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Coop's farewell ...

Farewell post from Waffle House. Mr. Backshoulder. He had so many huge catches for us. My favorite was probably the go-ahead score vs OSU.

With Bray coming back, do you guys realize that the highest usage player we lost to the portal was our 2025 4th best defensive tackle?!!!!!? That is astounding. I mean; good lord I know it was completely fun to ride the all time story of a team to an all time season, but that is crazy.

If the NFL doesn't work, there may be a position available with the Lollipop Guild

I watched him at ND. My wife was raised ND football. Not a fan myself but Coogs was a player I loved to watch so when I heard they pushed him out, I was really hoping he would be a Hoosier. He was one of the most important pieces added to make this run. His leadership was second to none. I will really miss seeing him, Aidan, Elijah, and Riley. They embodied all that this team was about.

What a move it was to transfer to IU! Thanks Pat.

And one of the funniest TDs vs. Purdue. Just ran through their whole secondary.

I’m really big on Thiry. I don’t have any insider knowledge or anything like that to support it, more of a hunch. He also won state in wrestling. Played a bunch of positions in football too. He just seems to fit that profile that could thrive in Cignetti’s system.

One of the greatest catches in college football history. Be great in the NFL, Coop -- and thanks for the memories.

It's a bit. He's doing it on purpose. He's giving that team its much recognized flowers it deserves. Because, man, that group got snubbed for what it did. The Natty doesn't happen without that group, in my opinion.

I’m pretty optimistic looking at his stats, plus he is getting plugged into the system that consistently produces improvement.

With Omar headed to the league, I’m really excited to see what Morris gives us this year. Him and Bond will probably compete for kick-returns but Morris needs to be playing offense too

Bray said nay. Up yours Sark! Two straight years of superb retention at IU.

Good for Coop and ultimately us. He was awesome! This was the right decision and the expected decision imo. I’ll never forget watching that Penn State drive with my Son and Wife and all of us jumping around screaming together when he made the catch. Plus, Shazz Preston looks very capable. His highlight tape from Tulane is exciting. And that’s not to mention Marsh, and Charlie B. WR room is stacked. Tyler Morris and Chandler both weapons too. Go Hoosiers! Go be great Omar!

Who could have imagined that Indiana would have beat Miami without a rushing TD from Hemby, Black or Martin, and without a pass reception TD from Sarrat, Cooper, Becker, or Williams and no passes for TDs from Mendoza. That is crazy, man I love this team. Another wild stat I saw today was TE Nowakowski lined up as a fullback twice this year, with two carries for a total of two yards resulting in two TDs. You can't get any more efficient than that.

Maybe an overlooked byproduct of these past two magical seasons ... Outscoring our little brothers 122-3. How sweet it is!

Always wild watching guys bounce off the kid like he’s Derrick Henry at 205 or whatever he is. His balance and lower body strength are pretty nuts.

Common opponents: They lost to Miami by 3. We beat Miami by 6 (+9 net). They beat Purdue by 26. We beat Purdue by 53 (2x, +27 net). Tell 'em to STFU.

Domers hate being reminded of the fact nobody under the age of 40 can recall them ever winning a championship in their lifetime. Kills them that IU of all places did it before them. That tickles me.

I feel confident enough in Hoover's arm. I haven't watched him enough to know what he's like as a runner... I know he has a ton of experience with RPO. After the title game, a lot of TCU fans were saying they could never imagine Hoover running like Fernando did or even thinking / having the awareness to dive for the TD like Fernando did. Obviously that was a super play by a super player... but we've been really spoiled by extremely smart QBs these past two years. And Mendoza's mobility made a big difference compared to Rourke, who was awesome in his own right. Obviously completely trust the staff and can't wait for next year. Should be another really fun one. Wild how CFP is the expectation in year 3. Cig is a miracle worker.

