Indiana Football Battling Alabama, Ohio State for Local 4-Star Recruit

Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti promotes competition. He's taking his own advice to the recruiting trail, where Cignetti and the Hoosiers are battling two college football powerhouses for in-state standout Kaleb Elkins.

A four-star safety in the class of 2027 from Warren Central High School in Indianapolis, Elkins has three preliminary visits set for this fall: Ohio State, Alabama and Indiana.

Since the College Football Playoffs began in 2014, Ohio State and Alabama have won five championships combined. Then, there's Indiana, the losingest program in college football history — yet one of the sport's most rapidly rising programs.

Cignetti said at Big Ten Media Days in July that Indiana needs to improve its infrastructure to better compete with major programs on the recruiting trail.

"I mean, ultimately, you've got to be able to win battles, occasionally, against Oregon and Tennessee and Florida and those people," Cignetti said. "You know what I'm saying? I mean, we did win a few of those."

He's now hoping to win another.

Elkins will visit Indiana on Sept. 20, when the Hoosiers host Illinois inside Memorial Stadium. Indiana Athletics announced Thursday that tickets have already sold out for the Week 4 contest, which is the Hoosiers' Big Ten opener.

The 6-foot-3, 185-pound Elkins will also visit Ohio State for its season opener against Texas on Aug. 30, and he'll head to Alabama for a Nov. 8 matchup with LSU, according to Rivals/On3 Sports recruiting insider Steve Wiltfong.

Elkins told Wiltfong he values Indiana's proximity to home and the bond he's forged with Cignetti and additional coaches.

“I love the coaching staff at IU,” Elkins said, via Rivals/On3 Sports. “I feel like we’ve really built a relationship over the past few months.”

When he discussed Alabama and Ohio State, Elkins emphasized the two programs' track record of winning games and producing NFL players.

Indiana is still in relative infancy trying to prove it can check both boxes — but Cignetti said the Hoosiers can walk through recruiting doors they previously couldn't, and Elkins is a prime example.

Three-star quarterback Jameson Purcell is currently Indiana's lone commitment in the 2027 class.