@thehoosierhuddle I agree with that outlook. Here is hoping the only time Coach has to make that decision is in mop up duty

@thehoosierhuddle What I thought they might've done was to bring in Colton Joseph, since he was also a really good running QB, with the condition that he's competing with Alberto and whoever wins the job is the starter and you have a backup that is also a run first QB. At the time, I think you said you didn't think they'd do that because of the NIL $ that Joseph would command, but I'll bet we're paying Hoover more than Joseph is getting at WI. Water under the bridge, but I thought that might've worked, and kept Mendoza here. He was great for IU, if for no other reason than he helped get his brother here, so I'd have liked to have seen him stay. FWIW, the BuffedInPrime guy that comes on Sam's show also wanted IU to get Joseph.

@kkott Colton Joseph was just one of my thoughts on how I thought it could go. Cig wanted Hoover and moved on Hoover very quickly, according to the people I talk with.

Before Grant Wilson came back they needed two QBs from the portal too.

I don't think it ended up being reality. I don't listen to the CFB Pod with Sam, but I really enjoyed Buffed in Prime and T-Cal. I know CrimsonCast kind of props up Sam, but I don't think he had a pulse on the portal like other outlets do. 

@thehoosierhuddle Thought it was notable that on the McAfee interview Cig talked about developing a QB. Thought that might be a nod to how he feels Cherry (and/or Bell) is developing. I think if we have any ideas of making Cherry a starter next year, he will be the one to get mop up minutes early and maybe even become the #2 after 3-4 games. People downplay the mop up minutes but through it all Alberto probably got a couple games worth of live snaps last year and I'd imagine it will be similar this year, especially in the first 6 games.

Sam may be too positive on IU sometimes lol.

@thehoosierhuddle No, but the BuffedinPrime guy I feel like is the best and most aligned with how our staff views the portal. I've never checked to see if he has other content, but I love when he's on Sams show. I think Sam's strength is team/schedule analytics and analysis. He's been high on IU/Cig pretty much all along and I think even predicted we'd beat both IL (he said we'd clobber them I think) and OR last year.

@kkott I agree. Developing a QB would be huge. It would help roster construction so much, plus the transfer rules (or any rule) can change quickly. 

With Cherry, the first thing that needs to happen is for him to get back to the grind of football. The mop-up duty is huge and I would hope they let him throw the ball a bit more just to see what they have if that opportunity arises. They will need a portal QB again with Hoover and Wilson leaving, but oif Cherry can show he has the talent to be the guy, you only need depth and then can put those resources into some linemen or other areas that will need attention.

@tammany Not sure you can say that after 16-0! Plus, I don't think he's wrong. I thought we might have a worse record last year, more because of the schedule, but I thought overall we had a better roster than 2024, and he agreed and was the first guy to jump on IU and pick wins vs IL and OR. And, I think athletically at least, we have a better roster this year than last year. What we don't have is Mendoza (and Ponds, Coogan, Nowakowski and Fischer) and no way to know if this team can generate the belief and chemistry that last year's had, but I think we're better on O and D lines, better receiver room, better special teams, barring injury as good at RB and LB, and solid at DB and QB even though not as good as last year. I fully expect Hoover will be a LOT better and the turnover problem will be fixed just because he doesn't have to do as much and will have more time with this O Line.

@tammany He is, but the issue is that some of it doesn't seem genuine to me. i think he has IU at 16-0 again this year

@thehoosierhuddle Agree about letting him throw more than Alberto for development. Plus, it would be great to see him develop some chemistry with guys like Chandler, Bond, and the TEs and even Martin and whoever the next RB in line is. Those guys could well be a big part of the core for the next couple years.

@thehoosierhuddle The last I've heard on Sam's show, and he's said it more than once, he's predicting we win the B10, but I think has OR as the NC. Seems like an odd prediction, but he thinks OR just has that much talent and they'll be rolling by playoffs, like OSU 2 years ago. If we beat OR a 3rd straight time in the B10 as I think he predicts (downgrading OSU because of their schedule), I'd think they'd be so m*ndf*ckd, I don't see us losing if we were to play them again in the playoffs. Bold prediction nonetheless.

@kkott That's what practice and throwing in the summer is for. Hopefully he learned from Fernando how to run those things. Also, it says a lot that Fernando was listening to Cherry when on the sideline breaking plays down on the tablet.

@thehoosierhuddle It is, but I also feel there's something special about game reps. Plus, I think we've got a lot of really good players on the sidelines and I want to see those guys get some PT in the hopes it helps keep them here. Plus the one weakness I see in more than one area is depth still. Think we were pretty lucky last year at every position outside of DE with injuries, so I hope we are able to get lots of backups in early and often to help preserve our starters.

@kkott Predicting another undefeated season is just an attempt to be overly optimistic about the fan base that will engage with that content. Some of his takes are good, others are not so good. We'll do our predictions in a couple of weeks as things get closer, but to downgrade OSU just on their schedule is silly. 

I do think this team is just as talented or more than last year in some spots, but that team just had IT and that is tough to replicate, even with the culture being set in place. The 2025 team responded every time they got punched in the mouth, that's a special trait. We'll see if this team has that.

This is solid breakdown and coverage of our Hoosiers imo.