@hurryinghoosiers doesn't matter who came up with it first: Cignetti's the one that got it done!
@thehoosierhuddle I sure hope so. Everything with the Mendoza's has been so positive, I sure hope it works out that Alberto can replace Fernando and have anything approaching his success here! He sure has lit it up with his legs when he's come in!
@kkott it’s hard to tell how he passes in this offense, but he’s improved his throwing motion. Omar Cooper said Alberto throws it hard r than Fernando (I know not the end all be all), but has the arm talent.
There is still plenty to improve and work on, but the tools are there. They’ve liked Alberto since high school, where he was arguably better than Fernando.
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There is also the possibility that being know as the program that builds through the portal is something this staff would like to shed. The more kids that they have recruited out of HS that get to play, the easier it will be to sell current HS kids (including QBs) that they can come in get developed and play at a high level for the newest superpower in college football.
@walt542 That is a good point and it's valid. IU has to balance the roster. Winning makes everything better and with that more HS kids are going to be interested. However, Cig had to totally rebuild through the portal and did so two years in a row, but we are seeing some young "home grown" players step up and fill holes. That's good for several reasons.
1. It's a helluva lot cheaper to bring in HS kids than get 30 guys from the portal every year.
2. It gives the fans a chance to connect and root for a player over multiple years
3. You can "win the recruiting headlines". While I don't think this is super important, any good publicity is good for the program.
There will always be a need for players from the portal, that's this era of college sports. You don't have to like it, but it is what it is. However, going from the strategy of "We need portal guys to function" to "Hey, here's a hole we need to plug this season" is huge.
Just my thoughts.
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I don't have any doubt from the very limited sample on Alberto, that he throws a good ball and has 'enough' arm. One or two that could have been viewed as a bit off target looked to me to be the safe spot for the throw, which if you come in in mop up time I'm sure you absolutely would do that to not draw Coach's ire.
So, I believe based on not much, that he throws a nice ball with control and touch. Excited about him. If he gets beat by a portal guy, we got a good one!
Good to hear Coop says he has a strong arm! I thought it looked less than Fernando's, but like he can make the throws.
Colts traded away their 1st for the next couple years...fernando should just come back 
yeah, imo I think Cuban could come in and tell Cig he has a blank check and I still don’t think he overpays for a QB based on the success he has had. I think he will always take whatever extra funds he has and spread it out over multiple positions. I could be totally wrong and he may actually do that, but until it happens I choose to believe he is not going to overspend on any one position just to get the biggest name. That’s not to say IU will take the cheap route as I think we will pay a fair amount for a quality player, but I don’t think we are getting in a bidding war with a Miami or Texas Tech when we have already yielded better results than both on the field without having to do that. I say spread those funds to continue building quality depth especially in the trenches.I think we might all need to consider that this year's budget might be more than a little bigger than last year's budget. We're not going to be Texas Tech or some of those other very top spenders, but it's possible that if Cig has a QB he wants with a price tag more than he'd be willing to pay with our overall budget, that someone might step up to cover that price tag, now that we have a very clear proof of concept.
I don’t have the perspective that IU is NIL poor at all and actually feel it’s quite the contrary. Though, I also don’t think we need to get in bidding wars to prove we are a major player. The results on the field shows that the way I see it and I think for some players it’s going to be a balancing act of compensation and opportunity. Where you get the most compensation may not be your best opportunity. The big name players who realize that such as Fernando will be better off down the road.
@openwheel I hope you guys are right. I don't remember which game (IL?) but it was an early one and I thought he made 2 ill-advised throws. One seemed off his back foot, but just didn't look like it had the mustard on it to get it to the receiver on time.
@hurryinghoosiers - At some point, maybe not this season but certainly if next year starts going south, the Colts need to start trading away guys like Sauce, Moore III, Taylor, Pittman.....anyone really. Re-acquire a ton of draft picks and start this rebuild over. Those draft picks we traded away can be gained back in some capacity and make that trade not as painful as most think it was, if things go bad.
I remember a duck that had me concerned. But several throws were good, one where the receiver didn't come back for it so it looked way off, but would have maybe been wrong to try to thread it in at mop up time so I think it was actually a good throw.
I guess we'll find out. Cig seems to me to favor his guys, even while trying to make it 100% merit. Merit includes who he is confident in after all... So Alberto will get his chance. If he doesn't, well I don't fear Cig not being honest with him, so he may leave.
Our old friend Brendan Sorby CB to Tx.Tech.
@thehoosierhuddle I like the approach of bringing in someone like Colton Joseph and being straightforward with he and Alberto: no promises; compete and win the job so IU can be the best version of itself. We've seen that next man up often means PT and you can still get the opportunity!
@kkott Joseph is going to command a bunch of money (he’s earned it). Also, not having a spring portal window hurts in this situation. I don’t see Joseph taking the chance to lose the job or IU taking the chance a big money QB will ride the bench.
I agree with your logic, I just don’t know if Joseph is that guy. I like him and was tooting his horn early in the summer, but he may look for a more secure landing spot.
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@hurryinghoosiers doesn't matter who came up with it first: Cignetti's the one that got it done!
It was said in jest.