Indiana DB, Jamari Sharpe (Miami native), picked off Hurricanes quarterback Carson Beck in the final minute to seal Indiana's 27-21 win in the College Football Playoff national championship game. The Hoosiers finished off a perfect 16-0 season and the first football national title in program history.
Sharpe made sure everyone understood what that moment meant
Miami native Jamari Sharpe, who made game-winning play for Indiana football tonight wasn't recruited by his hometown school.
— Michael Niziolek (@michaelniziolek) January 20, 2026
"I guess I showed them tonight why they should have recruited me." pic.twitter.com/Obx0FHjgrR
"I just showed them tonight why they should have recruited me."Jamari Sharpe in a postgame interview
Sharpe also mentioned that he still has a lot of love for his hometown.
Sharpe, who grew up in the Miami area and went to Northwestern High, has spent the last few weeks as one of the many full circle storylines surrounding this matchup. Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza is also a Miami native, and he was open about how much it meant to play a title game back home.
Sharpe's road to becoming a national champion
He arrived at Indiana in 2022, appeared in three games and redshirted. In 2023, he played 12 games and totaled 22 tackles, one tackle for loss, two pass breakups, and one interception (returned for 14 yards). In 2024, he appeared in nine games with 13 tackles, six pass breakups, 0.5 TFL, 0.5 sack, and one fumble recovery. In 2025, he put together his best season: 16 games, 50 tackles, six TFL, six pass breakups, four forced fumbles, and one interception.
Sharpe starred at wide receiver for three years and played cornerback for one season at Northwestern Senior High School.
Sharpe was a mid-tier three-star on the major services. On 247Sports, he carried an 86 rating (CB No. 75 in Florida, No. 96 in the state), and his 247Sports Composite was 0.8674. In On3's Industry composite, Sharpe checked in at 86.92 with rankings of No. 680 nationally, No. 66 at CB, and No. 96 in Florida.