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Yahoo
31-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Indiana football position preview: Veteran transfers battling it out for starting spot at tight end
BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football opens fall camp on July 30 as Curt Cignetti and crew look to build on the foundation they laid with an historic run to the College Football Playoffs. The Hoosiers were once again active participants in the transfer portal, but they also retained many of the key faces behind last year's success. We're taking a position-by-position look at their roster this week that continues with a breakdown of the tight end room. Indiana signed a pair of veteran transfers at the position who head into fall camp battling to take over Zach Horton's starting role. More: 'We are really playing for postseason opportunities': Indiana football's recent scheduling moves explained Meet Indiana football's tight ends Returning: James Bomba (R-Sr) Transfers: Riley Nowakowski (R-Sr), Holden Staes (Sr) Early enrollees: Andrew Barker Fall enrollees: Blake Thiry More: Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti: Opposing team offered Hoosiers player $1.5 million to transfer Wisconsin transfer Riley Nowakowski could be Zach Horton 2.0 Zach Horton was a vital part of Curt Cignetti's offense at JMU and Indiana, a fact that didn't go unnoticed by opposing coaches who frequently brought up the tight end's effort and toughness after scouting the Hoosiers last season. While he had modest production in the passing game — 21 catches for 189 yards with four touchdowns — he was an invaluable in-line blocker who Cignetti described as a 'blood-and-guts, hard-nosed' talent. There wasn't a guarantee Indiana would be able to find someone in the portal at tight end that matched Horton's skills and intangibles, but Riley Nowakowski comes awfully close. The sixth-year senior is a former walk-on turned starter for the Badgers with plenty of experience (40 games with 10 starts). He's also displayed a team-first attitude throughout his career having moved from linebacker to fullback to tight end. Last year, Wisconsin coaches praised his attention to detail and growth as a leader. The 6-foot-1, 243-pounder could slide right into Horton's role as IU's glue in 2025. More: Indiana football: New turf installed at Memorial Stadium, Mellencamp Pavilion gets a makeover Is the third time the charm for transfer tight end Holden Staes? Holden Staes has the physical tools to be a top pass-catching threat in the Power Four, but he hasn't quite reached those heights during stints with Notre Dame and Tennessee. He came out of high school as a 4-star recruit and 11th overall tight end in the 2022 signing class out of Atlanta. Staes went from being the heir apparent to Michael Mayer at Notre Dame to the SEC last season, where a fellow transfer (Miles Kitselman) ended up as Vols' top receiving threat. Staes is in the minor of IU transfers as a player that falls in the potential over production category. He's never caught more than 15 passes in a single-season and was only sporadically counted on as a lead blocking tight end. Will another change in scenery help him reach new heights? At a minimum, he gives IU a bid-bodied target able to line up the slot. That's certainly a valuable commodity for a coaching staff that has a long history of putting their skill players in the best position to succeed. More: 'Phenomenal': Indiana football's season ticket sales for 2025 reach historic levels Tight end rotation would be change of pace for Curt Cignetti Will the competition in fall camp between Nowaskowski and Staes be a winner-take–all situation? Or will IU's coaching staff opt to split up reps while leaning into each of their strengths? Horton accounted for more than 75% of the snaps among Cignetti's tight ends each of the last two seasons. Cignetti rotated tight ends in 2022 at JMU with Horton and Drew Painter splitting up the workload, but they shared similar skill sets and were nearly interchangeable. The most likely scenario based on that recent history is IU picking the most reliable blocker of the two and giving them the bulk of the reps. More: 'I've watched it countless times': Indiana football not done learning from CFP loss to Notre Dame Predicted depth chart for Indiana's tight ends First Team: Riley Nowakowski Second Team: Holden Staes Indiana football position preview roundup Wide receivers Secondary Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here. This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Indiana football 2025 position preview: Tight ends
