@kkott Cignetti and staff identifying Novakowski in the portal and how they utilized him was pure genius. Riley walked on at Wisconsin where he caught a total of only 18 passes in 3 years. At IU he became a second-team All Big Ten performer and was a key player in the offense.
@bigmike I think there's a terrific chance Riley has an NFL career ahead of him. Probably more as a FB/special teamer than a TE I would guess, but you can't have too many football guys like that.
Schott is a stud athlete and gets advanced development through out of conference schedule. He's plenty big enough, stout and fast. Believe he rises to the need.
@hoosier-clarion - That's my thought process as well. He certainly has the physical tools.
The issue is, outside of recruiting him in HS and the small tape from Miami, Cig has minimal experience with Brock in order for him to draw a high amount of certainty in him being ready to go now. Lord knows I've been wrong before, ask my wife, but I just can't fathom Cig is going to gamble on that being a certainty unless he gained a lot of confidence in Blake and/or Andrew in what they've shown in practices.....or he plans to get another in the portal. Even if they are the fallback plan or he wants 3 in rotation, Cig understands the dire need for depth.
There is one certainty here though. No matter the outcome, I sure as hell won't question Cigs decision. ha Its just fun to ponder.
No argument. Kinda how I view it. I'm thinking Coach Cignetti believes those 3-4 youngins can carry the water. 1 of the bunch will run block. He's got lots of receivers to catch. DL & OL quality depth bigger luxury to bolster.
I hope Schott is able to earn the spot outright. We wont be able to be veteran at every spot on the team every single year, even with the portal
@hoosierdaddy I was just thinking about this, but we didn't even play many freshmen this year at all. I think both Khobie Martin and Ajani are listed as freshmen, and are about the only 2 I can think of. The receiver, Bond, I think was also a freshman. Any other freshmen get PT? Becker was a RS freshman, correct? That's not a lot of youth playing!
I agree and remember what a huge role Horton played in that spot last year. TE is a critical position in this offense the way they use them and I love it.@yothn Yeah, with as critical as Nowakowski was, and I'm guessing how relatively inexpensive he was, not sure there was a guy that had a bigger impact, dollar for dollar. Really interesting how they moved him around in the CFP games and used him in a variety of areas and ways. I really think he was a huge part of our improved line play and he was my favorite Hoosier to watch after the catch. And just another good guy and football player. I would guess that's a role they will shore up.
this guy have any eligibility left?
@kkott Becker, Ndukwe, Ajani, Hardy were all year 2 guys who contributed a lot this season
We have had some young guys step up, but not a lot relative to most teams. Im good with not having "super depth" at every position... We wont be able to ever do that consistently. When we are able to put it together, thats a champ run season like this year.
@hoosierdaddy I was just thinking about this, but we didn't even play many freshmen this year at all. I think both Khobie Martin and Ajani are listed as freshmen, and are about the only 2 I can think of. The receiver, Bond, I think was also a freshman. Any other freshmen get PT? Becker was a RS freshman, correct? That's not a lot of youth playing!
Becker was a true sophomore this year.
Last year, five IU freshmen played in 7 or more games. Each will be sophomore eligible for the 2026 season. The two wide receivers were Davion Chandler and Lebron Bond. The three DBs were Byron Baldwin, Jaylen Bell, and Garrett Reese.
Are we done in the portal been pretty quiet?
@arioznahoosier4554 I m hearing IU is pretty much set on portal additions. Doesn’t mean they won’t add later, but it seems pretty settled
@arioznahoosier4554 I m hearing IU is pretty much set on portal additions. Doesn’t mean they won’t add later, but it seems pretty settled
That can't be right...what are we going to do for the next 7-8 months?
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