4/3/2020 football Edit

Bloomington North TE Aaron Steinfeldt commits to Indiana

Taylor Lehman • TheHoosier

Staff

Local 2021 tight end and No. 11 in-state prospect Aaron Steinfeldt has announced his commitment to Indiana.

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Bloomington North tight end Aaron Steinfeldt announced Friday that he has committed to Indiana. He held offers from Washington, Boise State, Virginia, Cincinnati and several other places as well.

Indiana has long been a top choice of Steinfeldt's, after, outside of one year in Washington state, he spent his entire life in Bloomington. During that time, he watched plenty of Indiana football.

"I couldn’t see myself anywhere else but the Cream and Crimson,” Steinfeldt told TheHoosier.com.

His relationship with Indiana dates back a year, as he stayed in close contact with former offensive coordinator Kalen DeBoer and tight ends coach Nick Sheridan. He made at east three visits to Indiana during the summer and fall of 2019, including a number of games in Memorial Stadium. That relationship escalated after Sheridan was promoted to offensive coordinator and Steinfeldt received his Indiana offer in January.

During the 2019 season, Steinfeldt grew excited while watching Peyton Hendershot break the single-season receiving record for Indiana tight ends, as, after years of watching Indiana sparsely use its tight ends in the passing game, Steinfeldt believed his skillset could be suitable for a receiving role in the Indiana offense. That didn't change when DeBoer left for Fresno State. Tom Allen and the Indiana staff have stressed that the offensive philosophy would not change with the change in coordinators. That was what was expressed to Steinfeldt as well.

"I think it's great for the offense and the team because they'll run a similar offense to DeBoer," Steinfeldt said.

Steinfeldt carried over his visits to the winter and spring as well, attending both the January and the March junior days, which doesn't happen often in football recruiting, as prospects want to see as many schools as possible before spring. Steinfeldt also attended a spring practice at Indiana before COVID-19 shut down all team- and recruiting-related activities. That visit came days after Steinfeldt was supposed to visit Purdue, but he sprained his ankle and couldn't make the visit.

He met new tight ends coach Kevin Wright during his junior day visit in January, when Wright was officially introduced as the next tight ends coach at Indiana, and on that visit, he, like many other 2021 prospects, was encouraged by Indiana's emphasis on strength and conditioning.

Steinfeldt is a three-sport star at Bloomington North and was named Associated Press Class 5A All-Indiana in January after a 2019 season where he caught 40 passes for 547 yards and five touchdowns in eight games.

At 6-foot-5, 235 pounds, he has a similar skillset to Hendershot. He can line up wide or at the end of the line, has strong hands, flexible hips and additional speed. The ability to seal an edge is there as well.

Indiana now has commitments from three of the top 11 recruits in the Indiana Class of 2021, which Wright considers one of the strongest in-state classes of the 21st Century, after No. 6 prospect Cooper Jones committed to Indiana on Thursday and No. 7 prospect Rodney McGraw committed to Indiana in January.