Larry Highbaugh was one of 10 Black players who were dismissed from the IU football team by then-coach John Pont in 1969 for unexcused absences from practice. The players were boycotting practice to protest unjust treatment including position stacking, unequal access to medical treatment and nutrition, and racial slurs from coaches.

He was also a track athlete and went on to a Hall of Fame career in the CFL. Interestingly, he is the grandfather of Tre Roberson, who also appears in this list.

In 2015, Highbaugh and his nine teammates were officially reinstated to the team and received Indiana lettermen's blankets, along with their 1968 Rose Bowl rings, which IU had been withholding from them for nearly 50 years.

A New Jersey native, DeMarco played for the Hoosiers as a freshman in 1957. The team was winless in Big Ten competition (the only game they won was at home against Villanova); five of the eight losses were by shutout.

After the season, DeMarco transferred to Dayton, where he completed his college career. He was selected by the Cardinals in the 1960 NFL draft and was named to three Pro Bowls in his 15-year NFL career.

Goldston lettered in football at Indiana University in 1948.
He then transferred to Youngstown University in 1950, where he earned two letters and was team captain as a senior.

Drafted by Philadelphia in 1952, he played four years with the Eagles and then joined the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL in 1956. He was a four-time all star and helped the Tiger-Cats to Grey Cup wins in 1957 and 1963.

Bob "Hunchy" Hoernschemeyer playing for Bo McMillin's Indiana Hoosiers football team at age 17 in 1943. He led the NCAA in 1943 with 1,648 yards of total offense and 1,133 passing yards. In 1944, he was inducted into the Navy but he was granted a "special order discharge" allowing him to return to Indiana in the fall of 1944, while awaiting induction into the Naval Academy. Back at IU, he led the 1944 Hoosiers to shutout victories over Michigan (20–0), Nebraska (54–0), Iowa (32–0), and Pittsburgh (47–0).

That's right, we've gone all the way back to 1944 to find someone who played for consistently successful IU teams.

Of course, Hoernschemeyer enjoyed even greater success as a Midshipman, leading the 1945 Navy squad to a 7–1–1 record and a #3 ranking in the final AP Poll, with the only loss coming to #1 Army. As an NFL halfback, Hunchy earned championship rings with the Lions in 1952 and 1953 and was named to two Pro Bowls.

Lucien "Lu" Gambino played on the Indiana freshman team in 1941 and on the varsity team in 1942 before dropping out of school to join the Air Force.

After the war, Gambino played at the University of Maryland, where he set the NCAA season scoring high with 16 touchdowns in 1947. He was the 1948 Gator Bowl MVP, and played two years for the Baltimore Colts before his career was ended by injury.

Josh Hoover, QB from Texas, was a key piece of IU's 2022 recruiting class. He decommitted in December 2021 and went to TCU, where he was named Honorable Mention All-Big 12 in 2023.

Jones was ranked the No. 27 prospect in Pennsylvania by ESPN. He picked IU over Wake Forest and played in 16 games over four seasons at Indiana. Amazingly, the Hoosiers were 11-5 in games in which Jones appeared; some of these wins were against Ball State, Eastern Illinois, Connecticut, Rutgers, Northwestern, and Idaho. He transferred to Chattanooga in 2022 with two years of eligibility remaining.

Moffatt was thrown off of the IU football team after an altercation with a fraternity in which several players were involved.

He finished his college career at Bowling Green in 1999. The Falcons won five games that year, more than IU had won in any season when Moffatt was on the team.