to for a larger role in 2026 but IU needed another proven weapon for new quarterback Josh Hoover and they secured one with the addition of Nick Marsh from Michigan State.
The former Spartan has two seasons of eligibility remaining but he has all of the tools to become a monster in Bloomington and it would not be at all surprising to see the NFL come calling after just one season of Marsh wearing Cream and Crimson. Saddled with inconsistent quarterback play in East Lansing, Marsh was limited to only 662 yards and just 11.22 yards per catch as a sophomore.
This was a drop-off from his freshman season in which he reeled in 41 passes for 649 yards (15.83 yards per catch). In a much more receiver-friendly offense and with a prolific quarterback, an All-Big Ten campaign seems like the expectation. Marsh is a physical receiver with outstanding foot control and he seems like a perfect complement to Charlie Becker’s deep-threat speed.
Turbo Richard – Running Back from Boston College
Indiana’s offense thrives on balance. The Hoosiers strive to get a lead and then settle in for a second half that focuses on pounding the opponent into submission on the ground. For context, Mike Shanahan dialed up 406 pass plays and 659 rushing plays a season ago, making Indiana one of the more run-heavy teams in all of college football.
Obviously, a good offensive line is required to execute that plan but reliable and physical running backs are a necessity as well. Two seasons ago, it was Justice Ellison and TySon Lawton with Kaelon Black playing a secondary role. Last season, Kaelon Black partnered with Roman Hemby to shred defenses as both players went over 1,000 yards while Khobie Martin stepped into the supplementary role and added 505 yards on just 78 carries.
Lee Beebe returns from injury after starting the season looking like potentially IU’s best running back and he’ll partner with Khobie Martin and newcomer Turbo Richard from Boston College to set the tone for IU’s attack.
Despite being the primary focus for opposing defenses, Richard still managed to average an impressive 5.17 yards per rush (easily the highest average on his team) and lead the Eagles with nine touchdowns on the ground. He also caught 30 passes for 213 yards and should be able to provide good versatility for Shanahan to work with. With Richard, Beebe and Martin, IU should again have a three-headed monster at running back to give defenses major problems.
Brock Schott – Tight End from Miami
The first spots on this list are easy to select but spot number five could be a few different players and there’s no obvious answer. Because of the major uncertainty and overwhelming youth at the tight end position, I went with Brock Schott from Miami. The former Leo High School product played one season in Coral Gables after committing as a four-star prospect.
Schott entered the transfer portal and only considered IU as a destination. The tight end position is extremely important for Indiana’s offense and veteran players have starred there in each of the past two seasons as blockers and pass-catchers. Riley Nowakowski was a smashing success after being a linebacker at Wisconsin and most assumed IU would bring in a veteran to take his place while the young players on IU’s depth chart developed but IU only grabbed Schott out of the portal and they will enter the season with only freshmen and redshirt freshmen at the position.
Parker Elmore and Trevor Gibbs are in their first seasons while Blake Thiry and Andrew Barker redshirted last season and Brock Schott did the same for Miami.
Schott is out for the spring but he set weightlifting records at Miami and was one of the best athletes on the team as soon as he set foot on campus. His potential is sky-high but are any of the young tight ends, Schott included, ready to do the dirty work that Riley Nowakowski thrived on? Finding a couple of players in that unit to step up is a huge piece of the offseason puzzle for the offensive staff.