Zach Horton, an Indiana football tight end out of Lord Botetourt High School’s 2021 signing class, did not receive a single Power Five offer.

On his second tour on the recruiting route, things had changed.

When the James Madison tight end used the transfer portal in December, he received offers from Ohio State, Maryland, Virginia, NC State, and Georgia Tech, among other teams. He tried to be open-minded when using the portal, but he struggled to go past one particular question.

“Why now? I had a little chip on my shoulder,” Horton said, during an interview with The Herald-Times in April. “I felt like I played the same, but having that little bit of experience made the difference. I believe I should have been getting looked at my whole career.

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The loyalty he felt toward Curt Cignetti and the offensive staff that recruited him made the decision to join them in the Big Ten an easy one.