Hoosier Huddle's IUFB Mailbag

Written by Hoosier Huddle Staff

As the offseason transitions from portal recruiting to winter conditioning we wanted to answer some questions from our readers. Thank you to everyone who submitted questions and I hope we answered them to your satisfaction.

1. Does the offense look different next year with Mendoza and the different backs or about the same?- From Lightning Crashes via Bluesky

The Indiana offense was a whole lot of fun to watch this past season. Under offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan, the Hoosiers racked up 41.3 points per game with 4.37 yards per rush, an average passer rating of 174.03 and an average yards per play of 6.51. Taking out the game against Western Illinois (an FCS opponent), the Hoosiers scored 38.3 points per game. That number puts them second in the country, behind only Miami. A repeat of that performance would certainly be welcomed by IU fans but of course, much is changing as the team turns the calendar to the 2025 campaign. Kurtis Rourke, Ty Son Lawton, Justice Ellison, Trey Wedig, Mike Katic, Zach Horton, Myles Price and Miles Cross are all gone. Although you can’t just “replace” players, the Hoosiers have added some very intriguing pieces to try and keep the offense humming: Fernando Mendoza (QB), Roman Hemby (RB), Lee Beebe (RB), Khalil Benson (OL), Zen Michalski (OL), Holden Staes (TE), Riley Nowakowski (TE), Makai Jackson (WR) and Tyler Morris (WR). Mike Shanahan has a whole offseason to tweak the offense to match the strengths of his personnel. I believe the system will look “about the same” to borrow your phrasing but there should be a couple of differences that should be noticeable. 

1. I’d expect a bit more moving the quarterback in 2025.

-We now know Kurtis Rourke was playing with a torn ACL this past season and that limited his mobility even further than it would have been had he been 100% healthy. Fernando Mendoza is not a “scrambler” but he does have the ability to use his legs more than Rourke did in 2024. I think you’ll see IU move the pocket some with boot legs and rollouts and you may see some designed quarterback runs used to pick up yardage against unsuspecting defenses. 

2. The running backs will be involved in the passing game more.

-I was surprised by how little the Hoosiers used Justice Ellison and Ty Son Lawton in the passing game in 2024. The pair combined for just 25 receptions and less than 250 yards receiving. The two incoming backs for the Hoosiers, Hemby and Beebe, combined for 70 catches for 492 yards (Hemby had 40 receptions for 273 yards and Beebe had 30 for 219 yards). I think IU might spend some time this offseason emphasizing some screen game, particularly for Hemby. 

Of course, the offense was very successful so I don’t expect a wholesale change but those tweaks should be interesting to watch unfold as Shanahan and Cignetti work with new personnel.

2. In my opinion, Indiana has picked up more high major transfers in this year’s portal class versus last year’s, but are they going to be more competitive when competing against these programs when assembling their 2026 class? Will Indiana bring in a top 25 class in 2026? Any major prospects fans should know? - From aeggie via Blue Sky 

The first part of this question can be summed up thusly: “Does unprecedented success and attention in 2024 lead to a major bump in high school recruiting for the Hoosiers?” I don’t think anyone knows the answer to that but the pieces are in place for IU to recruit at a higher level for the 2026 class than they could previously. At worst, four-star recruits will be more open to at least giving Curt Cignetti and his staff consideration than they were before this past season. Visits for the 2026 class are just beginning to take shape and there is a very, very long way to go before knowing exactly what the class might look like. The bar in the question is “top 25” for the class. For context, IU was at 44 in 2024 for high school classes with total points of 202.09 (247Sports). That was more than 26 points below #25 Wisconsin. There were eight Big Ten teams in the top 25 classes according to 247Sports. If I were placing a bet, I would wager “no” on IU having a top 25 class. I think somewhere around 35 is more likely for the Hoosiers but I have to be honest, that’s a guess with very little actual information at this point in time. 