Yahoo
31-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Indiana football position preview: Why Elijah Sarratt is one of Big Ten's best pass catchers
BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football opens fall camp on July 30 as Curt Cignetti and crew look to build on the foundation they laid with an historic run to the College Football Playoffs. The Hoosiers were once again active participants in the transfer portal, but they also retained many of the key faces behind last year's success. We're taking a position-by-position look at the roster this week, starting with the wide receiver room. Indiana brings back its two most productive receivers while looking to add some fresh faces to fill out its two-deep. This staff has a history of identifying talent at the position — will they strike gold again in 2025? More: 'Phenomenal': Indiana football's season ticket sales for 2025 reach historic levels Meet Indiana football's wide receivers Returning players: Elijah Sarratt (Sr.); Omar Cooper Jr. (R-Jr.); Charlie Becker (So.); E.J. Williams (R-Sr.) Transfers: Tyler Morris (Sr.)*; Makai Jackson (Sr.); Jonathan Brady (Sr.) Early enrollees: Lebron Bond; Myles Kendrick Fall enrollees: Davion Chandler More: 'We are really playing for postseason opportunities': Indiana football's recent scheduling moves explained Why isn't Elijah Sarratt getting more national attention? Indiana football wide receiver Elijah Sarratt ranked No. 1 among FBS true juniors in receiving touchdowns (29), No. 2 in receiving yards (2,847) and No. 3 in receptions. Here are some other notable numbers — he has one reception in each of the games he's played in college (37) and 11 career 100-yard games. The competition he's faced has gone up each year, but he's improved his game at a faster pace. He went from earning FCS Freshman All-American honors at St. Francis (Pa.) to garner All-Conference honors the Sun Belt and Big Ten. Much of the attention Sarratt got during IU's run to the College Football Playoff came when he revealed his teammates had nicknamed him 'Waffle House.' It's an apt moniker, but there should be more focus on his impressive career trajectory and production. He's one of the most important players on IU's roster going into 2025. More: Indiana football: New turf installed at Memorial Stadium, Mellencamp Pavilion gets a makeover Indiana looking to homegrown talent to provide depth in the slot Indiana's coaching staff loaded up at slot receiver ahead of the 2024 season, and the move paid off with Myles Price, Miles Cross and Ke'Shawn Williams combining for 104 receptions, 1,1238 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns. They were almost completely interchangeable — Williams seems to be the biggest red zone threat — with each of them developing a strong rapport with quarterback Kurtis Rourke. The Hoosiers had a ready-made recruiting pitch to potential replacements but initially only signed one transfer slot receiver (Tyler Morris). They only added a second (Jonathan Brady) because Morris suffered a season-ending knee injury during spring camp. Did the market change, or was it more of an internal shift in strategy? Or a combination of both? Cignetti talked about cross-training guys more than they did last year to build the depth they had last year. He could also lean on true freshmen a bit more, an option that gained a bit of traction after he praised early enrollees Lebron Bond and Myles Kendrick throughout camp. Bond fits the profile of his predecessors at the position as a former decorated sprinter in high school. Will Indiana football sophomore Charlie Becker jump the line? Indiana only has a handful of true sophomores on the roster, and only one of them plays on offense, a distinction that belongs to wide receiver Charlie Becker, a former three-star recruit out of Nashville, Tennessee. Becker's primary role was on special teams last season, but his size (6-foot-4, 204 pounds), athleticism (he won a series of state titles in track) and attention to detail positioned him to land a more prominent role in 2025 as one of IU's outside receivers. The Hoosiers had five receivers with 20-plus catches and 300-plus yards last year, and any hope they have of matching that number will mean Becker reaching those milestones. More: Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti: Opposing team offered Hoosiers player $1.5 million to transfer Projected depth chart for Indiana's wide receivers First Team: Elijah Sarratt, E.J. Williams Jr. Omar Cooper Jr. Second Team: Makai Jackson, Jonathan Brady, Charlie Becker Indiana football position preview roundup Secondary Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here. This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Indiana football 2025 position preview: Wide receiver
