Indiana Football Incoming Transfer Profile: Holden Staes

Curt Cignetti lost his primary tight end, Zach Horton, from the 2024 season to graduation, so he hit the portal for his replacement in the 2025 season. 

Holden Staes joins Indiana after a season at Tennessee and two at Notre Dame. Across the two schools, he played in 34 games with 11 starts. 

Staes had his most productive season, statistically speaking, as a sophomore at Notre Dame, when he caught 15 passes for four touchdowns and 176 yards. He caught 15 passes again last season at Tennessee, but for fewer yards (131) and touchdowns (one). 

Part of why Staes production dipped last season was that he was not Tennessee's number one option at tight end in 2024. When the Volunteers' quarterbacks were looking for a tight end, they usually went to Miles Kitselman, who projects as an NFL prospect. 

Staes will have a shot at being tight end one this season for Fernando Mendoza, with the caveat being that Mike Shanahan's offense didn't rely heavily on tight ends in the passing game last year. 

Despite playing exponentially more snaps than James Bomba and Sam West, Indiana's other two tight ends, Horton was behind six receivers in receptions and yards last season. His 21 receptions were comparable to Tennesee's Kitselman - who had 22 - but there was no secondary tight end to catch 15 passes like Staes did. 

That said, there's no reason Staes to expect that Staes can't step in and produce like Horton did from day one. 

To cement his starting spot, Staes will likely have to make some improvement as a run blocker, which is where Horton saw the most snaps last year. Run blocking hasn't necessarily been a strength of his throughout his career, though he has been improving. 

At 6'4, 248 pounds, he's the same height and just four pounds lighter than Horton was, so there's reason to believe Bostad can make a good run blocker out of him. 

In relatively few snaps, Staes showed promise in the pass blocking game, grading pretty comparably to Horton last season. He has posted consistently higher pass reception grades over his career than Horton did though, so it'll be interesting to see how that skill is utilized in the new offense. 

Overall, 247 Sports has him graded as a 3-star portal prospect, though at 89.0, he just missed out on 4-star status. He was a 4-star prospect out of high school though, and could be a big get for Indiana if they want to start looking to the tight end more in the passing game.