Indiana Hoosiers 2024 Offense Depth Chart – Version 1.0
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Written by: TJ Inman
For at least the first few games of the 2024 football season, IU fans will need to keep a roster handy because there will be very few names that will be familiar from previous seasons. That holds true for the coaches on the sideline and the players on the field. After struggling through the past few seasons, Indiana fired Tom Allen and hired Curt Cignetti from James Madison.
Cignetti kept offensive line coach Bob Bostad but brought in new coordinators, position coaches and strength coaches as he looks to change nearly everything about the program and the results that it has produced. Today’s article focuses on the offense and it is our first attempt to project the depth chart for the 2024 season. After producing only 22.2 points per game and lacking a true identity, offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan and head coach Curt Cignetti have turned to the transfer portal to revamp the offense.
Quarterback
Kurtis Rourke – Transfer from Ohio University
Tayven Jackson – Redshirt Sophomore
Tyler Cherry – Freshman
Broc Lowry – Redshirt Freshman
Curt Cignetti, Mike Shanahan and quarterbacks coach Tino Sunseri have a history of getting the best out of quarterbacks. They did this at James Madison with multiple different quarterbacks and hope to replicate that success with transfer quarterback Kurtis Rourke. Rourke was outstanding in 2022 and nearly went to the NFL Draft after winning the MAC Player of the Year award for the Bobcats. That plan was altered as he tore his ACL before the conference title game. He returned for the 2023 season opener but was injured again and missed a few games before finishing the campaign. If he is healthy during the offseason, Rourke will be the best quarterback IU has had since Michael Penix Jr. and the Hoosiers will be hoping he separates himself early and becomes the clear starter for the season opener against Florida International.
The odds-on favorite to be the primary backup is Tayven Jackson. Jackson played some in 2023 after transferring from Tennessee. Much like the rest of the offense, Jackson was inconsistent and erratic. He is capable of making some great throws but he also made several mistakes (five interceptions) and consistent accuracy was an issue.
Broc Lowry returns and he’ll battle with incoming true freshman Tyler Cherry for the third spot. Cherry, a freshman from Center Grove High School in Indiana, might have the best arm of any of the IU quarterbacks and he is now enrolled at Indiana University and will participate in the spring. Lowry, an Ohio native, is more of a running threat than the other quarterbacks on the roster and we’ll see how the battle plays out in the spring under the new staff.
Running Back
Trent Howland
Kaelon Black
Justice Ellison
Elijah Green
Ty Son Lawton
Trent Howland entered the portal, committed to Minnesota and then abruptly reversed course and announced that he would be remaining an Indiana Hoosier. The junior’s return keeps this from being a completely different room than it was in 2023. Trent Howland is a guy I have had a blind spot for since he committed and admittedly, I like him more than most. He projects as my starting running back after averaging 4.72 yards per carry and really coming on late in the 2023 season as he finally began to translate his size and power to the football field as a physical runner. There are two knocks against Howland: he has yet to show the ability to consistently catch the ball out of the backfield and he does not have top-end, breakaway speed. Still, I believe Howland is capable of averaging five yards per carry in a good offensive system. The other players in the rotation will be incoming transfers. Kaelon Black ran for 637 yards on 142 carries last season for James Madison. His biggest asset could be his work as a pass-catcher. He had 27 receptions for 254 yards with four receiving touchdowns in 2023. Black has two years of eligibility remaining and he’ll compete with Howland for the starting role (Howland gets the nod in this projection).
Justice Ellison is an experienced player transferring in from Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons run a unique “slow mesh” offense that makes it difficult to what kind of runner Ellison actually can be for the Hoosiers. We know that the Wake Forest offense was uncharacteristically dreadful this past season and we know that Ellison still produced some good games (86 yards against Old Dominion, 137 against Georgia Tech, 60 against Pittsburgh, 77 against Florida State, 63 against Notre Dame). Ellison also has not shown to be much of a pass-catcher with only ten receptions last season. Ty Son Lawton is the second running back to transfer in from James Madison while Green transferred in from North Carolina after he sat out most of 2023. Green was very good in 2022, rushing for 558 yards with eight touchdowns. This is a good group but only Black has shown consistent ability to be a pass-catching threat. The battle for playing time is going to be fierce and could come down to things like blocking on passing downs.
