The memories of Indiana’s unprecedented and historic unbeaten run to the National Championship are still fresh in our minds, but the work is just beginning for the 2026-2027 Indiana Hoosiers. As Curt Cignetti and his staff gear up for year number three in Bloomington and embark on a quest to become repeat champs, Hoosier Huddle begins the annual Countdown to Kickoff!
2026 Countdown to Kickoff: #100 – Carson Williams
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 181 pounds
Hometown: Houston, Texas/Montana State
Class/Position: Redshirt Sophomore
Is there a better place to begin the 2026 Hoosier Huddle countdown than at number zero? Absolutely not! Rewind to before last season and you would have heard or read a familiar refrain from this site: IU’s secondary is going to be a major strength and one of the best in the country.
That group did not disappoint. D’Angelo Ponds was drafted by his perfect player comp (Aaron Glenn) and is now a New York Jet and two other regular contributors/starters have signed on to NFL squads, leaving a couple of question marks for the 2026 secondary but a ton of talented potential answers.
At cornerback, we can write Jamari Sharpe’s name down as a starter with ink but the competition for the other starting spots and to be in the rotation for snaps is going to be fierce. One of the players that will have a role is today’s highlighted player: Carson Williams.
The Hoosiers knew they were going to need a couple of cornerbacks to replace departing players and they dipped into the transfer portal to grab both Carson Williams (Montana State) and A.J. Harris (Penn State) as part of the nation’s best transfer class.
Carson Williams is originally from Houston but he went unnoticed by the bevy of FBS schools in the football-crazy state. Montana State, a power in the FCS, brought him in and he played in four games for the Bobcats as a freshman in 2024. After a year in the program, he took off in 2025 and became a starter that racked up 46 tackles with nine passes broken up as he earned Freshman All-American honors and helped lead Brent Vigen’s crew to the FCS National Championship.
His highlight film shows an instinctive corner that excels in coverage but is a bit undersized. As such, he was passed over coming out of high school. Indiana’s defensive scheme and coaching staff know exactly what to do with a talented but undersized defensive back.
I’m not saying Williams is going to be D’Angelo Ponds because those are crazy and unrealistic expectations. Carson Williams is not going to be quite the force that Ponds was in Bloomington.
That said, there are plenty of things to like about his potential and he has three years of eligibility remaining. This season, he’ll compete with A.J. Harris, Ryland Gandy, Jaylen Bell, Zacharey Smith and potentially a few others in what figures to be a very strong secondary once again.
The countdown continues each day on Hoosier Huddle until IU kicks off the 2026 season against the North Texas Mean Green!
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