From the See Ball Get Ball YouTube.
Mendoza in his two Cal seasons before becoming a Hoosier had a Turnover Worthy Pass Rate of 5.1%
Hoovers in his previous two seasons was 4.9%.
@middawg - I've been saying this as we keep hearing people talk about his turnovers. Mendoza had 16 int's and 30 TD's at Cal. Hoover had 13 Int's and 29 TD's last year at TCU.
The turnover narrative seems little overblown. It’s an area for improvement, but people who dig into the plays and stats say it’s not that bad.
He also had the 2nd highest RPO efficiency last year, just behind a guy named Fernando. He should step into this offense rather easily.
We won't have him throwing near as much and he shouldn't feel near as much pressure to play hero ball.
His 2 best friends (as Cigs called it) will help with the turnovers even if he doesn't do much of anything different. Of course, this staff seems pretty good at player development so I expect turnovers not to be an issue.
Yeah, with the preseason coverage ramping up, I'm gritting my teeth and biting my tongue at an increasing rate when this Hoover turnover caveat/narrative gets brought up every time discussing the Hoosiers as the defining aspect of this team.
It is hard for people to assess how much difference it will make by needing a LB or Safety or both required to stay in the box to stop the run. That extra guy or 2 who could play back in coverage against TCU makes a huge difference.
Its the offseason and too many people try to find concern where there isn't to capture eyeballs. This "turnover prone" narrative is way overblown IMO - much like the "23 year old grown men beating up on helpless 18 year olds" narrative during IU's CFP run.
I watched every game Fernando played at Cal.
He was under constant pressure and the Cal running game was below average at best. Often, opponents got quick pressure with just a 3 or 4 man rush.
In 2024 he was sacked 49 times (and he didnt even play in the season finale) in 11 games.
An elite OL powering a strong running game, time to survey the field, and dominant D to keep a QB from having to chase points helped transform him into a Heisman QB and IU into an undefeated National Champion.
Hoover is going to benefit from those same things and while there isn't room to go up from Fernando's Heisman winning 16-0 season, I actually have little doubt he'll uphold the high standards and he's going to end up in the 1st round QBs conversation by next April.
There may come a day when Cig "misses" at the QB spot, but I don't believe 2026 is that day.