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 on’s 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 cornerback position. IU currently has 42 scholarships on defense and nearly 17% of those scholarships are going to corners (7).
So, if you’re new to reading my depth chart stuff, I have a “Full Team” page and then a “2 Deep” page.
IU has to replace the best corner in school history in D’Angelo Ponds. That’s going to be no easy task but they’ve secured commitments from a couple young and transfer players that will help make that a little bit easier of a transition. That said, losing Ponds is a massive blow and would be for any room. He was, in my opinion, a top 3 corner in all of college football who, essentially, shut down one side of the field in IU’s zone heavy scheme who also was a special teams hawk (see the Illinois game).
Back is Jamari Sharpe, who sealed IU’s first national title with an INT of Carson Beck. If you’ve read me, I’ve been high on Sharpe for a very long time and am happy he finally broke out last year as the starter opposite Ponds. Sharpe basically stole the job from former IU CB Jamier Johnson which is why he transferred.
Sharpe finished 3rd in coverage grade (among guys with 300+ snaps) by Pro Football Focus on IU in ’25 and, given how well Ponds and S Devan Boykin were graded in coverage last season, that was 84.6 was 17th nationally. Sharpe has prototypical length and track speed. He graded out as a really good tackler as well and graded out 4th on IU and 71st (86th percentile) among corners nationally.
Simply put: Sharpe is a sure fire starter at one of the corner spots heading into ’26.
Here’s where it gets tricky.
On the other side, you can see I have Ryland Gandy and transfer AJ Harris in an “or” situation. When Ponds or Sharpe missed plays (or games), Gandy was the guy that IU called on as the sub and Amariyun Knighten (IU’s highest rated CB transfer in the ’25 cycle) transferred out.
Gandy played 133 snaps for IU in their title run and finished with a very respectable 70.9 overall grade and 72.7 coverage grade by PFF. When called upon to play, Gandy played pretty well.
IU was remarkably healthy in the secondary and I’m sure Gandy figured he’d probably play more as a transfer from Pitt who had 766 snaps in ’24. Even though his first taste of starting was graded out well, he played high major football as a sophomore and held his own.
Harris is a former 5* from the same high school as WR EJ Williams in Alabama. Harris started at Bama, transferred to PSU and had a really good season in ’24 in old friend Tom Allen‘s defense in Happy Valley. Harris finished ’24 as the 38th graded corner in coverage grade (92nd percentile).
But Harris’ ’25 was just plain bad. PSU hired notorious press man coverage DC Jim Knowles and Harris struggled mightily in basically all aspects, but specifically coverage. He finished 439th in coverage grade, or just the 16th percentile. Harris actually had his best game in ’25 against IU by PFF grade with 7 tackles but allowing all 4 targets thrown his way to be caught.
I love the idea of taking guys like Harris who have the pedigree (former 5*) and who played well in a different, more zone heavy scheme and seeing if you can capture the magic that a player had.
But I really liked how Gandy played when he got the opportunity in ’25 and Harris looked stiff in the hips when going back and watching some of his *better* PFF graded games. He’s long and doesn’t rally turn well.
If you told me I had to choose today who would be a starter, my guess is Harris because IU, I’m sure, paid pretty good money to bring him into the fold but I have him as the second player in this “or” situation because Gandy has been in the program and is heading into his second spring after going up against multiple 2nd day draft guys in practice.
I’m very excited to see how this one plays out and either one winning the job would be a surprise.
It’s also not lost on me that IU got noticeably taller at CB with Sharpe and Harris both at 6’1 and Gandy at 6’0. Ponds played much bigger in both the run game and pass game but it seemed like a concerted effort by the staff to recruit taller CB’s in both the portal and the HS ranks and they did that.
The other “or” situation on my 2 deep is the one backing up Jamari Sharpe.
IU liked Jaylen “Hollywood” Bell so much last year that they burned his redshirt. IU typically doesn’t do that unless they really like how a kid is playing special teams (see Charlie Becker or Daniel Ndukwe).
We don’t know that much outside of what we’ve seen on special teams from Bell as he played just 58 snaps in his true freshman season. It’s just not a sample I’m willing to make much of.
Carson Williams is a transfer from Montana. Montana won he FCS national title and starting on a team like that as a redshirt freshman and playing well overall is a very good sign. He did struggle in the playoffs so maybe competition and fatigue set in but to get a guy like this in the fold is a nice piece of business by the staff.
The truth is, I don’t know who will win a battle to back up Sharpe and my guess is that whoever loses the battle for the other spot, Harris or Gandy, will likely be backing up both sides anyway because this staff typically likes experience.
But Bell and Williams look like the future at corner in ’27 for IU the way things stand today.
Zach Smith is a former 3* who redshirted in ’25 and played zero snaps. Until we get reports on him, I’m under the assumption he’s a depth piece.
That goes the same for spring enrollee Kasmir Hicks. The 5’11 Hicks, a 4* recruit out of Decatur Central HS (IN) was IU’s 3rd highest rated recruit by 247 and the 40th overall CB in the ’26 class.
It will be very interesting to see how these two look when Spring Practice starts. Hicks certainly has the pedigree to move up the depth chart and we just don’t know much about the 5’11 Smith to know how he’s progressing.