Tayven Jackson is Expected to Rise to the Occasion as the Next Man Up

Written By: Nick Gonzales (@nrgonzales_)

Saturday’s victory against the Cornhuskers was a historic win – tying the school record for the largest margin of victory against a Big Ten opponent (49 points). While the Hoosiers had an excellent game, one player was missing from the second half that has some fans worrying. Quarterback transfer from Ohio, Kurtis Rourke, didn’t play in the second half due to a thumb injury and won’t play this weekend against Washington. Rourke is supposed to return soon, but until then, redshirt sophomore Tayven Jackson, will be stepping into the role as the Hoosiers’ starting QB for this week.

“We have 100% confidence, and the team has 100% confidence, I have confidence, the staff has confidence in Tayven Jackson. I thought he played really well in the second half.” Coach Cignetti stated in his opening statement during his Monday press conference.

This is Tayven’s second year with the Hoosiers and was a starter for some of the 2023 season. He played in nine games and started in five of those, but he didn’t seem all that impressive in most of those games. He only had two games over 200 yards and didn’t have a multi-touchdown game in any of his starts. He ended the season with 914 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions, but he was still young and showed some promise.

In 2024, he has only appeared in three games but has seemed to have grown a lot since his first season in Bloomington.

“I thought he came in, did a nice job in the second half. Now he'll get more repetitions, which will help him prepare for the game on Saturday. He's a guy that's extremely capable, extremely capable. I'm sure he'll rise to the occasion.” Cignetti responded when asked about Tayven getting a whole week to prep for his start.

Tayven performed outstandingly well in the second half against Nebraska. He completed 7 of his 8 attempts for 91 yards and 2 touchdowns and posted a 99.9 quarterback rating and a 265.6 passer rating. As a backup, you’re at more of a disadvantage because you don’t get the same amount of reps as a starter does, but with Rourke out for this week’s game, Tayven gets the whole week to prepare for his start. Cignetti has always emphasized the next man up whenever a player gets injured. Now it’s about getting Tayven ready for the week so that he can have a successful performance against the Huskies. With a veteran quarterback like Rourke, Tayven has been able to have a mentor that will help him out in his preparation.

“Yeah, I think it's good. I saw them supporting one another during the game. The way Kurtis prepares and practices, he's a good role model for the younger quarterbacks. Everybody needs a role model, right? So, he'll be on the sideline Saturday. He'll be a plus.” Cignetti replied on Rourke providing mentorship to Jackson.

Rourke can’t take all the credit though for Tayven’s improvement. Tayven has had a year to refine his skills, plus it’s a different coach, different team, and completely different offense than it used to be. Also, quarterback coach Tino Sunseri has done an excellent job in his development.

“Well, I think you see it during the games when he gets his opportunity, how he's responded, how he responded on Saturday. He's a year older. It's a different offense. It's a different system. Tino does a great job of developing the quarterbacks.

He's got excellent potential. He's gotten better. Now he's got an opportunity. He's got to take it and run with it.” Cignetti said when asked where he has seen Jackson improve the most.

Cignetti has a lot of faith in Coach Sunseri and rightfully so. Tino was the quarterbacks coach for JMU from 2021-2023 and produced three quarterbacks who won player of the year in the conference each year. “I just think we do a nice job developing quarterbacks,” Cignetti said on Monday, “It's a group effort, team effort. Since Tino has been here, I think he's taken those guys to another level. This will be his fourth year with me.”

Fans will just have to wait and see how well Tayven performs in his first start of the 2024 season. The Hoosiers have been an exciting team and are welcoming in Washington, who are a new addition to the Big Ten and were in the National Championship last year. It will be an exhilarating game this Saturday and the Hoosiers have a chance to improve to 8-0 on the season.