IU 2023 Roster: Where it stands after most early signings
Indiana has a lot of work to do in the coming months...
The following column was written the morning of the first day of the Early Signing Period (12/21/23), so things might have changed by the date you are reading this. For example, as I was about to publish, Jamier Johnson’s transfer was announced!
The Early Signing Period is here! As a former recruiting reporter, this is the most exhausting and most exhilarating time of the year, but for Indiana, it’s landed with a bit of a thud, as it will likely sign fewer recruits today (10, maybe 11) than those who have entered the portal (12).
The Hoosiers are on a tier of their own at the bottom of the 2023 Big Ten recruiting class rankings and join Rutgers as one of two schools to not earn a 4-star commitment. IU is ranked the second-lowest recruiting class among Power 5 schools and is one of two schools (Cal) to have as few as 10 commitments. Cincinnati (not Power 5) also has 10 after Luke Fickell left for Wisconsin.
There is time to make up some ground though. The calendar plays out as follows:
Early Signing Period: 12/21-12/23
Transfer portal closes: 1/19/23
Regular Signing Period: 2/1/23-4/1/23
I wrote two separate newsletters (linked below) on the transfer portal and how it’s affected Indiana’s roster, but it’s time to take a look at what Indiana has to work with in recruiting and in the portal.
How many scholarships does Indiana have to work with?
This is the big question most people are asking, maybe because the anticipated depth chart for 2023 is…bleak. Indiana needs to work the portal, but things aren’t looking too great in that department, as portal players began to commit before the Early Signing Period to claim their roster spots. Indiana fans saw this with Jack Tuttle and AJ Barner on Tuesday. Teams, like Michigan, are building their rosters and want to know their needs before the Regular Signing Period.
That’s not to say there aren’t any players left in the portal. There certainly are. But not gaining any commitments shows the general interest in playing at Indiana, to me anyway.
So, to the question. I updated the scholarship chart from previous newsletters to reflect Indiana’s 2023 roster (Note: Many things could – and hopefully will – change before the season).
View the live spreadsheet here
There is a possibility that Indiana flips the Colorado cornerback commit, Jordan Shaw, but, for the most part, this is Indiana’s high school signing class. Shaw’s signing would bump the class to 11 and make the max scholarship count 79 – as of today.
There is a solid chance that some of the 8 players currently in the portal come back. We will know on January 19. But assuming they don’t, Indiana would have 70 players on scholarship (not counting Shaw).
There is also a good chance that those seniors who have a COVID year of eligibility remaining (players with asterisks next to their names) will come back, though there haven’t been any announcements from them yet. If they don’t return, and none of the portal guys return, Indiana will have as few as 62 players on scholarship.
Long answer short, the Hoosiers have anywhere between 7 and 23 scholarships to work with. That’s before Shaw’s decision, which 247Sports’ Crystal Ball believes will be Indiana.
What is Indiana doing right now?
I don’t have any inside information on this. I’m simply going by my own experience in working with several programs on their recruiting strategies.
For the short Early Signing Period, Indiana is likely trying to cement signings with guys who they’ve recently come in contact with or guys who they briefly saw or worked with with at camps in the summer and are in gray areas in their commitments. Jordan Shaw is an example of how a late recruiting change can do that, with Deion Sanders going to Colorado.
The Hoosier staff is also likely looking to the portal for starters or high-level depth on the 2023 roster. Jamier Johnson, whose transfer was announced today, is a good example of this. Positions they might be targeting in the portal:
QB
WR
OT
C
DE
LB
CB
Then, Indiana is likely looking at their scholarship charts and depth charts and deciding where they have holes for the future so they can target those positions in the Regular Signing Period. Those positions would be the following:
QB (automatic for any program at any time)
RB
Interior OL
A good edge rusher at DE (hard to come by in the Regular Period)
CB
Any high-level talent at any position that simply adds value to the roster
Lastly, there’s a chance Indiana is talking with the guys who hit the portal as both the players and the program assess their futures. Players who, at this point, would be good to have back:
Connor Bazelak
Malachi Holt-Bennett
Richard Thomas
Chris Keys
Lem Watley-Neeley
Again, there is much that can change in a short amount of time. Like I said above, just as I was about to publish this, Jamier Johnson’s transfer was announced. These things move quickly!
There’s plenty more to discuss about the scholarship chart and how, in Tom Allen’s sixth year, the team’s structure is in its worst condition of his tenure and how Indiana can avoid players being swept off by NIL considerations, but for now, the busiest time of the recruiting calendar is upon us, and I’m eager to see how Indiana handles it with its back against the wall.