Carter Smith chimes in:

Some thoughts on Karvala after getting to see him up close for a couple of days. Makes a total of 6 games of his I’ve gotten to watch, 3 from HS last year, 1 travel ball game he played against Ethan Taylor last spring and the 2 EYBL scholastic games the last 2 days. This may go on for a while, but he is a really interesting prospect to me: 1) Physically, he is about as prototype a wing as it gets. He’s legitimately 6’7”, which I’d wondered about and while his frame is pretty narrow, he’s probably 185ish, I think he can probably get to 200-205 and that’ll play. He’s not long, but probably slightly plus, +2 or so maybe. Athletically, he’s top shelf. He can really run. He has easy movement and change of direction. And the vertical explosion is something. Probably pushing legit 40”. There was a play where they threw him an alley oop that only Wemby could have caught but Karvala’s fingertips were slightly above the top of the square and his head was at the rim. That was a woah moment. 2) We’ve run through his game before, and there wasn’t a lot I hadn’t seen. He’s a streaky shooter with some funk in his stroke that needs cleaning up that isn’t happening now. Makes his release a hair slow which with his twitch shouldn’t happen, The handle needs to tighten up notably. Right now at the HM level he’d be strictly a 3 bounce straight line driver. Not sure if that will get better or not. The defensive tools are great if he develops the mentality of a stopper. Not sure if he’s got that, but it’ll play. He’s miles better than a kid like Dorn. 3) The between the ears is gonna be the thing here. For a kid who has a legit NBA toolkit, Karvala’s confidence is a clean slate from game to game. If he makes a couple of early plays he revs up and he really pops. But if he doesn’t he becomes pretty content with just blending into the game. He’s not an alpha or instinctively a killer like Moody is. He needs a PG who understands the need to get him out of the box strong and his current PG is a shot hunting machine and doing him no good at all. And he’s just a bit of a different kid. During halftime warmups of a game they were losing yesterday he was singing along to Enter Sandman, which was playing overhead. Would think Cig would have ripped his head off. But he competed between the lines. He’s not uncompetitive, just…different. Summary: Karvala is crazy high variance, way more so than Moody or Branham. His range of outcome is anywhere from a 2 year guy who plays in The League to a 1 year and transfer out who doesn’t work out and damned near anything in between is reasonably possible. I’m down with taking the swing here because he’s gifted in a way that doesn’t grow on trees and he seems like a good kid, but anyone who watches him and confidently predicts an outcome is nuts. Fwiw

6:00 tonight (Monday) on BTN -- IU vs Miami and then at 7:00 Saturday's celebration.

It hurts, but it's an overall good thing when we develop guys and send 'em to the league. We've got Nick and Charlie, plus several other WRs who will step up and become the next Coop or Waffle House.

Becker and the MSU kid are going to be one of the best reciever duos in the country

I get what you're saying, but man, rooting for the Raiders is a huge ask. :D

He would most certainly be missed here next season, but he's earned a shot at an NFL career. With Cig and the coaching staff, I have 100% faith in the "next man up" approach. Thanks for the memories, Omar, and just know that you'll always be welcome back. #neverDaunted #Hoosier4Life

Definitely possible he is declaring and staying in. He may have submitted the paperwork keeping in mind the deadline to drop out is February 7 IIRC. So, until he makes an announcement IMO, I think he's getting feedback / maybe trying to get a promise from a team that "if you're still there in round 2/3, we'll pick you" and weighing that against a probably very nice NIL offer here. Maybe I just don't want to give up hope yet. Wouldn't blame him one bit for going to the league.

Just read thru a GT message board. They knew he was transferring on the 18th. At least an insider knew but didn’t outright say it. I appreciate that. Could have caused unwanted noise. A few of them are worried that this is more of a tryout with the plan to potentially return to Indiana.

The other rumor floating around was Will Stein at Kensucky was trying to throw a bag at Charlie B.