I can be of a bit more assistance on the final part of that question. Kobe Cherry, a defensive lineman for Center Grove and Tyler Cherry’s younger brother, is a high three-star player to keep an eye on as a possible early commitment. Brodie McWhorter is a quarterback prospect from Georgia and someone the staff (including new QB coach Chandler Whitmer) have identified as a priority target and he is already wanted by several big programs. Kasmir Hicks is a speedster that plays for Decatur Central and he’s visiting one of IU’s “Junior Days”. One of the guys I’ve loved watching thus far in my rudimentary scouting of the 2026 class is Daniel Vollmer. The Ohio athlete was a captain at powerhouse St. Xavier and he plays a bunch of positions (he was All-Purpose Player of the Year in a really good conference). I don’t know that even the IU coaches know where he’d fit best in college but he strikes me as a terrific football player that will excel in college and I’d love for it to be at IU.

3. I feel good about the transfer portal class but I am curious about internal development at Indiana. Are there any rising sophomores, juniors or seniors that did not see the field much or at all in 2024 that you expect might break out or get a lot of snaps in 2025?- From aeggie via Blue Sky 

Player development is a key trait of any good program and I think it will be a hallmark of the Curt Cignetti era as we move forward. “Breakout” players are determined by a couple of factors: the development (both physically and mentally) of each individual and the opportunity for playing time at each given position. On offense, Fernando Mendoza blocks any breakouts at quarterback and three veteran running backs (Beebe, Hemby and Black) prevents Khobie Martin from being much of a factor. I have a lot of belief in will-be redshirt sophomore Austin Barrett and it would not shock me to see him beat out Zen Michalski to be the starting right tackle. Michalski is the favorite to win that job but keep an eye on Barrett throughout spring and fall camp. Sam West might be the best vertical pass-catcher on the roster but he’s likely blocked from a ton of playing time by the arrival of Holden Staes and Riley Nowakowski. The only wide receiver that could be a candidate is redshirt freshman Charlie Becker. The Tennessee native an outside receiver that will likely begin the season as a third-team player behind Makai Jackson, EJ Williams, Elijah Sarratt and Omar Cooper (with Tyler Morris and Lebron Bond in the slot). In short, there’s not a lot of opportunity on the offensive side of the ball. The defense is a slightly different story. On the line, there is a starting spot available on the edge and sophomore Mario Landino is the most likely candidate to fill out. Landino looked good in limited opportunities and I think he could blossom with a larger role. The other young player to keep an eye on there is Daniel Ndukwe. Ndukwe is a terrific athlete and flashed on special teams in 2024. He is going to be the primary backup to Mikail Kamara in 2025. Rolijah Hardy, a sophomore-to-be, is the guy to watch at linebacker. He’s not the freak athlete Jailin Walker was but he made a bunch of plays in limited opportunities and I think he’ll be starting opposite of Aiden Fisher in 2025. Redshirt freshman Jah Jah Boyd is the final name I’ll bring up. The safety/Rover was someone the staff worked very hard to bring to Bloomington and he is a high-end athlete.

4. Is the O-Line gonna be able to keep up with the big boys next season? -From George Lettice via X

The Indiana offensive line performed pretty well in 2024, however they did get exposed a bit during games against Michigan, Ohio State and Notre Dame. I am not making excuses, but IU did lose starting guard Drew Evans before the Michigan game and I believe that hampered their performance. IU also lost another starter in Nick Kidwell in fall camp. 

The good news is IU does not play Ohio State, Michigan or Notre Dame in the regular season next year. They do have to play at Iowa, Penn State and Oregon. All three have very good defenses. IU brings in two offensive linemen from the portal in Kahlil Benson and Zen Michalski. However, IU will have to replace Mike Katic and Trey Wedig, both had great seasons and they need some of the younger players to step up and provide depth. With Bostad returning and the improvements they made under him over the last two seasons, IU’s offensive line should be able to weather the storm. 

