Author: Jason Sanders

Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza is the first person who comes to the mind of longtime ESPN NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper as the most intriguing prospect for 2026 NFL Draft. In a recent episode of “First Draft,” ESPN draft specialists Field Yates and Mel Kiper discussed the 10 most intriguing pro prospects entering the 2025 college football regular season. “Fernando Mendoza has a chance to soar up NFL Draft boards with a big season with the Indiana Hoosiers, and a quarterback friendly offense,” Kiper said to kick off the segment. His co-host Yates said he intends to place Mendoza in the…

ESPN’s Bill Connelly has completed his annual preview of the Big Ten fueled by his computer-driven SP+ model. Indiana finished fourth in the final post-CFP 2024 Big Ten SP+ rankings, behind Ohio State, Oregon and Penn State, and they were No. 11 nationally. One of the key metrics behind preseason SP+ is returning production from last year, which takes into account the production of an incoming transfer (e.g. – Fernando Mendoza’s production at Cal last year is part of Indiana’s returning production). At 62%, Indiana has the seventh-most overall returning production in the Big Ten in 2025, and 38th most…

Now in his 11th season in the majors, former IU baseball star Kyle Schwarber is on pace to have his best season as a pro. The 32-year-old was named the Phillies midseason MVP this week. Through 87 games, Schwarber is batting .248 with a team-high 26 home runs and 58 RBIs.  Schwarber leads the club in home runs, RBIs, runs, walks, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. The MLB All-Star teams will be announced on Saturday.  Schwarber is likely to earn his third appearance in that contest. Schwarber is up to 310 home runs for his career, to go with 710…

It’s difficult to get college coaches to speak candidly on much of anything. That’s why we like Athlon’s annual tradition of obtaining anonymous quotes from coaches from around the Big Ten containing candid thoughts about other programs in the league. It’s bulletin board material — without a name attached. What do Big Ten football coaches think about Indiana and second-year head coach Curt Cignetti? The quotes below come from Athlon Sports’ 2025 College Football Preview print magazine. Order your copy today online, or pick one up at retail racks and newsstands nationwide. Here are the four quotes Athlon published regarding…

Cornerback D’Angelo Ponds just completed his sophomore season at Indiana, but he stands among the best-of-the-best in college football. After earning multiple freshman All-America honors in 2023 at James Madison, Ponds was named an All-American by six different national outlets as a sophomore at IU in 2024. What does the future hold for Ponds as he turns the page to his junior season? An ESPN panel of 10 analysts say Ponds begins the upperclassman portion of his career as one of the five best defensive backs in all of college football. “He’s everything you want in a corner,” IU CB…

It’s well known Bob Knight would on occasion concoct outrage in an effort to send a message to his team. Knight’s tactics were sometimes referred to by folks in and around the program as “BK Theater.” Steve Alford told a tale of such a moment this summer as it relates to the 1984 Olympic team, when Knight threw the team out of practice. Former NBA star Mike Bibby shared a story last week about Mike Woodson that sounded like it may have been influenced by his time playing for Knight. When Woodson was coaching the Atlanta Hawks, Bibby was his…

Class of 2025 in-state guard Braylon Mullins hasn’t formally announced that he’s down to seven schools, but his fall plans suggest that’s where things stand. Mullins shared with Kyle Neddenriep of the Indy Star on Monday that he will not visit Purdue, Alabama or Kansas over the next couple months.  All three schools were listed in his top-10 announced in July. The 6-foot-5 product of Greenfield Central H.S. did visit Connecticut earlier this month, and he does have six more visits scheduled.  All previously reported, they are as follows: Michigan (Sept. 7), North Carolina (Sept. 14), Indiana (Sept. 20), Duke…

Headlining Indiana’s massive recruiting weekend that has already led to three commitments was 5-star class of 2025 quarterback Julian Lewis. Lewis is the the No. 10 overall player in the rising senior class according to the On3 Industry Average, and the No. 2 quarterback.  Indiana is competing with USC, Auburn and Colorado for the services of the Carrollton, Ga. product. The first time Lewis visited IU it made a splash, the second this past weekend it opened some eyes to the possibility.  Is yet a third visit possible?  Yes. Lewis has a specific weekend in mind. “If I do go…

If Kyle Schwarber gets his arms extended the barrel of the bat on the ball, look out. The former IU and current Philadelphia Phillies star hit 93 home runs in 2022 and 2023 combined. What’s his secret? Baseball Savant rolled out a new bat speed metric a couple weeks ago, as measured by Statcast, and it provides a major clue. Schwarber has the third-fastest swing in the Majors at 77.1 mph. Only the Yankees’ Giancarlo Stanton (80.5) and Oneil Cruz (77.8) of the Pirates swing faster. Schwarber’s fast swing rate — or his percentage of swings that are 75 mph…

Curt Cignetti already has one quarterback locked up in the 2024 class, but it appears he’s not done trying to amass arm talent from the high school ranks for next year’s roster. On Monday Indiana got a commitment from former James Madison pledge Alberto Mendoza.  But he hasn’t been the only 2024 signal caller being pursued by the new IU staff since they took over. In-state 4-star quarterback Tyler Cherry (Greenwood, Ind., Center Grove H.S.) has reopened his recruitment after a coaching change at Duke. Cherry visited IU on Friday before Mendoza committed, and according to Indy Star’s Kyle Neddenriep,…