Matchup To Watch: Indiana’s Tight Ends vs. Western Kentucky’s Defense

The reigning National Champion Indiana Hoosiers continue their title defense this Saturday against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. The Hoosiers have been incredibly impressive thus far during the 2026 season in all three phases of football, but are especially noteworthy on offense. Indiana has been one of the most efficient offenses in the country through the first two weeks of the season and Josh Hoover has been one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the country as well.

Each position group on offense is filled with elite level talent, but the tight end room specifically is quite interesting. This is because, for the first two years under Head Coach Curt Cignetti, Indiana has brought in incredibly experienced players for the starting tight end role (these being Horton and Nowakowski, of course, who were both in their final year of eligibility).

Now, on this 2026 team, the oldest player in the tight end room is in year 2 of their college career. The ceiling in that tight end room is maybe the highest it’s ever been and the talent level is strong, but in a Mike Shanahan offense the tight end position is very complex, which is likely why Indiana has gone for experience in the portal the past two seasons.

However, the Hoosiers do not have experience at the tight end position this year. They are leaning on second year tight ends, largely Brock Schott and Andrew Barker, thus far. Despite this lack of experience on a relative basis, I am certainly not saying that Schott and Barker can’t perform the role – they absolutely can – it’s just that the learning curve is very steep in this offense and it can take time to perfect it.

We’ve seen this on display a bit in the first few games. Involvement in the passing game for tight ends is already low in a Shanahan offense, but it’s been especially low to begin 2026:

• North Texas:
  • Schott: 29 snaps, 18 of which run block snaps, 3 of which pass block snaps, 8 routes run, 1 rec for 25 yards, PFF blocking grades are not very good
  • Barker: 22 snaps, 16 of which run block snaps, 1 of which pass block snaps, 5 routes run, 0 rec for 0 yards, PFF blocking grades are solid
• Howard:
  • Schott: 23 snaps, 15 of which run block snaps, 3 of which pass block snaps, 5 routes run, 0 rec for 0 yards, PFF blocking grades are okay (better than game 1)
  • Barker: 34 snaps, 24 of which run block snaps, 3 of which pass block snaps, 7 routes run, 0 rec for 0 yards, PFF blocking grades are okay (worse than game 1)

So we see, it’s kind of been a mixed bag among the lead two tight ends. Barker was rewarded with more snaps in the Howard game after a good blocking performance against North Texas; however, the tight end room has still combined for 1 reception for 25 yards over two games. Again, this isn’t uncommon in a Shanahan offense, but the usage is still quite low.

What might be happening (pure speculation here) is that the coaching staff and the tight end room are focusing so much on blocking right now that the coaching staff is hammering in this emphasis as a point of learning. The passing game could be secondary right now and will be a focus later on simply because blocking is so much more important in this scheme. Again, this is pure speculation, but given the lack of experience in the tight end room, I wouldn’t be surprised if that is what was being communicated.

Be sure to watch how the Indiana tight ends line up against the Western Kentucky defense on Saturday. We’ll see if the tight ends get more routes, targets, or receptions, or if blocking continues to be a major focus for another week.

As always, thanks for reading! Stay locked in with Hoosier Huddle for all things Indiana football – and Indiana sports in general – all season long. Go Hoosiers!