IU football 2026 preseason position previews: Tight Ends

An IU football pylon.

Welcome to “IU football 2026 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: Tight Ends

Previously: Specialists, Cornerbacks, Safeties, Linebackers, Defensive Tackles, Defensive Ends, Offensive Tackles, Interior Offensive Linemen

Personnel

Returners: Andrew Barker, Blake Thiry

Departures via transfer portal: None

Departures via graduation/NFL Draft/Out of eligibility: Riley Nowakowski, Holden Staes, James Bomba

Arrivals via transfer portal: Brock Schott (Miami)

Incoming freshmen: Parker Elmore, Trevor Gibbs

What is different in 2026?

To keep it simple: everything except for 10 snaps.

Indiana lost 100 percent of its tight end production from a season ago and all but 10 snaps worth of personnel.

Riley Nowakowski led the charge with 32 receptions for 387 yards and four total touchdowns, starting in all 16 games. He was also one of the best blocking tight-ends in the nation and one of Indiana’s most valuable players offensively.

Nowakowski earned second-team All-Big Ten honors from the media and third-team honors from the coaches. He is off to the NFL after being drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fifth round of the NFL draft.

Holden Staes also played in all 16 games in 2025, starting two and complemented the offense with seven catches for 62 yards and two touchdowns. James Bomba saw occasional snaps as well, but did not record any catches.

Indiana’s 2026 tight end room is young and new. It will feature three redshirt freshmen and two true freshmen. The Hoosiers only return two players at tight end, with only one recording snaps.

The tight end room is probably Indiana’s biggest question mark in terms of track record and potential for production. That question will take a while to be answered.

The 2026 tight end room

Brock Schott (Redshirt freshman, 6-foot-3, 231 pounds)

Schott is the likely TE1 after transferring from Miami to Indiana. He is a homegrown Hoosier from Leo High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he was a two-way star.

He was rated a consensus four-star recruit in the 2025 class by all three major recruiting services: 247Sports, ESPN and Rivals. Schott tallied 1,717 yards on 101 career receptions with 19 touchdowns in his high school career and made 184 tackles with 69.5 tackles for loss and 41.0 sacks on defense.

He made two appearances for the Hurricanes in 2025, tallying his only two catches of the season for 24 yards against Bethune-Cookman. He also had a labrum injury in his hip that required surgery while with the Hurricanes, which he has since recovered from.

With his inexperience, Schott was rated the No. 35 transfer portal tight end by 247Sports. Indiana does not care about stars.

Schott has the potential in the world to become a star at Indiana. He just has to prove it on the field.

Andrew Barker (Redshirt freshman, 6-foot-4, 250 pounds)

Barker is the only player in the tight end room to have snaps at Indiana under his belt. He appeared in one game during the 2025 season, Kennesaw State, but preserved his redshirt.

He was a three-star recruit in the 2025 class from Kokomo High School in Kokomo, Indiana. He only caught 37 passes for 435 yards in his junior and senior seasons combined, but also saw time on defense and punted for three years.

Blake Thiry (Redshirt freshman, 6-foot-4, 236 pounds)

Thiry, the lone tight end not born in Indiana, redshirted the 2025 season and has not seen game action with the cream and crimson. He was a three-star recruit in the 2025 class from Prairie Du Chien High School in Prairie Du Chien, Wisconsin.

He was a top-50 nationally rated tight end in the class and has the size, frame and potential to earn snaps.

Parker Elmore (6-foot-4, 239 pounds)

Elmore was a three-star recruit out of Columbus North High School in Columbus, Indiana. He was rated a consensus top-30 tight end recruit nationally by the three major recruiting services. He led Columbus North in receptions (58), yards receiving (927) and receiving touchdowns (13) as a senior.

Trevor Gibbs (6-foot-2, 241 pounds)

Gibbs was a three-star recruit from Crown Point High School in Crown Point, Indiana. He was rated a top-15 prospect in Indiana by the three major recruiting services. He played middle linebacker and defensive end at Crown Point in addition to tight end and was listed by some recruiting services as a linebacker. His athleticism has major upside.

Predicted depth chart

• Brock Schott
• Andrew Barker
• Blake Thiry
• Parker Elmore
• Trevor Gibbs

This is as subject-to-change as it gets for Indiana. Fall camp should be very helpful in ironing out the order.

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