With football season approaching, we’re going through Indiana’s roster to look at each position group going into fall camp.
Indiana lost its two main running backs from last season in Justice Ellison and Ty Son Lawton, but the Hoosiers reloaded their backfield during the offseason. Curt Cignetti brought in some key transfers at the position, and there’s reason to believe IU’s running game in 2025 could be even stronger than the 2024 version.
Roster turnover — who’s gone
- Justice Ellison (exhausted his eligibility, joined IU coaching staff)
- Ty Son Lawton (exhausted his eligibility)
- Elijah Green (transfer — Sam Houston State)
Roster turnover — who’s back
- Kaelon Black (redshirt senior)
- Solomon Vanhorse (graduate student)
- Khobie Martin (redshirt freshman)
- Kyler Kropp (walk-on, redshirt freshman)
Roster turnover — who’s new
- Roman Hemby (redshirt senior; transfer — Maryland)
- Lee Beebe Jr. (redshirt junior; transfer — UAB)
- Sean Cuono (3-star, Clearwater, Fla.)
Projected depth chart
Here’s our best estimate of Indiana’s running back depth chart.
Primary committee members:
- Kaelon Black, redshirt senior, 5-foot-10, 211 pounds (16 career starts at JMU)
- Roman Hemby, redshirt senior, 6 foot, 210 pounds (38 career starts at Maryland)
- Lee Beebe Jr., redshirt junior, 6-foot-2, 202 pounds (10 career starts at UAB)
Next in line:
- Khobie Martin, redshirt freshman, 6 foot, 208 pounds
Cignetti has made clear his preference to utilize several running backs instead of relying on one bell-cow. It looks like a three-man committee going into the year, with Black, Hemby, and Beebe all factoring in. That group could certainly slim down during the season, as it did in 2024. But for now, IU looks to have a three-man backfield.
Why it will work
The committee strategy worked well for IU last year, and the Hoosiers have three solid backs in place again for 2025. Hemby is proven in the Big Ten, and is someone IU should be able to rely on. Black fell out of the rotation last year, but he started for Cignetti’s last JMU team before he departed for Bloomington, so that trust still exists. Both Hemby and Black are shifty backs who can make people miss in the open field, who can also become more like bruisers if necessary. Beebe has a little more size and uses that to his advantage, but he also has solid pass-catching ability. The three backs have a good blend of skill sets, and Indiana’s offensive line could pave the way for another strong ground game.
Why it won’t
Indiana will hope that it won’t need to turn to any other running backs outside of the three-man committee, but the depth behind that group raises some question marks. It’s a very unproven bunch at the FBS level outside of Beebe, Hemby, and Black. Martin has a lot of size and could be a breakout candidate if given the opportunity, but there’s no prior production to base that on. Vanhorse played in the backfield for Cignetti at JMU, but most of that action came before the Dukes moved up to FBS — he’s become primarily a special teams player now. This might be a non-issue if Hemby, Black, and Beebe stay healthy this season, or even if two out of the three avoid injury. But don’t forget Elijah Green’s impact last season at the end of games — he was a big factor in IU lighting up the scoreboard and turning big wins into even more lopsided victories. If the Hoosiers want to keep doing that this year, they might need Martin to take a leap.
Prior previews:
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