Indiana football will be well-represented at the 2026 NFL Combine later this month. Nine Hoosiers have been invited to participate in the combine from Feb. 23 through March 2 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. IU's nine combine invitees are the most in a single year in program history.
Indiana's nine player invitees include: quarterback Fernando Mendoza; running back Roman Hemby; wide receivers Omar Cooper Jr. and Elijah Sarratt; tight end Riley Nowakowski; offensive lineman Pat Coogan; linebacker Aiden Fisher; cornerback D'Angelo Ponds and safety Louis Moore.
It remains to be seen if all nine players will fully participate in individual drills at the combine. Mendoza is not expected to participate in on-field workouts, but he will be available for interviews with front-office personnel. Indiana's Pro Day is set for Wednesday, April 1, and Mendoza is expected to throw then alongside several IU prospects.
Notable NFL Draft prospects not invited to the combine include running back Kaelon Black, wide receiver E.J. Williams Jr., defensive ends Mikail Kamara, Kellan Wyatt and Stephen Daley, and safety Devan Boykin. Black recently participated in the Reese's Senior Bowl with dozens of scouts and NFL executives in attendance.
The Hoosiers are poised for their most successful NFL Draft cycle in program history. Indiana could have its first-ever No. 1 overall pick as Fernando Mendoza is the heavy favorite to be selected by the Las Vegas Raiders to begin the draft. IU could also have as many as four players selected in the first two rounds, with Mendoza, Sarratt, Cooper and Ponds all projected as top-two round picks.
Since 1994, when the NFL Draft was reduced to its current seven-round format, Indiana has never had more than three players drafted in the same year. IU's all-time record for draft picks in a single year came in 1976 with seven draft selections.
Current NFL mock drafts have anywhere from seven to 15 Indiana players selected in the 2026 NFL Draft, which would shatter IU's previous best mark in the modern draft era.
Below are each of Indiana's NFL Combine invitees:
— QB Fernando Mendoza
— RB Roman Hemby
—WR Omar Cooper Jr.
— WR Elijah Sarratt
— TE Riley Nowakowski
— OL Pat Coogan
— LB Aiden Fisher
— CB D'Angelo Ponds
— DB Louis Moore