Hoover did not look good but his pass protection was comically awful. I will reserve judgment until the season starts. I thought Mendoza stunk in the spring game last year as well. He threw a pick six.
Yeah, the OL was hit and miss. The pass protection per Cig was bad. And it looked porous.
But the run blocking looked strong.
And since pass pro is more complicated and relies more on the backs and the play call itself, I'm going to bet the line is coming along nicely.
I remember Rourke in a crowd and trying to escape over and over the first Cig spring game.
So very optimistic considering we kept hearing about a few top guys being out. We have others now pushing for playing time.
Hoover did not look good but his pass protection was comically awful. I will reserve judgment until the season starts. I thought Mendoza stunk in the spring game last year as well. He threw a pick six.
It took a couple games into the season last year to convince me that Mendoza was the real deal.
@iugradman Hoover should be just fine. Somewhere between Mendoza and Rourke.
I wasn’t as tuned into their blocking. But there were some drops. They generally looked athletic and comfortable when flexed out a bit. Don’t strike me as physically developed as Horton or Nowakowski, but they’re young.
I think we’re going to find out who wants to stick their nose in and block. Because as effective as our past 2 TE1s have been when needed in the pass game, we’re a running team and being able to block is job one.
I watched the warm-ups pretty closely and the guy who intrigued me was Trevor Gibbs, #39, the true freshman from Crown Point. Very fast. I think he's going to be a good one. I know Cig doesn't feature freshmen, but I hope he gets in some games.
As far as Barker & Thiry go....didn't focus on their blocking. Barker certainly looks the part size-wise. On the catch he made he made a pretty good move for additional yardage. Thiry made a very nice catch on the sideline. On the whole, I certainly don't see those guys being featured in the pass game, mainly due to having so many other options. But, I think they'll sneak out for a catch or two each game.
Here are my observations:
Offense:
--I agree Tyler Morris looked damn good. Thought he'd stand out & he did.
--Really liked Devin Chandler. Very fast. He's going to be a load.
--I guess Lebron Bond (#6) started but as far as I could see he wasn't targeted. My guess, and only a guess, is that Morris & Chandler will have bigger impacts this year. Those guys seem just as fast and have more size.
--Shazz Preston (7) has a little size, but I saw no explosiveness from him. He did look to be smooth and a good route-runner.
--Marsh is a stud, as expected.
--My guess is that the WRs and the OL will be our best units on the whole team this year. Becker, Marsh, Morris, Chandler leading the way. #17, Wasserstrom, a walk-on(?), seemed to be someone they like as well. Might be a sleeper.
--The TBs were good, imo, but nothing extraordinary. Turbo was a churner, but he's pretty darn small. I hope they use him as a receiver out of the backfield a lot.
--Don't roast me, but I think Hoover is the biggest offensive question mark out of spring practice, and that's a good thing. He made a couple of good throws, but a couple of awful ones as well. I'm glad they'll have a few games to work out the kinks. I'm sure he will get some hard coaching. One thing--he's pretty darn short. Did not appear to the be the listed 6'2". But he was very mobile, and did not have difficulty throwing over the line. Tyler Cherry could turn out to be pretty darn good down the road.
Defense:
--The KSU guys, #7 Obiazor and #12 Osunsanmi, sure look the part. On the whole, the DL looks pretty big for an IU team.
--Byron Baldwin is going to be a great player. Fast & aggressive and instinctive, going to like a Ponds at the S position.
--21, Jacob Savage, the true freshman LB, will be one to watch in the coming years. He just looks the part.
--Landino & T. Tucker.....holly hell. But, they do need to develop depth there. Hjelle, the transfer played a lot...couldn't tell how he did. Burris, 99 sure looks like a player.
--The Marsh-Sharpe battle was one to watch. Sharpe is going to be a badass this year. Bell, the true Soph who played the other side, is not ready. That will be a Harris/Hardy battle, although Carson Williams, the transfer from Montana St., may be a sleeper there as the year goes along,
--The PKs are absolutely outstanding. There will not be many returns with McAteer kicking off. And we might try a 65 yard FG or two.
Overall:
Someone near me made an interesting remark to the effect that there was no emotion on the field. I started watching closer and it occurred to me that we looked like a professional team as far as our approach goes. Just doing your job as well as you can without a lot of drama. Two huge mistakes--the defensive backfield breakdown that left Morris open and Hoover's redzone throw that could have been a pick six. Otherwise, maybe a procedure call or two. But none of the usual confusion you would expect to see in a spring game.
I saw both prior spring games, and this team looks the most prepared and the most talented IU team coming out of spring practice. If we can avoid a run of injuries, watch out.
@mushroomgod Good points. Will not roast you on Hoover. I jokingly say he's 5'12".
Well I do hope this team is better than last year’s, because ultimately IU has to win another national title to shut all the doubters up for good.
Just a couple observations from me.
I noticed that Brunner was playing RT last night. Putting him there and Ajani at RG would be interesting.
During warmups I noticed that no. 3 freshman Kortez Rupert was a real burner. Excited to see what that kid can do in the future.
Broad swathes of the college football media and opposing fanbases dismiss IU as a one hit wonder and can’t wait to pounce when IU eventually loses a game. A second title makes IU’s dominance indisputable.
Broad swathes of the college football media and opposing fanbases dismiss IU as a one hit wonder and can’t wait to pounce when IU eventually loses a game. A second title makes IU’s dominance indisputable.
Broad swathes? That’s not true at all. You’re making stuff up in your head.
Opposing fans will always be waiting pounce — it’s the nature of sports. Nothing lasts forever, look at Bama.
16-0 is indisputable. Nothing else needs to happen.
@iugradman IU is 27-2 over the last 2 years, went 16-0. A lot of the "dismissing" of IU is so that some of these outlets have stuff to say when there is not enough content for 24/7 coverage.
IU has nothing to prove anymore, and nothing that happens in 2026 has any relevance to what happened in 2025. If IU goes 9-3 or 8-4, how does it take away from last season?
@iugradman IU is 27-2 over the last 2 years, went 16-0. A lot of the "dismissing" of IU is so that some of these outlets have stuff to say when there is not enough content for 24/7 coverage.
IU has nothing to prove anymore, and nothing that happens in 2026 has any relevance to what happened in 2025. If IU goes 9-3 or 8-4, how does it take away from last season?
Because it provides fuel to the naysayers who can then claim IU’s title was a fluke. Tom Fornelli, Josh Pate, Paul Finebaum, Nick Saban, and Kirk Herbstreit among others can’t wait to no longer have to acknowledge IU football.
@iugradman IU is 27-2 over the last 2 years, went 16-0. A lot of the "dismissing" of IU is so that some of these outlets have stuff to say when there is not enough content for 24/7 coverage.
IU has nothing to prove anymore, and nothing that happens in 2026 has any relevance to what happened in 2025. If IU goes 9-3 or 8-4, how does it take away from last season?
Because it provides fuel to the naysayers who can then claim IU’s title was a fluke. Tom Fornelli, Josh Pate, Paul Finebaum, Nick Saban, and Kirk Herbstreit among others can’t wait to no longer have to acknowledge IU football.
No one serious is calling a 16-0 +479 point diff team a fluke.
I know Fornelli isn’t. I don’t listen to the others on your list, but I don’t trust you to represent their views accurately. And frankly I don’t care what they think.
The 2025 team won everything. They’re permanently in the record books. No one can take a single thing away from them.