Tyrique Tucker and the Hoosiers Have Been Feeding off of the Crowd's Energy

Written By: Nick Gonzales (@nrgonzales_)

The Hoosiers are 8-0 and the fans are absolutely loving it. Memorial Stadium sold out their last two games (Nebraska and Washington) and has sold out the remaining two games against Michigan and Purdue which is a single season record for the program and matched the number of sellouts from 2016-2023 (four). Not only that, but the city of Bloomington has hosted Big Noon Kickoff and College GameDay in the last two weeks and the fans have been reveling in the glory. It’s a drastic change from how the Hoosiers first three home games went, barely being able to fill up the stadium, but the crowd may not realize how important they are to the team.

In Tuesday’s player media availability, Tyrique Tucker mentioned how exhilarating the last game against Washington was, especially on D’Angelo Ponds’ big pick-6. “Oh yeah, I was hype. I was hyped. I was like, yeah let’s go. I was running with him to the end zone. I almost escorted him to the end zone,” Tucker said about his reaction to Ponds’ touchdown. Tucker is a big dude, so when he was asked if he needed oxygen after running with Ponds he responded with, “No, no, I was excited. I was elated. And then the fans, they just gave me all the energy in the world too. Like I didn’t even feel it, we had to go back on the field. I wasn’t even tired. I was just ready to do it.”

The fans are a vital part of every football team, especially a college team. They have a major role as being the 12th man. Their cheers and noise are integral to distracting the opposing team’s offense, hyping up their team, and creating an electric environment to play in.

“It’s been night and day. First game, it wasn’t that packed, and now it’s packed, like we feel that energy. Every game we feel that, and we respond to that every game. Every time I’m out there and I hear the fans, I try to get them more involved because I respond to that. And we all do, I think as a unit, as a group, and we play harder because of that,” Tucker stated during his interview when he was asked about how the crowd’s change from week one to now has been.

Tucker transferred from James Madison University to Indiana along with 12 others and has been an essential part of the team and building that winning mentality in a program that has seen little success. It’s a big change from JMU stadium that has a capacity just shy of 25,000. Indiana’s Memorial Stadium is more than double the size of JMU’s and with a packed crowd, the energy is astronomical, and all the players have been noticing it.

“I see it was a big difference. Everybody staying all four quarters, just filling up the stadium. It’s just lovely, I’m not gonna lie. I like playing at home games,” D’Angelo Ponds replied with what he has seen with the change in size of the crowd.

The players are feeding off the cheers and chants from Hoosier fans and love seeing a packed house each week. It is our job as fans to continue bringing that energy and supporting the team in their immaculate journey. Even though the Hoosiers won’t be in Bloomington this weekend, Hoosiers from across the country will be tuning in to show their support.