Indiana football flipped a second recruit in the last three days, as offensive lineman Benjamin Novak announced his pledge to the Hoosiers on Wednesday. On3 Sports’ Hayes Fawcett first reported the news via his X post.
The 6-foot-6, 310-pound Novak joins three-star receiver Lavar Keys, who committed to the Hoosiers on Sunday. Keys was previously committed to Penn State before it fired head coach James Franklin this season.
The Hoosiers first offered Novak, who’s a three-star in the 2026 class, in May 2024 before Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti’s first game at the helm.
Wisconsin offered Novak a month and a half later, and he eventually committed to the Badgers in October 2024. But with Wisconsin sitting at 3-7 and coming off a loss to Indiana, Novak flipped to the Hoosiers.
Indiana offensive line coach Bob Bostad previously coached at Wisconsin before he joined the Hoosiers ahead of the 2023 season. He was the lone coaching holdover from the Tom Allen era on Cignetti’s staff.
Novak is ranked the second-best offensive lineman in Indiana behind Purdue commit James Williams Jr. Novak attends Andrean High School in Merrillville, Indiana, and will face Adams Central High School in Indiana High School Athletic Association 2A semistate on Friday in Monroe, Indiana.
Indiana’s 24-player 2026 class is now ranked 28th-best nationally, per 247 Sports.
Wisconsin has historically recruited well in Indiana, pulling talent from the Hoosier state to Madison, Wisconsin. However, Cignetti is now attracting in-state talent to Bloomington.
“The best in Indiana stay in Indiana,” Novak wrote.
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames and jamesdm@iu.edu) and Conor Banks (@Conorbanks06 and conbanks@iu.edu) and columnist Quinn Richards (@Quinn_richa and qmrichar@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana football season.
