The Pittsburgh Steelers let hybrid FB/TE Connor Heyward walk in free agency. They replaced him with Indiana FB Riley Nowakowski in the fifth round of the 2026 NFL Draft. Nowakowski played tight end for the national champion Hoosiers, but the Steelers will line him up in the backfield.
Still, a large part of Nowakowski’s skill set is in the passing game, according to our own Josh Carney’s film study. But who is he beyond a hybrid blocker and receiver? Here are five things to know about Riley Nowakowski.
Top Senior Linebacker In Wisconsin
Riley Nowakowski won a national championship with the Indiana Hoosiers after he was a walk-on at the University of Wisconsin. But before that, he was the best high school senior linebacker in Wisconsin. During that season, he had 126 tackles, 29 tackles for a loss, three sacks, four forced fumbles, and two interceptions. He returned one of those interceptions 90 yards for a touchdown. He also added four rushing touchdowns as a running back and an 85-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
Walked On At Wisconsin As A Linebacker But Switched To Offense
You would think that Riley Nowakowski would have been highly coveted after a senior season like that. According to Marquette University High School, more than 20 D1 schools were interested in him, including all the Ivy League schools and the service academies. However, Nowakowski took a chance and walked on at Wisconsin. He was an undersized linebacker, but he wanted to make it happen.
Nowakowski was a reserve linebacker during his first two years at Wisconsin, appearing in six games. It certainly didn’t help that current Steelers OLB Nick Herbig was ahead of him on the depth chart.
However, during his time as a reserve linebacker, Nowakowski helped out on the scout team offense. That gave him an option going into his third season with the Badgers.
“We ended up having one of our fullbacks transfer, and so my coach recommended me because of the good job I’d been doing (on the offense scout team),” Nowakowski said, per On3.com in 2025.
The switch gave him new life. However, that didn’t mean things went swimmingly from there.
Another Position Switch Due To Coaching Changes
Nowakowski saw a marked increase in playing time on offense, and he honed his blocking skills. Yet in 2023, Badgers head coach Paul Chryst was fired after a 2-3 start. Wisconsin hired a new coach who brought a new offensive scheme, putting Nowakowski in a bind.
“So ended up bringing in Coach Fickell, and he brought Coach Longo with him,” Nowakowski said in an interview with Wisconsin Sports Daily on the Wisconsin Sports Radio Network. “Then it was, hey, there’s no fullback anymore. You can either be a running back or a tight end.”
While Nowakowski had played running back in high school, current New York Jets RB Braelon Allen was the top runner at Wisconsin. Nowakowski saw more opportunity at tight end, where he could showcase his blocking skills.
Pursuing A Childhood Dream, Thanks To Adoptive Parents
Nowakowski’s parents, Scott and Rhonda, could not have children of their own. Rhonda, Nowakowski’s mother, had a medical issue since she was 10 years old that meant she couldn’t give birth. So, the two of them built a family through adoption. They first adopted Anastasia. Then, two years later, they adopted Riley. However, the adopted life was not always smooth. Nowakowski’s parents and older sister are white, while he is black.
“Obviously, I don’t really look the same as the rest of my family, so it was tough to hide, right?” Nowakowski said in a pre-draft interview with WISN 12. “You see yourself as different; other people see you as different. When you don’t necessarily look like everybody else, it’s definitely a challenge just to maybe be accepted and accept yourself. I think that’s something I had to work through.
“And I’ve always had support from my parents.”
Nowakowski’s parents loved him and helped him, especially through sports. However, sports weren’t the only thing important to them.
Five-Time Academic All-Big Ten
Sometimes we forget that college football players are also students. Some take the student part of student-athlete seriously, while others don’t. You can count Nowakowski among the first.
While Nowakowski navigated two position changes and transferred to a different school en route to winning a national title, one thing never changed. He always worked hard in the school setting, earning Big Ten Academic honors in all five years of college. That comes from his parents.
“It wasn’t easy, for sure,” Nowakowski said in an interview with CBS Sports at the Scouting Combine. “I just finished my last assignment Sunday before coming here, so I just finally finished school for good this time… It was tough. I was actually talking to my dad just a few weeks before. I was like, dude, I won a national championship, I don’t want to do homework. He’s like, you’re gonna do it.”
As a young man on top of the college football world, it’s easy to understand the desire to take a deep breath and relax. However, that’s not how Nowakowski’s parents raised him.
“My parents definitely instilled it in me,” Nowakowski said. “Anything you do, you do 100 percent, and that includes schoolwork. They always taught me that, regardless [of whether] you play football in the NFL or you play till college or high school, whatever, at the end of the day, you’re gonna have to go get a job somewhere and go do something, earn some money. So, you need to have a good education and a good degree.”
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