With spring football approaching, we’re going position by position looking at Indiana’s roster.
Curt Cignetti regularly points out his track record with quarterbacks, particularly transfers. He’s cycled through one-year quarterbacks for years, dating back through his tenure at James Madison, and had a lot of success doing so. Cignetti has certainly done well with that at Indiana; Kurtis Rourke led the team to the College Football Playoff in 2024, and then Fernando Mendoza won the Heisman Trophy and led IU to a national championship.
Cignetti has gone back to the well with transfer quarterbacks, bringing in Josh Hoover from TCU to run the offense this year. The Hoosiers also saw quarterbacks coach Chandler Whitmer leave for an NFL job, and they brought back Tino Sunseri to fill the vacancy. Sunseri worked with Rourke in 2024 before taking an offensive coordinator role at UCLA.
Hoover, in 2025, finished second in the Big 12 with 3,472 passing yards, and his 8.4 yards per attempt tied for the conference lead. The Horned Frogs boasted the No. 9 passing offense in the country last year.
Hoover tied for second in the Big 12 with 29 touchdown passes, though his 13 interceptions provide a bit of a red flag. He also doesn’t display a ton of running ability, posting a 51 rushing grade on PFF last season while rushing for only four yards (counting sack yardage) on 55 attempts with two touchdowns.
Certainly, though, Hoover could be in line for a career year moving to a more talented overall team.
The backup quarterback spot is not quite clear heading into spring ball. IU lost its second-string when Alberto Mendoza transferred out, and it’s not an obvious choice for the next to take that role.
Graduate student Grant Wilson returns, but that may be in a pseudo-coaching role than as anyone expecting to see much action. That would leave two redshirt freshmen in Jacob Bell and Tyler Cherry. Cherry got on the field during one game in 2024, but didn’t attempt a pass; Bell has not yet played a collegiate snap. Cherry is coming off a knee injury that kept him out for all of 2025, including spring ball last year. So it’s hard to know how he’ll look when Indiana begins practicing this spring. That could turn into a position battle that extends into fall camp.
Roster overview
Who’s gone:
- Fernando Mendoza (entered NFL Draft)
- Alberto Mendoza (transfer — Georgia Tech)
Who’s returning:
- Grant Wilson (graduate student)
- Jacob Bell (redshirt freshman)
- Tyler Cherry (redshirt freshman)
Who’s joining:
- Josh Hoover (transfer — TCU; redshirt senior)
More previews:
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