The Coogan play I immediately think of too is his fumble recovery in the Peach Bowl. What an absolute stud, what superb hustle, what ball awareness. It's a moment that fills me with excitement about the program CCCC has built here. Pat Coogan could have stayed back by the line of scrimmage and no one would have criticized it, he'd done his job, his guy (who wasn't even his guy really) was chasing Mendoza but rapidly being left behind. But he follows the ball and his quarterback and runs 20 yards along behind him (a good way behind him). Then the ball comes out and shoots sideways, everyone scrambling, and he just sails in to wrap it up, get up, signal the 1st, give some finger guns, and it's time for the next play. On the traditional telecast view, he flys in from nowhere like some of those Good Troy rebounds, but the skycast you can follow him better. Pure hustle, pure culture. An incredible play that won't stick in people's minds because it wasn't very significant in the overall course of the game, but that's the life of an o-lineman. Watch it .25 speed too. And the replay that follows during the next play gives a slightly different view of him coming in. Edit: accidentally rewound and watched Fernando's run a couple plays earlier and Evans is the player running behind Fernando because Coogan is in a very active block when the run starts, and even then Coogan comes up about a second behind Evans.

What makes him a better passer? Mendoza was incredibly accurate and missed very few. Big shoes to fill. :)

Send Rutger and Puredoo to the A-10! Say it loud; say it proud.

I like where we stack up here.

Indeed. Shouting "Holy ****, there is no way that was a ******* catch!" if I remember correctly. Watching and scrolling through games this year, one thing I've noticed is how aware the WRs all are of their feet and position on the field. As soon as the ball hits the hands, the feet start looking for the ground. Great coaching. I'll miss him, but it was the right decision on his part. After the Catch, it is hard to see him with even more buzz next year (though being WR1 in our repeat would probably do it).

Coming down off my high from Charlie Becker's catch to set it up. :)

It's hilarious how they try to claim a de facto national championship because they beat us last season, while ignoring the reality we beat the team they lost to THIS SEASON. And if that isn't enough, Miami also beat Texas A&M, who beat Notre Dame this season too.

I've been lurking one of their very popular boards for the lulz the past few weeks. The arrogance is insane. Baseless accusations of IU cheating, that we only win because of Cuban's money (LOL), this title is illegitimate since they weren't in the playoff, etc. But most funny is how they cling to their "blue chip ratio" and claim steadfastly that stars from recruiting services ACTUALLY matter. They don't. It's a new era and we just proved it. But they want the prestige (like they always do) and think it was smart to show guys like Coogan and Burnham the door because "they don't have high round pick potential like their back ups anyway." Okay... and that impacts winning at the collegiate level, how, exactly? Lol... they can keep sending an experienced vet or two down to Bloomington every year when the vets decide they want to actually win something I guess.

Raiders pairing Mendoza with either Sarratt or Cooper in Rd 2 is my dream scenario. Id have a 2nd NFL team I would definitely be rooting for. Go be great Coop.

ND loses their DBs coach to the Ravens. He was considered a rising star and a good recruiter. Huge loss for them.

Man, if Hoover can spin it this team is going to be fun to watch again. It's weird that we're in the middle of bball season and I can't wait for September. The earth has changed it's rotation and you won't convince me otherwise. Wild times.

This is going to a huge spot to fill. Coogan's contribution to this team can not be credited enough. When you watch Mendoza's 4th quarter 4th and five TD run again, and who hasn't watched it multiple times, just look at how much room Coogan clears out for Fernando. What a massive portal pickup this was. I have no doubt that Coogan will be successful at the next level.

Kind of wondering if our 2026 center is Carter Smith. It sounds crazy to move our elite LT inside, but he profiles as an NFL center more so than a tackle and getting some sort of feedback backing that up kind of seems like the only reason he’d come back. I’d put money on him getting moved inside after getting drafted anyway. Bostad got Katic rolling as a center in one offseason and Smith is way more talented. The question then would become who goes to LT but, again, Bostad is one of the best in the business so I’m not worried about it.

Psshh; Harris may look scarier than DeAngelo, but it’s guaranteed he won’t be as good. But our defensive line next year? Whoa buddy… that’s a strrrrong group.

Big night for Luke in a Lakers G-League game.

4-star 6'4" center attends Fort Bend Hightower HS in Missouri, TX and averaging a double double on her high school season with a record of 23-3. Played AAU on the 3SSB circuit for Family Hoops. She grew up in Sweden and moved to Texas in her 8th grade. https://www.vype.com/Texas/Houston/big-sis-hightowers-okeke-the-centerpiece-in-h-town @Ogechi_Okeke25 247 MaxPreps Hudl Instagram