After capturing its first national championship in program history with a perfect 16-0 season, Indiana football’s 2025 team set one more record Saturday. With eight selections in the 2026 NFL Draft, the Hoosiers surpassed their previous highest mark of seven picks, set in 1976.
Wide receiver Elijah Sarratt was selected in the fourth round No. 115 overall by the Baltimore Ravens. Tight end Riley Nowakowski was taken No. 169 by the Pittsburgh Steelers, center Pat Coogan went No. 194 to the Tennessee Titans and the Houston Texans picked linebacker Aiden Fisher No. 243.
Both Sarratt and Nowakowski held no NCAA Division I offers coming out of high school. Sarratt began his career at the FCS level with Saint Francis University, while Nowakowski walked on as a linebacker at Wisconsin. Coogan was a three-star University of Notre Dame recruit, and Fisher was recruited by Curt Cignetti at James Madison University.
Sarratt will catch passes from two-time MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson, but the Ravens will have a new head coach after parting ways with John Harbaugh, 18 years after hiring him in 2008. Sarratt will play for first-year head coach Jesse Minter, with offensive coordinator Declan Doyle expected to handle offensive playcalling duties. Doyle spent two years working under Sean Payton with the Denver Broncos before leaving to become an offensive coordinator under Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson in 2025.
Sarratt will join a collection of pass catchers that features Pro Bowl wide receiver Zay Flowers and former All-Pro tight end Mark Andrews. Baltimore went 8-9 last season and missed the playoffs for the first time since the 2021 season.
In his two seasons at Indiana, Sarratt hauled in 118 passes for 1,787 yards and 23 touchdowns. Sarratt caught a Football Bowl Subdivision-leading 15 receiving touchdowns in the 2025 season. Of those, three were game winners.
The 6-foot-2 receiver scampered 49 yards into the end zone to retake the lead for good with 1:28 remaining in the Cream and Crimson’s narrow 20-15 victory over Iowa on Sept. 27. He caught a fourth quarter back-shoulder fade to take the final lead change in the Hoosiers’ 30-20 win over then-No. 3 Oregon on Oct. 11, and he scored the final points against then-No. 1 Ohio State on Dec. 6 to secure Indiana’s first Big Ten Championship since 1967.
Nowakowski will join Sarratt in the AFC North with division rival Steelers. Pittsburgh split with its longtime head coach Mike Tomlin following a 10-7 season in which they fell 30-6 in the Wild Card round of the playoffs.
The Steelers brought in former Super Bowl-winning head coach Mike McCarthy in the offseason. McCarthy hired Frank Cignetti Jr. — Curt Cignetti’s brother — as a senior offensive assistant on his first staff in Pittsburgh.
The Milwaukee native enters a crowded tight end room that features veteran Pat Freiermuth and 6-foot-7 24-year-old Darnell Washington. Steelers tight ends caught 110 passes in 2025 for 1,072 yards and seven touchdowns.
In his lone season with the Hoosiers after transferring from Wisconsin, Nowakowski caught 32 passes for 387 yards and two touchdowns. He also served as a critical blocker in offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan’s run-heavy scheme.
Coogan donned the Cream and Crimson for his final collegiate season after suiting up for Notre Dame for four years. He started for his final two seasons with the Fighting Irish, including in their run to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game in the 2024 season.
After transferring to Indiana, Coogan anchored offensive line coach Bob Bostad’s unit that allowed just 25 sacks while the Hoosiers rushed for the fourth most yards in the FBS. The Palos Heights, Illinois, native allowed no sacks in 766 snaps with Indiana.
He was named Rose Bowl Offensive MVP after the Hoosiers’ 38-3 drubbing of the University of Alabama on Jan. 1, becoming the first offensive lineman to win the award since 1944.
The Titans have gone 3-14 in each of the past two seasons, and they hired head coach Robert Saleh in January. After the 2025 season, Tennessee released starting center Lloyd Cushenberry III, leaving the position open for a new starter in front of quarterback Cam Ward, who was selected No. 1 overall in 2025. Veteran center Austin Schlottmann joined the team in free agency.
Fisher spent his first two seasons with the Dukes before following Cignetti to Bloomington prior to the 2024 season. He started 28 games over two seasons with the Hoosiers, recording 215 total tackles, 16 tackles for loss, two interceptions and a forced fumble.
The Fredericksburg, Virginia, native became the first Indiana linebacker to earn first-team All-America recognition and the first Hoosier defender to accomplish the feat multiple times.
The Texans are led by fourth-year head coach Demeco Ryans and are coming off a 12-5 season in which they went to the Divisional Round of the playoffs. Houston’s defense was the catalyst for its success. The unit allowed the fewest yards of any team in the 2025 season.
The Hoosier quartet joined Fernando Mendoza (Las Vegas Raiders), Omar Cooper Jr. (New York Jets), D’Angelo Ponds (New York Jets) and Kaelon Black (San Francisco 49ers) to set the new program mark of eight draftees.
After going undrafted, six former Hoosiers later agreed to terms as undrafted free agents:
- DB Devan Boykin (Pittsburgh Steelers)
- RB Roman Hemby (Las Vegas Raiders)
- DL Mikail Kamara (San Francisco 49ers)
- WR E.J. Williams Jr. (Las Vegas Raiders)
- LS Mark Langston (Buffalo Bills)
- DB Louis Moore (Miami Dolphins)
Rookies will report for training camp in mid-July, where they’ll compete to earn a spot on the 53-man roster for their new teams ahead of the 2026 season.
UPDATE: This story was updated to include six former Indiana football players who agreed to terms as undrafted free agents.
Nathan Shriberg covers Indiana men’s basketball and sports business/legal matters for the Indiana Daily Student. You can follow him at @NShriberg on X and contact him via email at naashri@iu.edu.
