There were 9 seconds left on the clock at the end of the first quarter when Indiana’s Jonathan “Ballgame” Brady trotted out to receive ODU Punter Ian Brandt’s punt. For the Hoosiers, their first game of the season could not have gotten off to a worse start.
On the very first play from scrimmage, the Indiana defense gave up a 75-yard touchdown to ODU quarterback Colton Joseph, effectively sucking the life out of an energetic crowd. This was quickly followed up by a turnover on downs at the goal line and a fumble in the red zone.
Indiana had found themselves in a spot that they had not been in last season: trailing in the first half. The Hoosiers had been punched in the stomach and needed a spark to get them up from the mat.
Enter Jonathan Brady. The Cal and New Mexico State transfer had been in this scenario before; he was the Lobos punt returner during the 2023 season, though it had been some time (he did not field punts during his lone season with the Cal Golden Bears). “I got my rust knocked off in camp. Coach Cig gives us a great opportunity in practice to make it feel like a real game, so I knocked my rust off there.” Brady said after the game.
During the game, Brady showed no signs of rust as he watched the ODU punt bounce in front of him. Instinctually, Brady fielded the punt off the bounce and quickly got to the edge as a convoy of Hoosiers began to form in front of him. With his teammates leading the way, Brady turned on the jets, showing off his blazing speed as he ran 91 yards to the house for Indiana’s first touchdown of the season, one that they desperately needed.
When asked about what was going through his head during the return, Brady said, “[The ball] was looking like it was dying down, and then it bounced, and it was a perfect bounce. I don’t know, I just grabbed the ball and ran, and once I ran, I just saw a whole bunch of red jerseys setting up a convoy for me, and I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m going to the crib.’”
Brady’s “trip to the crib” was one for the record books; officially it goes down as the 4th longest punt return touchdown in Indiana football history. While this was a big return in terms of stats, it was a monumental return in terms of what it meant to the game at hand. Indiana had been struggling to score and was looking for any way to swing the momentum back in their favor. With a single touch of the ball, Brady swung the momentum firmly back in the favor of the Hoosiers. He lit a spark under this Indiana team, helping lead them to a 27-14 victory over the Monarchs.
“Obviously Brady’s punt return was a big play, because there was a point in time there where they had the lead and were moving the ball, so that was a huge play, and then you’re up 17-7.” Head Coach Curt Cignetti said after the game.
Indiana running back Roman Hemby echoed this statement, saying, “It was definitely perfect timing; it was everything that we needed in that moment. I feel like it was a great way for us to steal momentum, and we got a win, and that’s the main thing for us.”
Speaking with Brady after the game, he told me that his nickname is “Ballgame” because he makes big plays that can change the outcome of a ball game; he certainly proved that on Saturday. Time will tell when that next big play will come, but if I were an opposing punter, I’d start kicking it away from Ballgame Brady.