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Indiana football pulled a new stunner after the Fourth of July following its surprise postseason run. The College Football Playoff team of last year not only reeled in a rare four-star recruit. But stunned two Southeastern Conference powers by winning over this prospect over them.
EDGE Ronelle Johnson is heading to Bloomington. The 6-foot-4, 265-pound defender made his choice Saturday. He adds a new relentless pass rushing option for head coach Curt Cignetti.
Which SEC schools came after Johnson? Missouri and Ole Miss landed in the final running according to Hayes Fawcett of On3/Rivals. Even Big 12 power Kansas State showed up on Johnson's short list of remaining options.
But IU lands a top 100 recruit for the 2026 class. And secures a rare huge recruiting win — as Cignetti built his first Hoosiers team with predominantly college football transfer portal talent.
How Indiana has measured up recruiting wise
Johnson's pledge makes up for one big loss on Indiana's side.
Florida State coaxed four-star cornerback Jay Timmons to join its 2026 class. Timmons dipped out of his IU commitment to join the Seminoles. His father Lawrence starred for FSU as a linebacker during the early 2000s.
Johnson, however, immediately eases the loss of Timmons. Indiana rose as the lone Big Ten program he became invested in. He held his other offers from conference rivals Iowa, Wisconsin, Purdue, even Big Ten champion Oregon.
But he took a June 6 visit to the IU campus according to peegs.com on 247Sports. That trip clearly won him over as the Hoosiers made Johnson a massive priority for the '26 class.
Johnson garnered strong praise during his recruitment. He's the state of Missouri's No. 3 overall prospect for '26 by 247Sports. He's also the 22nd verbal commitment for this current class.
Indiana sits now at No. 25 across the nation for team recruiting rankings. The '25 class settled for 39th overall. Indiana even ranked 46th in recruiting back for the 2024 class. Cignetti is now building a top 25 class in Bloomington.
