Which Former Hoosiers Will Shine in the NFL During the Upcoming Season?

The Indiana Hoosiers football team is a proud and historic program steeped in rich tradition. Hoosiers players are famous throughout college football for their unwavering dedication and for producing players who go on to become superstars of the National Football League, reaching the pinnacle of the sport and becoming Hoosiers heroes.

Ever since the then-Cleveland Rams selected Corbett Davis as the overall number-one pick in 1938, hundreds of young men have attempted to follow in his footsteps. Only Randy Beisler (1966), Billy Hillenbrand (1944), Carl Baezilauskas (1974), Marv Woodson (1964), Kevin Allen (1985), and Eric Moore (1988) have been drafted in the top ten. Still, you do not need to be drafted early on to make a name for yourself in professional football.

Ian Thomas - Tight End - Carolina Panthers

Ian Thomas had a rough childhood. His mother died before Thomas was nine, and his father passed away a year later. Many children would have sadly gone off the rails, but not Thomas. He knuckled down and eventually found himself turning out for the Hoosiers between 2016-17. The Carolina Panthers drafted Thomas as the 101st overall pick in the fourth round of the 2018 draft. Although the Panthers are ranked significant outsiders with the NFL online betting sites for Super Bowl glory, Thomas has done remarkably well for himself, earning an average salary of $5.65 million.

Since making his NFL debut in 2018, Thomas has played 82 games for the Panthers at tight end and is one receiving yard away from eclipsing 1,000 yards. A very useful player, Thomas is one of the bright lights of an otherwise disappointing Panthers offense.

Peyton Hendershot - Tight End - Dallas Cowboys

Peyton Hendershot may have gone undrafted in 2022, but that has not prevented him from forcing his way into the thought of Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy. Hendershot was a loyal Hoosiers player who played 32 games between 2018-2021, averaging 10.9 yards per reception and scoring 14 touchdowns.

The Dallas Cowboys signed Hendershot as an undrafted free agent, and he made it into the initial 52-man roster out of training camp. Channeling that famous Hoosiers determination and spirit, Hendershot played 17 games for the Cowboys in 2022 (starting twice), making 103 yards from 11 receptions and scoring three touchdowns.

He is likely to play a more prominent role for the Cowboys this season as Dalton Schultz left for the Houston Texans, leaving Hendershot as one of only three tight ends on the Cowboys' books, with one of those being rookie Luke Schoonmaker, formerly of Michigan.

Micah McFadden - Linebacker - New York Giants

Big things are expected of Micah McFadden after his stand-out performances for the Hoosiers between 2018 and 2021. The Tampa, Florida, native recorded 20 tackles and a forced fumble in the 12 games he played for the Hoosiers as a freshman. As a sophomore, McFadden had two interceptions, a forced fumble, and a combined 61 tackles, earning him the Most Outstanding Defensive Player of the Year award.

In his junior year, McFadden registered another 58 tackles and six sacks and won the coveted Anthony Thompson Most Valuable Player title. His final season in a Hoosiers uniform included 77 tackles and 6.5 sacks.

Surprisingly, McFadden was selected 146th overall in the fifth round despite his impressive college resume. It probably did not help that fellow linebackers Quay Walker (Georgia) and Devin Lloyd (Utah) were selected in the first round.

McFadden can be pleased with his rookie season with the New York Giants. He played 17 games and had 59 tackles (36 solo), two sacks, and a forced fumble. It is probable McFadden will be a starter for the Giants this season, as Isaiah Simmons is the team's only other inside linebacker.

Nick Westbrook-Ikhine - Wide Receiver - Tennessee Titans

Nick Westbrook-Ikhine was a member of the Indiana Hoosiers for five seasons, where he received 2,226 yards for an average of 15.5 over the course of 40 games player; he scored 16 touchdowns in Hoosiers colors.

Westbrook-Ikhine entered the 2020 NFL Draft with high hopes but ultimately went undrafted. The Tennessee Titans took a chance on the youngster as an undrafted free agent in late April 2020, and he made his NFL debut later that season, ending his rookie year with three receptions for 33 yards in 14 regular season games.

He played a more prominent role in 2021 and scored his first professional touchdown in the 25-16 victory over the Indianapolis Colts. He ended 2021 with 38 receptions for 476 yards and four touchdowns.

Westbrook-Ikhine signed a one-year deal in March 2022 and did similar the following year, meaning he is on the active roster for 2023. His game time and starts have improved each season, and everyone hopes that trend continues during the upcoming campaign.

Conclusion

The eyes of many Hoosiers fans are fixated on Peyton Hendershot, who looks odds-on to be a starting tight end for the Dallas Cowboys, a team expected to challenge for Super Bowl glory during the 2023 season. He only started two of the 17 games he played last year, but everything points to him featuring more.

Micah McFadden is another former Hoosiers player that everyone connected with the program wishes well. After forcing his way into his New York Giants head coach's plans, McFadden started showing why he picked up so many awards in college.

Nate Sudfield is one player who will not shine in 2023 as he is set to miss the entire regular season through injury. Quarterback Sudfield played 37 games for the Hoosiers from 2012-2015 and threw 247 completions for 7,879 yards and 61 touchdowns. However, it just has not worked out for the Californian in the NFL. Injuries and finding himself down the pecking order have restricted him to only six games since 2017. The Detroit Lions had Sudfield down as the backup to Jared Goff this season, but a torn ACL sustained in preseason has ended any hopes of adding to Sudfield's game tally. Everyone at the Hoosiers wishes him a speedy recovery.