Chicago Tribune
08-06-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Baseball and softball for the Southland, Aurora, Elgin, Naperville and Lake County
High school and local college results and highlights from the Southland, Aurora, Elgin, Naperville and Lake County coverage EVENTS HIGH SCHOOLS BASEBALL CLASS 4A SUPERSECTIONALS BLOOMINGTON At Illinois Wesleyan Normal Community (35-4) vs. Waubonsie Valley (23-12), 6 p.m. CRESTWOOD At Ozinga Field Brother Rice (35-3) vs. Providence (26-12), 7:30 p.m. KANE COUNTY COUGARS At Northwestern Medicine Field, Geneva McHenry (34-4-1) vs. South Elgin (25-11), 6 p.m. SCHAUMBURG At Wintrust Field Libertyville (33-4) vs. Maine South (23-16), 7:30 p.m. CLASS 3A SUPERSECTIONALS CRESTWOOD At Ozinga Field St. Laurence (34-5) vs. Simeon (20-12-1), 5 p.m. DECATUR At Millikin Champaign Central (26-12-1) vs. Troy Triad (31-6), 6 p.m. GENESEO Benet (24-12) vs. Washington (Ill.) (28-10), 6 p.m. SCHAUMBURG At Wintrust Field St. Patrick (23-15) vs. Cary-Grove (24-12), 5 p.m. SOFTBALL CLASS 4A SUPERSECTIONALS BARRINGTON Barrington (33-3-1) vs. St. Charles East (23-15), 6 p.m. BLOOMINGTON At Illinois Wesleyan Lockport (30-9) vs. Bradley-Bourbonnais (22-12), 6:30 p.m. CHICAGO At UIC Loyola (18-15) vs. Oak Park-River Forest (28-8), 4:30 p.m. LISLE At Benedictine Marist (35-2) vs. Oswego (35-2), 6:30 p.m. CLASS 3A SUPERSECTIONALS BLOOMINGTON At Illinois Wesleyan Pontiac (26-9) vs. Providence (24-11), 4:30 p.m. DECATUR At Millikin Chatham Glenwood (34-1) vs. Centralia (26-3), 4:30 p.m. KANELAND Antioch (24-13) vs. Prairie Ridge (27-1-1), 4:30 p.m. LISLE At Benedictine St. Laurence (22-7) vs. Montini (19-16), 4:30 p.m. SATURDAY'S RESULTS HIGH SCHOOLS BASEBALL CLASS 4A SECTIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS LINCOLN-WAY WEST Providence 12, Lincoln-Way East 0 (5 innings) LOCKPORT Waubonsie Valley 5, Downers Grove North 0 REAVIS Brother Rice 3, Mount Carmel 2 STEVENSON Libertyville 5, Lake Zurich 4 Libertyville (33-4): Quinn Schambow 2-for-3, double, 3 RBIs. Josh Holst HR, 2 RBIs. Mason Strader 2-for-3, 2 runs. Cole Lockwood 2 runs. WILLOWBROOK South Elgin 4, York 3 South Elgin (25-11): Justin Pold GW RBI in top 7th. Alex Muro RBI single. Jake Sparacino RBI. CLASS 3A SECTIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS KANELAND Benet 7, Wheaton St. Francis 0 Benet (25-12): Gino Zagorac CG, H, 6 Ks. Merrick Sullivan 2-for-4, 3-run double. Luke Stachowiak RBI single. ST. LAURENCE St. Laurence 11, Lemont 1 (6 innings) BOYS LACROSSE STATE FINALS Lake Forest 8, New Trier 5, championship Wheaton Academy 19, Neuqua Valley 4, third BOYS VOLLEYBALL STATE FINALS At Hoffman Estates Marist d. Glenbard West 25-20, 25-20, championship Lane d. O'Fallon 25-21, 25-14, third Marist d. Lane 25-19, 25-19, semifinal Glenbard West d. O'Fallon 25-17, 25-8, semifinal GIRLS SOCCER CLASS 3A STATE FINALS At North Central College, Naperville O'Fallon 1, Naperville North 0 (OT), championship Barrington 2, Lane 1, third SOFTBALL CLASS 4A SECTIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP STEVENSON Loyola 2, Mundelein 0 Mundelein (22-11): Sophia Zepeda CG, ER, 11 Ks. CLASS 3A SECTIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GRAYSLAKE CENTRAL Antioch 13, Carmel 9 Antioch (24-13): Sam Hillner 4-for-4, 2 HRs, 4 runs, 4 RBIs. Tegan Schuler 4-for-4, 3 runs, RBI. Addie Webb 2-for-3, 3 RBIs. Carmel (20-10): Grace Brown 2-for-3, solo HR, 3 runs. Bella Cameron 3 RBIs. Grace King 3 runs. CLASS 2A STATE FINALS At Louisville Slugger Sports Complex, Peoria Beecher 5, Carterville 2 (10 innings), championship Beecher (37-2): Taylor Norkus (W) 5 IP relief, H, 0 R, 9 Ks. Tayiah Scanlon tiebreaking single in top 10th. Ava Lorenzatti 2-run HR. Fifth state championship in school history. Poplar Grove North Boone 1, Auburn 0, third
