Who has had the best breakout seasons in Indiana football history? Coaches and sports fans are always looking for the next breakout star. The story of someone who may have been underestimated or maybe was completely unknown, turning into a star? That’s what Hollywood writes movies about.
I went searching for players who took that leap. The guy who went from “guy on the roster”, “potential impact transfer”, “project recruit”, etc., all the way to “breakout star of the season,” and compiled my list of 10.
10. Chris Covington, 2017
Covington was a guy who, for the first three years of his career, it felt like Indiana wasn’t even sure what position he should play. He bounced back and forth between quarterback and linebacker, but ultimately found his path on defense and in 2017 had a breakout year.
He finished with 85 tackles, three sacks, one fumble recovery, five pass breakups, and five quarterback hurries. He ultimately was named IU’s Defensive Player of the Year and went on to be drafted in the sixth round by the Dallas Cowboys.
9. Michael Penix Jr, 2020
For a while, I imagined this Michael Penix-led, COVID-shortened season to be the best Indiana football could ever experience. From the miraculous come-from-behind victory to take down Penn State, to beating Michigan and battling Ohio State on the road, for a short time that year, Indiana football was nationally relevant. And we had Michael Penix to credit.
Battling injuries throughout his Indiana career, including eventually in this 2020 season, Penix was still able to lead the Hoosiers to a 6-2 season and was one of 17 semifinalists for the Davey O’Brien Award. He totaled 1,645 yards and 14 touchdowns and averaged a Big Ten-leading 274.2 yards per game.
8. Nate Sudfeld, 2015
In his first three seasons with the Hoosiers, Sudfeld bounced around as full-time starter and a backup behind Tre Roberson and also battled a shoulder injury in his junior season. But his senior year in 2015, he fully found his full-time groove in the Kevin Wilson high-powered offense.
Sudfeld finished the season with 3,573 yards and 27 touchdowns, leading the Big Ten in passing yards per game and capping off the regular season with the Hoosiers third-straight Old Oaken Bucket victory over Purdue. He left Indiana as one of the program’s most decorated quarterbacks, still holding the school records for career passing touchdowns, passing yardage, and 350-yard games.
7. Tracy Porter, 2007
Tracy Porter broke out in his senior season to the point he was a second-round draft pick, an anomaly at that point in Indiana football history. Porter finished his final year in Bloomington, earning All-Big Ten Conference first team honors and became the first Hoosier since Mark Sutor in 1982 to record six or more interceptions in a season.
He finished his career with 16 interceptions and amassed 413 return yards on those picks, just the third player in Big Ten history to gain over 400 yards on interception returns. He continued this into his professional career, most notably returning a Peyton Manning pass for a touchdown in Super Bowl XLIV.
6. Tevin Coleman, 2014
Coleman is a little bit lower than the top guys on my list because he had shown flashes prior to his breakout 2014 campaign, but that is not meant to underestimate the star that he turned into that season. He finished the season with 2,036 yards, just the 18th player in NCAA history to reach the 2,000-yard mark in a single season. His best came in a game in which he had 307 yards against Rutgers, despite the team ultimately losing. That may have been the biggest miracle of his season; he was often having these breakout games in which the opposing defense knew Indiana just wanted to hand the ball off to him, yet they still couldn’t stop him. He finished the year 7th in Heisman voting, receiving two first-place votes.
5. Jordan Howard, 2015
Howard is a true out-of-nowhere story, as he found his way to Indiana by way of UAB, which literally shut down their football program. While Howard was awesome with the Blazers, the step up to the Big Ten was massive, and not many outside of the Big Ten really knew anything about him.
That quickly changed, as Howard finished his one season with the Hoosiers, rushing for over 1200 yards and nine touchdowns, while adding 106 yards and a touchdown through the air. He then declared for the NFL Draft, where he was graded a 6.1 on NFL.com for running backs as a prospect, behind only Derrick Henry and Ezekiel Elliot.
4. Kurtis Rourke, 2024
Likely, none of Indiana’s success in 2025 would have come had there not been the proven success of Kurtis Rourke making the jump in Curt Cignetti’s system the year prior. Rourke had one MAC Player of the Year award to his name, but with a season-ending ACL injury already on his resume and the jump from MAC football to Big Ten football looming, it was unclear how he would adjust. He fit in quite nicely, having one of the best single seasons in Indiana football history.
He finished 2024 with 3,042 passing yards, 29 touchdowns, and five interceptions and led the team to a College Football Playoff appearance. It was later revealed that he did this all while having torn his ACL once again in fall camp before the season had started.
3. James Hardy, 2005
Few players fit the mold of a breakout star better than James Hardy, a player who originally committed to Mike Davis’ Hoosier basketball squad. The former Indiana Mr. Basketball runner-up eventually realized his path to athletic success was across the parking lot at Memorial Stadium, and joined Terry Hoepner’s football team.
As a redshirt freshman in 2005, he posted 61 catches for 893 yards and 10 touchdowns, earning him a Freshman All-American selection. He still is the Hoosiers’ all-time career receiving yards leader, is second in yards in a single season (1125), and first in receiving touchdowns in a career (36).
2. Antwaan Randle El, 1998
Randle El came to Bloomington with an amazing athletic profile, sure. In fact, he had already turned down being drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 14th round of the MLB Draft. But the “too small for football” prospect sure did burst onto the scene in his second season on campus after sitting out the first year due to a low SAT score, making him a partial academic qualifier.
In his first-ever game, he proceeded to break the NCAA’s freshman total offense record, amassing 385 yards through the air and 82 on the ground. He kept up the success for the remainder of the season, ultimately winning the 1998 Big Ten Freshman of the Year award, an award that was eventually renamed the Thompson-Randle El Freshman of the Year award.
1. Fernando Mendoza, 2025
The vision was clear: a more agile Kurtis Rourke, with elite processing, an ability to run the RPO, experience at the collegiate level, and plus tools… but I’m not sure anyone saw that coming, as Mendoza had the greatest season in Indiana football history. The 4th-ranked quarterback prospect in the transfer portal turned Heisman winner logged one of the greatest college football seasons of all time, leading the Hoosiers to an undefeated season and national championship.
He threw 41 passing touchdowns, the most in school history, and added 7 with his legs. Along with the Heisman, he won the Walter Camp Award, the Maxwell Award, AP’s College Football Player of the Year, the Davey O’Brien Award, the Manning Award, was a consensus All-American, and the Big Ten’s Most Valuable Player. Last month, he was selected with the first overall pick in the NFL Draft to the Las Vegas Raiders.
Related Posts
Discover more from Hoosier Huddle
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.