Indiana DL Hosea Wheeler enters NCAA transfer portal

Indiana defensive lineman Hosea Wheeler has entered the NCAA transfer portal, according to On3’s Pete Nakos. Wheeler previously played at Western Kentucky.

Wheeler spent one season playing for Curt Cignetti’s Hoosiers. During that time he logged 31 total tackles, including 13 solo during Indiana’s national championship run.

He spent three years at WKU before that, where he logged 108 career tackles across that span before stepping foot in Bloomington ahead of the 2025-26 season. He’ll have one season of eligibility remaining to play for the team he transfers to.

In Bowling Green, KY, Wheeler had a 65 tackle season, including two seasons and a forced fumble in 2024 before hitting the portal. The year before, he finished with 42 tackles, a pair of sacks, a forced fumble and an interception.

Wheeler is the ninth player so far to enter the NCAA transfer portal from Cignetti’s championship roster. However, Indiana has already reloaded with 17 commits and currently boast the No. 1 overall portal class in On3’s current transfer portal team rankings.

This comes amid Indiana’s meteoric rise to the top of college football under Cignetti, who just wrapped up his second season in Bloomington. In two seasons, Cignetti is 27-2 with two appearances in the College Football Playoff and a national championship win — not to mention the Rose and Peach Bowls along the way.

All this while boasting the 2025 Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza under center. He’s expected to be the top pick in the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft in April.

In all, Indiana finished the season 16-0 and is the first college program to do so in over a century. During that stretch, the Hoosiers also beat Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship and Oregon twice. It’ll be hard for IU to replicate this type of success in 2026 — but nothing has been too lofty for Cignetti so far to get his journey started in Bloomington.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.