The biggest candidates in IUFB’s 2016 recruiting class to be instant impact guys are predominantly former junior college players. Richard Lagow might end up wresting the starting QB job from Zander Diamont, and Jayme Thompson will be a key player in the secondary. A third JUCO player who should contribute right away is tight end Ian Thomas, who 247sports ranks as the 10th-best JUCO TE and a three-star recruit.
In Kevin Wilson’s up-tempo offense, tight ends aren’t always asked to catch a large number of balls. However, IU just lost a couple of good TEs in Michael Cooper (reunited with Nate Sudfeld in Washington) and Anthony Corsaro.