Author: Mike Schumann

Former IU basketball star Randy Wittman has been a contract advisor to the program since Mike Woodson took over in 2021. Wittman doesn’t live in Bloomington full time, but he’s been around the team plenty since his friend Woodson was hired. You likely don’t need Wittman to tell you Indiana’s guard play has been inadequate of late. But you’d probably like to know the former NBA head coach left recent viewings of IU practices enthusiastic about the upgrades to the roster on the perimeter. “Talking to Randy Wittman, who was down there (Bloomington) a couple weeks ago and had a…

IU football tight end Zach Horton earned a spot on the John Mackey Award Preseason Watch List on Friday. The Friends of John Mackey annually award the John Mackey Award to college football’s outstanding tight end. Established in 2000 by the Nassau County Sports Commission, the award is given annually to the tight end who best exemplifies the play, sportsmanship, academics, and community values of Pro Football Hall of Fame tight end John Mackey. The winner is chosen by a selection committee comprising sportswriters and former players Horton enters his first season at Indiana after in 23 career games played…

Since Indiana’s 2023-24 season came to an end, all of the focus turned to filling holes on the roster via the transfer portal. But the Hoosiers have six players returning from last year’s squad, so it’s time to look back at how they performed, and the outlook for 2024-25. Next up in the series is 6-foot-5 and 205-pound Trey Galloway, who is returning to IU for his fifth season with the program. WHAT WENT WELL Galloway saw his biggest role as a Hoosier in 2023-24, and his production followed suit.  He averaged career bests in points (10.6), assists (4.6), steals…

Mr. June is scorching hot in August. Former IU baseball star Kyle Schwarber hit three home runs on Wednesday evening in Los Angeles. Overall he went 4-for-4 with seven RBIs in Wednesday night’s 9-4 Philadelphia victory over the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. He hit his 42nd career leadoff home run in the first inning, a two-run double in the fifth, a three-run homer in the sixth and a solo homer in the ninth.  The home runs went out to left, right and centerfield, respectively. Schwarber’s three homers and seven RBIs on Wednesday both tied career highs. He is batting .261…

IU football coach Curt Cignetti said at Big Ten Media Day he sleeps better at night knowing he has a veteran quarterback like Kurtis Rourke. And with Rourke’s career resume, it’s easy to see why. The Canadian quarterback appeared in 36 games with 33 starts over five seasons at Ohio (2019-23).  He earned Mid-American Conference Offensive Player of the Year and first-team All-MAC as a junior, and added second-team All-MAC as a senior. The 6-foot-5 Rourke has amassed 8,479 career all-purpose yards and accounted for 61 touchdowns (50 passing, 11 rushing).  He has completed 638-of-963 passes for 7,651 yards passing…

IU men’s soccer is expected to remain one of the nation’s best in 2024. Indiana is ranked No. 7 in the preseason NCAA United Soccer Coaches Top-25. The Hoosiers are just one of two teams from the 18-team Big Ten ranked in the top-25, or even receiving votes.  And the Hoosiers are the top team in the league by a meaningful margin.  UCLA is ranked No. 21. The program opened its 2024 preseason Wednesday morning with its first training session.  Head coach Todd Yeagley is kicking off his 15th season in that role. The Hoosiers are coming off an Elite…

A monster season at James Madison has IU wideout Elijah Sarratt on the preseason Biletnikoff Award watch list. Sarratt, who transferred to Indiana in January to follow head coach Curt Cignetti and his staff, was named first-team all-Sun Belt Conference after catching a team-high 82 passes for 1,191 yards and eight touchdowns as a sophomore in 2023.  Over the Dukes’ final six games, Sarratt had over 100 receiving yards in five contests. The 6-foot-2 and 209-pound Sarratt transferred to JMU after spending one season at Saint Francis (2022) where he had 42 receptions for 700 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns. The…

Indiana’s Solomon Vanhorse is on the national Comeback Player of the Year watchlist, it was announced on Wednesday by the College Sports Communicators in association with The Associated Press (AP) and the Fiesta Bowl Organization. The 5-foot-8 and 185-pound Vanhorse announced his transfer to IU in May.  He is listed by Indiana as a running back, but he has extensive experience on special teams in the return game as well. Vanhorse has appeared in 37 career games with nine starts over six seasons at James Madison (2018-23).  He redshirted his initial collegiate season, and missed the majority of the 2022 and…

Six wins. For Indiana football that has seemingly always been the line of demarcation. Get to six, everyone is at least content for now.  Get more than that, and they’re ecstatic. And if they miss the mark, well, just another season of IU football.  Maybe next year. To get six wins in 2024, IU will need at least three conference wins.  But three is the total number of conference wins they achieved in the last three seasons, combined. And still, six wins would be a disappointment to new head coach Curt Cignetti.  With only six regular season wins he would…

Of all the transfers who followed Curt Cignetti from James Madison during the offseason, there’s probably no one who is likely to make a major contribution flying further under the radar than Jailin Walker. One major reason, Walker suffered a torn shoulder labrum that impacted his 2023 season, and he missed all of Indiana’s spring practice sessions. But the 6-foot-1 and 218-pound senior linebacker is back to full strength and on the field at Indiana’s fall camp. And Walker has quickly reminded everyone why he has started 20 games over the last two seasons, earning All-Sun Belt honors each time.…