Written by: Nate Comp (@NathanComp1)

We’re in the final days before Indiana’s spring practice kicks off on this Thursday, March 21st. Today, we’ll turn our attention to the most important single position in all of sports – quarterback. The Hoosiers have had a bumpy ride at the position ever since Michael Penix Jr transferred to Washington, but it appears things are on the upswing once again as we enter spring. Let’s see how the roster shakes out.

Kurtis Rourke – Redshirt Senior+, 6’5 230 Pounds

Coach Cignetti prioritized experienced players in the transfer portal and that certainly was the case when he nabbed Ohio’s Kurtis Rourke out of the portal this winter. Rourke was one of the best quarterback prospects to have entered the portal after five years in the MAC playing for the Bobcats. Over his career, he has played in 36 games making 33 starts; while 14 of those appearances came over his first three years, he really took a leap during his junior year in 2022. Rourke completed 244-of-353 (69.1%) passes for 25 touchdowns while adding 74 rushes for 249 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. Despite missing the final two games due to injury, he was still able to win MAC Offensive Player of the Year and first-team All MAC honors.

Playing hurt most of last season, he was still able to throw for over 2200 yards and 11 scores. Now fully healthy, Rourke enters spring practice the presumed starter for Indiana – though there are no guarantees, as everything will have to be earned under the new coaching staff. At the least, Rourke brings experience, a winning culture, terrific size, good accuracy, and athleticism to move around in and escape the pocket.

Tayven Jackson – Redshirt Sophomore, 6’3 215 Pounds

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A familiar name for Hoosier fans for multiple reasons, Tayven Jackson is back this spring to compete for the starting job once again. Jackson has nine games of experience under his belt with five starts coming last season for Indiana after starting his career at Tennessee and transferring in last spring.

At Jackson’s best, we saw him in the second half of a Louisville game nearly bring Indiana all the way back to a victory. He finished the game 24-of-34 with 299 passing yards and his first career touchdown pass. He seemed to have support from the locker room and naturally has the swagger that you want to see from a starting quarterback. But he was inconsistent; the very next week, he went just 11-of-26 against Akron and the Hoosiers narrowly escaped the MAC-foe with a victory.

So what should we expect from Jackson? It is important to remember that he is still very young and early in his career – much of his story is yet to be written. Under Coach Cignetti and Sunseri, we will see just how well Jackson is able to grow into the former 4-star recruit potential we’ve seen only in flashes so far.

Broc Lowry – Redshirt Freshman, 6’1 210 Pounds

A bit of a forgotten man on the Indiana roster, Broc Lowry enters his second season with the Hoosiers after joining last season as a consensus three-star recruit. Once rated a top-25 pocket passer in ESPN rankings and the top quarterback in the football-obsessed state of Ohio, Lowry redshirted last year but did play in the maximum allowed four games. He was one of just seven true freshmen to make their debut last season.

Lowry is well regarded in the Indiana locker room, but it will be interesting to see where exactly he establishes a role in the future. For now, one would imagine this season will be another in which he focuses on getting stronger in the weight room and more experienced in the film room.

Tyler Cherry – Freshman, 6’5 205 Pounds

If Kurtis Rourke was Cignetti’s US dollar of this offseason, then Tyler Cherry was his Bitcoin – because it is all about the future. Despite being right up the road at Center Grove, recruiting efforts for Cherry had fallen flat under the previous regime and he committed to Duke. However, coaching changes struck both programs this offseason and when Cignetti was hired, Cherry was interested. Ultimately, Cignetti was able to keep him close to home.

Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK

Tyler Cherry led Center Grove to a state title in 2022, throwing for 2,269 yards with 22 touchdowns while completing 65 percent of his passes. He and Center Grove were unable to go back-to-back, but he had another great season in 2023 completing 218 of his 305 attempts and throwing for 3,156 yards with 34 touchdowns to only six interceptions. The 6’5” prospect earned a four-star rating and was the fifth-best prospect in the state of Indiana per 247Sports.

Cherry lines up to be a backup this first season, but don’t expect him to stay in that role for long.

Blaze McKibbin – Redshirt Senior, 6’5 225 Pounds

Once one of the most experienced quarterbacks on the roster, McKibbin now finds himself in a pretty crowded QB room after transferring from Fresno Sate to Long Beach City College and now entering his second season with the Hoosiers. The walk-on will primarily serve as a depth piece and leader of the scout team on the roster, but his experience coupled with Cignetti and Sunseri’s guidance should make him a valuable asset.

He has not yet registered any statistics with Indiana, but did complete 42-of-82 passes for 480 yards and five touchdowns in eight appearances his sophomore year with LBCC.

Roman Purcell – Redshirt Junior, 6’0 215 Pounds

Roman Purcell is another transfer walk-on for the Hoosiers. After an injury in a high school game knocked him off the radar of high-level FBS schools, Purcell did one year at Army before ultimately heading to junior college. He transferred to Indiana last year but did not see any game action. He’ll serve as a depth piece once again this year.

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