Offensive Line
Starters (Left to Right) – Carter Smith, Tyler Stephens, Mike Katic, Nick Kidwell, Trey Wedig
Backups (Left to Right) – Austin Barrett, Noah Bolticoff, Bray Lynch, Vinny Fiacable, Evan Lawrence
Offensive line coach Bob Bostad is the only returning position coach from the 2023 season in Bloomington. He improved the offensive line quite a bit in his first season in charge of the unit and Curt Cignetti clearly thought he was capable of continuing that progression. Matthew Bedford, Khalil Benson and Zach Carpenter are all gone after transferring elsewhere but IU received fantastic news with the return of Mike Katic for his final year of eligibility and, most importantly, the return of Carter Smith after he was courted by major programs in the transfer portal. Smith is the anchor at left tackle and if he continues on his development track, he could very well find himself in the NFL. Katic should also start. The veteran is a versatile interior lineman and his future in the professional ranks is likely at center. We’ve penciled him in there for 2024. That leaves three open spots and it appears IU filled those spots through the transfer portal. Tyler Stephens followed Curt Cignetti from James Madison and he has experience at both guard and tackle. The Hoosiers need him at guard and he gets the nod at left guard next to Carter Smith. The right side of the line begins with another James Madison transfer as Nick Kidwell will be playing his seventh season of collegiate football. You read that correctly, his seventh season. Kidwell was a preseason All-Sun Belt player but he was injured early in the season and will be limited until fall camp. The veteran has always been on the right side of the line but with Trey Wedig at tackle, Kidwell slides in at right guard. Trey Wedig transferred to IU after playing all over the line at Wisconsin. He was a highly-touted prospect and publicly said he believes Bob Bostad can get the best out of him. This would be an experienced and very big starting offensive line but the Hoosiers will need to prove they can mesh as a unit.
This starting five appears to be fairly set. There might be shuffling as far as positions go but the five players at the top seem fairly separated from the backups, for better or for worse. The previous staff plus Bob Bostad spoke glowingly of Austin Barrett and he can play at either tackle spot. You’d love to be ahead big in early season games to get him some experience. I have written (and spoken on the Hoosier Huddle podcast) about how much potential incoming freshman Evan Lawrence has. Lawrence is not heavy enough to play significant time in 2024 but he could put some weight on before the season and see some time in blowouts. Veterans like Noah Bolticoff, Cooper Jones and Vinny Fiacable will try to carve out roles in spring practice.
Tight End
Zach Horton
Trey Walker
Brody Kosin
James Bomba
Sam West
Brody Foley
Anthony Miller
The Shanahan/Cignetti offense is going to look different than what IU fans have grown accustomed to. Go ahead reader, celebrate again as you can finally get excited about offense in Bloomington. One of the expected changes is the de-emphasis of the tight end as the Hoosiers move to more four wide receiver sets and “10 personnel” (the use of two outside WRs and two slot WRs). That means there will be times IU has no tight ends on the field and times they have one with very rare occasions where two tight ends will see the field. That does not mean the Hoosiers won’t use some large sets with multiple tight ends but the expectation is that tight end snaps will be down overall. The top receiving option for the position is James Madison transfer and All-Sun Belt player Zach Horton. He’s not a downfield threat but he’s a very capable possession pass-catcher and should lead the group in receptions. Trey Walker is a solid player that can catch or block pretty well. James Bomba is almost exclusively a blocker. Brody Kosin is the high-end option here. The true freshman stuck with his Indiana commitment despite interest from teams like Texas and Michigan. Transitioning to college as a tight end is brutal but he could get some snaps, particularly early in the year against non-power conference opponents.
Outside Receiver
Donaven McCulley and Elijah Sarratt
E.J. Williams and Omar Cooper
Miles Cross and Andison Coby
The Indiana University wide receiver has not been this deep and talented in a long, long time. The new coaching staff convinced Donaven McCulley that this offense was the best fit for him and talked him back from the transfer portal. He joins fellow returners E.J. Williams (who was quite good when he was healthy at the back end of the season) and Omar Cooper plus a crop of transfer additions to make arguably one of the strongest WR units in the Big Ten. McCulley will start with Eli Sarratt, the number one receiver for James Madison in 2023. This is a top-notch duo that will give defenses major issues. Williams and Cooper form the third and fourth receivers while Ohio receiver (and a very productive veteran) Miles Cross pairs with Andison Coby. All six receivers will play and a few of those guys could slide into the slot as well.
Slot Receiver
Myles Price
Ke’Shawn Williams
Kamryn Perry
This unit is one that Mike Shanahan and Curt Cignetti clearly wanted to upgrade and they outdid themselves with two more additions from the transfer portal. Myles Price is a jet-quick slot receiver that will probably return kicks for the Hoosiers in addition to lining up as the starting slot receiver. He arrives from Texas Tech and Red Raider fans were very sad to see him go. Ke’Shawn Williams is similar. He was plagued by awful quarterback play in 2023 at Wake Forest but he’s an ideal slot receiver and both players are going to see a lot of snaps. As mentioned, it’s very likely they’ll feature together in dual-slot formations. Kamryn Perry played sporadically in 2023 but he’s very quick and should benefit from this new offensive system.
Hoosier Huddle will update this projected depth chart after spring practice. Stay tuned for further content as we prepare for the 2024 season.