All-American left tackle Carter Smith has chosen to defend Indiana's national title instead of going pro, opting to return to Bloomington instead of entering the 2026 NFL Draft.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Carter Smith has started 41 games in a row at left tackle for Indiana, and he's become one of the best lineman in the country. He was a first-team All-American in 2025, helping the Hoosiers go 16-0 and claim their first football national title.
It was so much fun that Smith is coming back to Bloomington to do it again. The redshirt junior announced on Twitter Friday night that he was going back to Indiana for the 2026 season
The NFL can wait for another year. Even though he had a second-round grade from many scouting services and was considered a top-50 player coming out, he's decided to go back to school and help the Hoosiers defend their title.
“Sorry to keep you waiting Hoosiers, I’m not going anywhere! Year 5 let’s run it back!” Smith wrote on his X page.
Smith, a 6-foot-5, 308-pounder from Powell, Ohio, has racked up all sorts of awards this season. He was a first-team All-Big Ten choice, was named the the Big Ten’s Offensive Lineman of the Year, and was a consensus first-team All-American in 2025.
He did not give up a sack all season until allowing one in the College Football Playoff national championship game on Monday. The No. 1 seeded Hoosiers beat Miami 27-21 to claim the crown.
Smith started all 12 games in 2023 under head coach Tom Allen, who was fired at the end of the season. Curt Cignetti was hired, and one of the first moves he made was retaining offensive line coach Bob Bostad, who's considered one of the best in the game.
Smith had briefly entered the transfer portal following Allen's dismissal, but Cignetti and Bostad convinced him he was a cornerstone along the offensive line and that he could blossom in their system. They were right.
In 2024, Smith anchored an offensive line unit at left tackle that became a Joe Moore Award semifinalist. During his redshirt-sophomore season, he helped Indiana establish program records for total offensive touchdowns (70) and points scored (537) while the line posted back-to-back games without allowing a sack — the first time Indiana accomplished that feat in Big Ten play since 2001.
His junior year showcased even more dominance, as he earned Outland Trophy semifinalist recognition and Rimington-Pace Offensive Lineman of the Year honors while protecting quarterbacks to a perfect 100% pass blocking grade during the regular season. The Hoosiers rattled off four consecutive 300-yard rushing performances to open 2025, a Power 4 record not seen since Baylor in 2017, and Smith's blocking cleared lanes for eight games with multiple rushing touchdowns.
Prior to Monday's title game, Smith compiled 2,516 career snaps across 40 games and surrendered only four total sacks over three seasons as a starter — two in 2023 and two in 2024.
The Hoosiers were perfect this season in large part to their offensive line, which dominated one game after another all season. Indiana rushed for 3,406 yards this year, the fourth-highest total in the country. And they gave time for quarterback Fernando Mendoza to pick defenses apart. During his Heisman Trophy season, he had 41 touchdown passes and just six interceptions, and also had seven rushing touchdowns.
Keeping Smith was a big deal because right tackle Khalil Benson is out of eligibility and won't return. Starting guards Drew Evans and Bray Lynch are back, though Lynch likely will slide to center to replace fifth-year senior Pat Coogan, who's off to the NFL. Adedamola Ajani could see a bigger role, plus the Hoosiers picked up Joe Brunner from Wisconsin in the transfer portal.