Indiana’s special teams got a boost for 2025 via the transfer portal on Sunday afternoon.
UCF punter Mitch McCarthy and Texas State kicker Brendan Franke both announced transfers to Indiana.
Listed at 6-foot-5 and 230 pounds, McCarthy is a product of Australia.
He has punted 115 times over 37 games. He has a career average of 43 yards per kick, including 44.1 yards in 2024. He had the 42nd best average in the nation, a few spots behind current IU punter James Evans.
McCarthy was 52nd nationally in 2024 with 18 punts inside the 20, and 23rd in hangtime at 3.99 seconds per kick.
McCarthy has one season of eligibility remaining.
Franke will likely step in as Indiana’s kickoff specialist and possibly handle longer field goal attempts.
In 2024 for Texas State, Franke kicked touchbacks on 64 of 78 kickoffs (82%). PFF graded Franke No. 11 in the nation for kickoffs. They say his kickoff average was 70.2 yards, good for sixth best nationally, and he had the 11th lowest return percentage, both among kickers with at least 50 kickoffs.
Franke enrolled at Texas State in January 2024. He registered a touchback rate of 63 percent (83-of-132) in 3 years at Georgia Southern (2023) and Nebraska (2021-22).
A product of Nebraska, the 6-foot-3 and 255-pound Franke has one year of eligibility remaining.
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