IU football 2026 preseason position previews: Cornerbacks

• Ian Plaskoff

• 2h ago

 

Welcome to “Indiana football preseason position previews,” a series that will break down the depth chart and production potential of Indiana’s roster ahead of the 2026 season.

Next up: Cornerbacks

Previously: Specialists

The 2025 season was straightforward at cornerback.

Line up D’Angelo Ponds across from the opponent’s best receiver and let him shut down half the field every game. Line up Jamari Sharpe across from the No. 2 receiver and trust him to make plays.

It worked quite well. It cannot work like that in 2026.

The cornerback room will look different in 2026. Some unfamiliar faces will become familiar. Here is what to expect.

Personnel

Returners: Jamari Sharpe, Ryland Gandy, Jaylen Bell, Zacharey Smith, Lincoln Murff

Departures via transfer portal: Amariyun Knighten (Miami Ohio), Dontrae Henderson (Arkansas State)

Departures via graduation/NFL Draft/Out of Eligibility: D’Angelo Ponds

Arrivals via transfer portal: AJ Harris (Penn State), Carson Williams (Montana State)

Incoming Freshmen: Kasmir Hicks

What is different in 2026?

Ponds was as good as it gets in 2025. He only allowed 18 receptions all season, broke up six passes and allowed a 42.0 passer rating when targeted by opposing quarterbacks. While he only had one interception in 2025, it was a memorable one, setting the tone with a pick-six on the first play from scrimmage in the Peach Bowl.

Elite corners are not targeted often. That is exactly what happened to Ponds.

He earned numerous All-American honors, including first-team by The Sporting News and second-team by Associated Press. He earned unanimous first-team All-Big Ten honors as well.

Ponds is set to begin his career with the New York Jets after being drafted in the second round of the NFL draft. He will go down as one of the program’s all-time greats.

Indiana no longer has the luxury of his presence.

The good news for Indiana is that Sharpe is back. He has grown into a solid cover corner and open-field tackler over his time at Indiana. The 6-foot-1, 188-pound redshirt senior is as much of a guarantee to start as can be.

The big question: Who will replace Ponds and join him?

The 2026 cornerbacks room

Indiana’s cornerback room for 2026 is built of five returners, two transfers and a freshman. All have immensely different backgrounds and fill different needs. Sharpe, one of the five returners, will have one of the starting spots. The rest is up in the air.

The other returners

Ryland Gandy (Redshirt senior, 5-foot-10, 189 lbs)

Of all the returners besides Sharpe in the cornerback room, Gandy has the most experience under his belt, with 44 career games played and 14 starts. He started all 13 games for Pitt in the 2024 season and played in all 16 for Indiana in 2025 with one start.

Gandy’s one start came on the road at Iowa to fill in for an injured Ponds. While the sample size was small, the duo of Sharpe and Ponds served relatively well in the Week 5 game in Iowa City. Both only improved as the season went on.

Whenever Gandy was called upon, he played relatively well. Will that be enough, with positive development, of course, to be trustworthy in the CB2 spot? That is something we will find out.

Jaylen Bell (Sophomore, 5-foot-10, 169 lbs)

Indiana burned Jaylen Bell’s redshirt as a true freshman in 2025. That does not happen without coincidence. While Bell mostly played on special teams, his playing time as a freshman signals the staff’s belief in him.

It would be a big surprise if Bell earned the other starting spot. It would not be a surprise to see him as a major special-teams contributor and a rotational defensive player when necessary.

Zacharey Smith (Redshirt freshman, 5-foot-11, 175 lbs)

Smith was a three-star recruit in the class of 2025 and redshirted his freshman season. He did not see a snap in 2025. There is no reason to believe he will be a big factor in the cornerback room in 2026 until we see what he has to offer. Smith could be a piece on special teams.

Lincoln Murff (Redshirt junior, 5-foot-10, 186 lbs)

Murff is a redshirt junior walk-on who has not seen action in his time at Indiana. He will not be a piece in the cornerback puzzle unless something unforeseen happens.

The transfers

AJ Harris (Senior, 6-foot-1, 188 lbs)

Harris is an extremely interesting piece to this puzzle. Harris was a five-star Georgia commit in the class of 2023. He saw minimal playing time in his freshman season and transferred to Penn State, where he excelled in 2024.

Harris earned third-team All-Big Ten honors in 2024 as part of Tom Allen’s defense in State College. Allen’s scheme relied more heavily on zone coverage than Jim Knowles’ Penn State defense that took over in 2025.

Harris’ production dropped off in Knowles’ scheme that relied on more man-coverage principles. Now, Harris is back in a zone-heavy scheme where he has all the potential to succeed.

Cignetti always favors production over potential, but Harris may be an exception. He has produced in zone schemes. He has the potential to do so again at Indiana.

Carson Williams (Redshirt sophomore, 5-foot-11, 181 lbs)

Williams is coming from one national champion team to another. After leading Montana State to the FCS National Championship, Williams committed to Indiana as the 97th-ranked cornerback in the transfer portal.

Williams will be a backup and see some time on special teams this season, in all likelihood. Do not count him out as an important piece in 2027 and potentially beyond. It may take some time to get adjusted from the FCS to the Big Ten. Cignetti has no reason to rush him into play and can let him learn the system and develop.

The freshman:

Kasmir Hicks (Freshman, 5-foot-11, 197 lbs)

Hicks signed with Indiana as a four-star recruit out of Decatur Central High School in Indianapolis. He was tabbed as the No. 40 cornerback recruit in the nation and the No. 3 overall recruit in Indiana, per 247Sports. If he does not redshirt, Hicks could see some action on special teams in his freshman campaign.

Projected starters

CB 1: Jamari Sharpe
CB 2: AJ Harris or Ryland Gandy (Toss up)

Depth:
CB 3: Harris or Gandy (Whoever does not start)
CB 4: Carson Williams
CB 5: Jaylen Bell
CB 6: Zacharey Smith

See More: Football