5. What is the meaning or significance of holding up the chair on the sideline??? Never could figure it out! - From Nancy S. via Facebook

Alright Nancy, I got to the bottom of this one (a big thanks to Delroy Baker and Devondre Love). Former IU offensive lineman Delroy Baker started this and Devondre Love carried it on after Baker graduated. Here is what Baker told me:

“It was The Year 2015, we were locked in a big 10 showdown with Jim Harbaugh’s Wolverines, we entered into the closing minutes of the 4th quarter and Jordan Howard had just scored a touchdown and some change to put us up. Now with defense on the field we needed a stop to beat Michigan for the first time since before anyone on the team had been born. Being backup to all two-time All-American tackle Jason Spriggs, I had a responsibility to stay engaged but I’d always taken on the mantle of trying to lift up the crowd when defense was on the field and games were close, it was my way of being useful (the 2015 team had been on a 5 game losing streak of a very up and down season, so the crowd was a far cry from the beauty we saw this past season). Usually the pump up of the crowd came from arm wave motions, once early that season it was the arms crossed x symbol we used from defense but this moment happening before us was electric and I didn’t feel like the gravity of the situation had hit our fans who hadn’t been used to a reason to be loud. The 12th man’s element was extremely underutilized, sometimes I felt like folks might have dozed off in these crucial moments. So as defense entered its first 3rd down of the ensuing drive, myself and a few of the guys i’d convinced to bring the crowd along are going wild to get the crowd up as loud as they can go. In the spur of the moment I happened to grab an open foldable chair the defense would use while they were on the sideline with my lineman paws and shook it at the crowd screaming LETS GOOOOO! Like an episode of WWE Smackdown, the gesture sent them into a frenzy which helped the defense make Michigan earn their score to send us into overtime, where Mitchell Paige was definitely interfered with stopping us from triple overtime. Out of that was born the chair chant (patent pending - haha not really). The following year I probably used it myself once, because as the season progressed I was called into the line of duty but the chat remained a mainstay even to this year. As I graduated, seeing it on kick-offs and third downs over the years made me happy, made me smile a little bit. Sometimes you just gotta give them the chair!”

6. There were a lot of Portal questions so I pieced them together from the various readers who submitted: Which position groups got better with the portal and which do you think still need work? What is still on the Portal Wish List?

The Hoosiers won 11 games last year, so while there is always room for improvement, it is really hard to say which positions got better since there were some really good players who graduated. With that being said, I think two positions received upgrades and that is at cornerback and punter.

The Hoosiers corners were very good last year and they return D’Angelo Ponds and Jamier Johnson as well as several other contributors. However, the Hoosiers still found a way to upgrade the talent and depth at the position with the additions of Ryland Gandy (Pitt) and Amarion Knighten (NIU). IU added two very productive and high performing players to an already good cornerback group.

James Evans had a very nice IU career, however 2024 was by far his worst season. While he did not punt much, his failures in big games left a sour taste. The Hoosiers bring in former UCF punter Mitch McCarthy who averaged a career best 44.1 yards per punt in 2024. Had IU had even average punts against Notre Dame and Ohio State those outcomes may have looked different.

7. What’s your favorite under the radar addition and under the radar loss (like senior out of eligibility)? -From Jamie Jordan via X
My favorite under the radar addition is Hosea Wheeler, the defensive tackle from Western Kentucky. He performed well against P4 competition and should be able to step into the role vacated by C.J. West. He made 75 tackles last season including five for a loss and two sacks.

I believe Trey Wedig’s loss goes under the radar a bit and will be a hole IU needs to fill in the spring.

8. What, if any game day changes are coming for next season? Is adidas/athl department upping uniform game? - From Indibama via X

IU usually keeps these things under wraps until the summer (for better or for worse). There are plenty of rumors flying around about plans for a new press box, a new indoor facility and other upgrades. I’ll believe it when I see it. I thought IU really upgraded the concession choices (yes, they still need to figure out wait times), but the whole experience was improved.

As far as uniforms go, IU re-upped their contract with adidas, so we shall see what they do with uniforms.