By Nick Jenkinson-SCINN Sports Director <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 2026 NFL Draft is over, and the Indiana Hoosiers Football Program saw a record eight players selected and basked in the glory over the three days and seven rounds in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania breaking the old record set in 1976 with seven selections. Going into the final day Indiana had four players drafted in the first three rounds which is a program record. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Saturday Afternoon and early Saturday evening it continued as four more players heard their names called as Curt Cignetti and the Hoosiers continue to rewrite history and changed the perception of Indiana University Football which finished 16-0 in 2025 and Won the College Football Player National Championship for the first time in school history. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wide Receiver Elijah Sarratt was selected with the 115th pick by the Baltimore Ravens in the Fourth Round. Sarratt and Omar Cooper Jr. become the first Hoosier Wide Receiver combo for just the second time in program history joining Jade Butcher and Eric Stollberg in 1970. In the fifth round Tight End Riley Nowakowski was selected with the 169th pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Nowakowski becomes the first tight end selected since Ian Thomas who was drafted in the fourth round by the Carolina Panthers in 2018 and just the fourth Hoosiers Tight End drafted in common draft era joining John Thomas who was selected in the fifth round by the Baltimore Colts in 1971 and Ted Bosler to Washington in the 7th round in 2014. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Sarratt was drafted it marked the fifth time the Hoosiers have five players selected and the first since 1973 and joined the draft classes of 1952, 1957 and 1961. It was also the second time in the common draft era that the Hoosiers had a Wide Receiver and Tight End Selected in the same draft and the first time since 2014 when Wide Receiver Cody Latimer was selected by the Denver Broncos in the second round and Tight End Ted Bolser was selected by Washington in the seventh round. When Nowakowski was drafted it was just third time that six players were drafted and the first since 1947 with the other coming in 1944. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00a0 \u00a0The Hoosiers tied the 1976 class when Center Pat Coogan was selected in the sixth round with the 194th overall pick by the Tennessee Titan became the 7th Hoosier selected, and the first Hoosier Center taken in the draft since Bob Van Pelt went to the Philadelphia Eagles in 1967 ending a 69-year drought. Linebacker Aiden Fisher was selected in the 7th Round with the 243rd pick by the Houston Texans to break the record with eight Hoosiers selected in one draft. Fisher becomes the first Hoosier taken by the Houston Texans as 30 of 32 NFL Teams have at least one Indiana Hoosier selected in an NFL Draft.\u00a0 The Jacksonville Jaguars and Kansas City Chiefs are the only two teams that have not selected an Indiana Hoosier in an NFL Draft.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Quarterback Fernando Mendoza became the first player drafted since Fullback Corbett Davis in 1938 and the Second Hoosier Overall. Wide Receiver Omar Cooper Jr. was selected 30th overall in the first round by the New York Jets and is the first time in program history two Indiana Hoosiers have been selected in the first round Cornerback D’Angelo Ponds was selected with the 50th overall pick in the second round by the New York Jets and will join Omar Cooper Jr who the Jets selected in the first round with the 30th overall pick. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Running Back Kaelon Black was selected with the 90th pick in the third round by the San Francisco 49ers and becomes the third Hoosier drafted by the organization in the last two season as the 49ers drafted CJ West and Kurtis Rourke in 2025. The Jets become the fourth team in the common draft era to draft multiple Hoosiers in the same draft joining the Chicago Bears in 1981, The New York Giants in 1988 and San Francisco 49ers in 2025. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since Curt Cignetti arrived in Bloomington, he has had 10 players selected in the last two drafts which nearly equals the number of total Hoosiers which is 11 Selected in the previous Ten NFL Draft’s. The Eight picks in the 2026 draft picks are second most in the Big Ten behind Ohio State and tied for 7th nationally amongst College Programs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
All Five Offensive Position Groups were represented in this year’s draft which are Quarterback, Running Back, Wide Receiver, Tight End and Offensive Lineman and two defensive players mark the fourth time and first since 1988 that multiple offensive and defensive players have been selected in the same draft along with the 1973 and 1976 drafts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Indiana has 188 players that have been selected in the NFL Draft, and 221 players have played in the NFL and that number will increase with the eight players who were drafted and six more that signed Undrafted Free Agent Contracts Saturday Night. Indiana University Football and Curt Cingetti continue to make and change the history of a program who went from the worst FBS college football team in history to a National Champion in 2025 and The Hoosiers are going to compete for Big Ten and National Titles for the foreseeable future. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Nick Jenkinson-SCINN Sports Director The 2026 NFL Draft is over, and the Indiana Hoosiers Football Program saw a record eight players selected and basked in the glory over the three days and seven rounds in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania breaking the old record set in 1976 with seven selections. Going into the final …<\/p>\n