Indiana State standout Rashad Rochelle signs with Seahawks

Rashad Rochelle’s jump to Seattle is the kind of move that keeps the Missouri Valley Football Conference relevant far beyond Terre Haute. The Indiana State wide receiver and return specialist signed with the Seahawks on Thursday, May 14, 2026, giving another FCS standout a shot with a Super Bowl champion and reinforcing how often NFL teams keep mining MVFC rosters for ready-made production.

Rochelle reached Seattle after a stop at Carolina Panthers rookie minicamp earlier in May as a tryout player. The Seahawks made room for him by waiving outside linebacker Devean Deal and also added rookie receiver Trayvon Rudolph on the same day, part of a roster churn that has become routine after the draft and rookie minicamp window. For Seattle, the appeal is obvious: Rochelle arrives with verified playmaking history, not just camp-speed intrigue.

The Springfield, Illinois, native transferred to Indiana State from Rutgers and broke out in 2025 as one of the most productive all-purpose threats in the league. He led the Sycamores with 44 receptions for 863 yards, caught nine touchdown passes and scored 10 total touchdowns while averaging 78.45 receiving yards and 132.45 all-purpose yards per game. His 863 receiving yards ranked second in a single season in Indiana State history, even though he missed one game because of injury.

The postseason recognition matched the production. Rochelle earned Third Team All-America honors from FCS Football Central, AP FCS All-American honorable mention and Phil Steele FCS Fourth Team honors. In the MVFC, he landed on three postseason lists: first-team all-purpose, second-team wide receiver and third-team return specialist. That combination matters. NFL teams do not just want a slot receiver in late spring. They want someone who can survive on multiple special-teams tracks and threaten field position immediately.

Rochelle’s 2025 tape gave Indiana State exactly that. On Nov. 3 against South Dakota State in Brookings, South Dakota, he took a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown in the Sycamores’ 24-12 upset, the program’s first kickoff return score since 2014 and its longest since the end of the 2006 season. Two weeks later, on Nov. 15 against Youngstown State in Youngstown, Ohio, he went off for six catches, 224 yards and three touchdowns, the Valley’s only 200-yard receiving game of the season.

For Indiana State and the MVFC, Rochelle signing with Seattle is more than a transaction. It is another proof point that elite FCS production still translates, and that the clearest route from conference contender to NFL roster can run straight through the Missouri Valley.