Indiana completed their first spring game since 2019 on Thursday night, with the Hoosier offense getting the “win” over the defense.
Fans got their first chance to see a revamped roster under Curt Cignetti’s tenure, and many players had some standout performances.
I tried my best keeping track of offensive stats and the depth chart, as stats were not officially noted. Without further ado, let’s give it a crack.
Quarterback
First – Kurtis Rourke
Second – Tayven Jackson
Third – Tyler Cherry
This comes with little to no surprise, with Rourke transferring in for his final year of eligibility and Cignetti praising the QB’s development over spring.
However, Rourke took a few reps to get his legs under him, as he went 2-5 on his first drive. However, once he started to get in rhythm, Rourke finished off his night on an 8-10 drive for 54 yards, that ended with a TD pass to Andison Coby. Rourke’s final line, and again bear with me, was 20-30 for around 148 yards.
Tayven Jackson got reps with the twos, and showed some really promising flashes. In his first reps, Jackson led a 90-yard TD drive, making some clean throws to Andison Coby and Donaven McCulley in the process. Jackson started his second drive similar, with 64 and 10-yard completions. However, he went a bit cold afterwards, and threw an interception on his next drive. He finished 12-15 for 151 yards.
Tyler Cherry only got two drives under his belt, and did not find much success. On four attempts, his only completion was a check down for around 8 yards.
Wide Receivers
First – Myles Price, Elijah Sarratt, Omar Cooper
Second – Donaven McCulley, Andison Coby, Miles Cross
Third – EJ Williams, Keshawn Williams
Cooper topping McCulley on the depth chart comes with a bit of surprise. However, it is important to note that Indiana rotated receivers constantly during their drives. With how their depth stands now, this will probably be the case in the regular season.
Myles Price stood out in the slot, having a few drives with multiple catches. He finished with four with 42 yards. Elijah Sarratt had the same amount of catches, but with a few less yards at 34. Miles Cross also had a couple of catches for 23 yards.
Andison Coby was the standout for the evening, having four catches with 116 yards and a TD. The tandem of Coby and Jackson connected on all of Coby’s catches, but they did primarily face the second team defense.
Running Backs
First – Justice Ellison/Ty’Son Lawton
Second – Kaelon Black/Elijah Green
Third – David Holloman/Daniel Weems
Another group where depth is a good issue to have, Indiana’s running backs all saw a good amount of even touches during the game. This will most likely be another group where the offense will rotate often, but the duo of Ellison and Lawton are the ones to beat out.
Both Ellison and Lawton had a rushing TD in the scrimmage. Ellison had three carries on the night for 12 yards, while Lawton got four touches for 25.
Kaelon Black had the most production out of the group Thursday night, having three carries for 32 yards. Elijah Green had nine touches for 25 yards.
Tight End
First – Zach Horton
Second – James Bomba/Trey Walker
Third – Sam West/Brody Foley
Nothing crazy here, as Zach Horton saw the majority of snaps with the first teamers, and the combination of Bomba and Walker split time in two tight end sets. Barring anything significant, the top three should see the majority of time during the regular season.
Horton had four catches for 27 yards. while Walker had three for 14 yards in the spring contest.
Offensive Line
First – Carter Smith, Drew Evans, Mike Katic, Bray Lynch, Trey Wedig
This could look a bit different with JMU transfer Nick Kidwell still recovering from injury. The main struggle with the group was QB pressures, where it looked at times that Rourke and Jackson were flushed out of the pocket. On the flipside, Cignetti did recognize postgame that the running backs had a lot of space during the game, and gave some credit to the O-Line.
D-Line
First – Jacob Mangum-Farrar, Mikail Kamara, Marcus Burris, Robby Harrison
Again, another group that could look different with James Carpenter returning from injury. However, the most notable storyline here is Jacob Mangun-Farrar playing more of an edge rushing role. He looked pretty decent in his outing Thursday evening, causing some pressures on the quarterbacks.
Linebackers
First – Aiden Fisher, Isaiah Jones
Aiden Fisher was the standout defensive player for the Hoosiers, causing a lot of pressure on the offense. Isiah Jones was the starter beside Fisher, and did well in his reps.
This could be a position where Indiana looks to upgrade from the spring portal period. With the move of Mangum-Farrar to the D-Line and Aaron Casey out of eligibility, Indiana may be in need for some more depth here.
Defensive Backs
First – Amare Ferrell, Jamier Johnson, Jamari Sharpe, Shawn Asbury, Josh Sanguinetti
A lot of rotation going to play a factor here as well, with Nic Toomer moving to safety and Kobee Minor still seeing some time. Overall, the group had some trouble with big plays, but did get a handful of pass breakups on many different plays. Asbury was the player credited with the Tayven Jackson INT.
Kicker
First – Derek McCormick
McCormick had all the tries during the spring game. Aside from a miss from 40+, McCormick was perfect from extra points and field goals.
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