Author: Mike Schumann

Former IU football star cornerback D’Angelo Ponds has signed his first NFL contract. According to a report by Adam Schefter of ESPN, Ponds reached an agreement today with the New York Jets on a four-year, $9,836,918 deal that includes $8,946,359 guaranteed. Ponds was selected in the second round by the Jets in last month’s NFL Draft.  They selected their second-straight Indiana standout with the 50th overall selection, after taking Omar Cooper with the No. 30 pick on night one of the draft.  Ponds is the highest-drafted Indiana cornerback since Tracy Porter went with the 40th overall pick in the 2008…

As it relates to Indiana football assembling a very strong recruiting class of 2027, it seems like a matter of when, not if. It’s still early May, and most high school commitments don’t come until the calendar officially says it’s summer.  Right now the Hoosiers have just four verbal commitments.  But that will be changing over the next two months. Who will join that group?  Following a run of impressive April visitors, clues are starting to roll in. One player generating a lot of buzz across multiple national reports over the last week is North Carolina-based linebacker Jalaythan Mayfield, with…

Indiana fans have learned their lesson after two seasons with Curt Cignetti. You can’t judge a transfer quarterback based on the spring.  Or the first game for that matter. Indiana fans weren’t real sure about Kurtis Rourke or Fernando Mendoza one game into their respective seasons in Bloomington. Things worked out okay for those guys. And while Texas Christian transfer quarterback Josh Hoover didn’t light Memorial Stadium ablaze in front the fans and cameras at Indiana’s first spring game, his head coach isn’t concerned. “I’d say Josh is right where Fernando was last year and Kurtis the year before,” IU…

In December, Indiana won its first Big Ten title since 1967. In January the Hoosiers won the program’s first-ever national championship. Are repeats coming for Curt Cignetti’s Hoosiers? That won’t be easy. The Hoosiers have a challenging schedule in 2026, but according to the following criteria, an ESPN panel says IU football had the best offseason of any team not just in the Big Ten, but in the entire country: Roster additions through the portal and the high school ranks Retention of top players who could leave for the NFL draft or the portal Coaching staff continuity or key additions/upgrades…

College football coaches want to follow in the path of college basketball and expand the postseason tournament. But they also want to shorten the season, by removing the conference championship games and making other adjustments to condense the overall college football calendar in the process. Here is a statement published by the American Football Coaches Association on the topic following their meetings last week: The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) has identified the length of the college football season as a critical issue that needs to be addressed. As we modernize our game to better serve student-athletes, we have fallen…

Curt Cignetti and Indiana were deep in enemy territory, but it was 4th and 5 late in the fourth quarter, and the Hoosiers needed a touchdown. It was going to take a little extra to push the ball across the goal line. Okay, no, we aren’t talking about an actual football game here. We’re talking Fernando Mendoza.  You may have heard of him. Back in December of 2024, upstart Indiana found itself in a bidding war for the Cal transfer quarterback. And IU AD Scott Dolson found himself in a suite at Notre Dame Stadium with multi-billionaire Mark Cuban. It…

Cal State Fullerton forward Ben Winker is a name to know on the IU basketball front as the staff looks to add depth in the frontcourt. Winker took a visit to Indiana this week. The 6-foot-10 and 230-pound Winker played sparingly for the Titans as a true freshman in 2025-26.  He averaged .9 points and 1.8 rebounds in 4.4 minutes a contest, appearing in eight games. Bradley was a school involved in his high school recruitment.  Winker attended Chaminade H.S. in St. Louis, Mo.  IU staffer Mike Bargen was at Bradley at the time.  Several members of the IU staff,…

IU football coach Curt Cignetti credits his time working under Nick Saban at Alabama as highly instrumental in his career development. Cignetti credits to Saban much of the day-to-day process that has allowed him to go 79-11 over the last seven years despite in that span taking one program through a transition from FCS to FBS, and then taking over the FBS program with the most losses ever. But the first time he got a chance to coach against the Crimson Tide, Cignetti coached like he had vengeance on his mind. Perhaps he believes he should have been promoted to…

The NFL dream remains alive for former IU football offensive lineman Kahlil Benson and wide receiver Jonathan Brady. Benson, a Mississippi product, signed a free agent contract with the Kansas City Chiefs after participating in the team’s rookie minicamp. Meanwhile, Brady landed a free agent deal after participating in the Raiders’ rookie minicamp. The pair are now two of eight members of the 2025 Hoosiers on undrafted free agent deals, along with the eight players from the team who were drafted last month. Benson played at IU for five years, beginning with the memorable 2020 campaign.  He left to play…

For the second year in a row, IU basketball is planning to take a summer tour. The team is headed to Lima, Peru to play in the FISU America Games. TDH first learned of the plan late last week.  The Indiana 247Sports site appears to have first reported the news on Monday.  Indiana has not confirmed any plans to this point. The event runs July 20 to August 1. Indiana will represent the United States and compete against teams from North, Central, and South America, as well as the Caribbean. An international competition for university students, the FISU America Games…