IUFB Offseason Updates

[Pagoda 5,419]

3 minutes ago, AKHoosier said:

Cignetti said a school offered a current player $1.5M to transfer during the spring window.

My first thought was Tennessee offering Mendoza in the wake of Iamaleava fallout but I'm sure they'd have thrown more at him than that. 

On that note, Tennessee did take a big run at Altmyer.  It wasn’t the incident Cig mentioned, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they called Fernando’s agent, though that simpleton Vol offense would be an instant “no” for a guy with serious pro aspirations.

Who was it?  Of course Kamara and Ponds come to mind.  Maybe someone on the OL.  I tend to think a lot of kids on our roster were tampered with by the big programs.  We kept ‘em all though.

[Stuhoo 90,799]

Just now, Hovadipo said:

Wouldn’t surprise me if Kamara, Ponds, or Fischer (a bit less likely for an off-ball backer imo) fetched that. 

Ponds or possibly Carter Smith. High-level, experienced shut down corners and left tackles are hard to find.

[Stuhoo 90,799]

1 minute ago, Pagoda said:

On that note, Tennessee did take a big run at Altmyer.  It wasn’t the incident Cig mentioned, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they called Fernando’s agent, though that simpleton Vol offense would be an instant “no” for a guy with serious pro aspirations.

Who was it?  Of course Kamara and Ponds come to mind.  Maybe someone on the OL.  I tend to think a lot of kids on our roster were tampered with by the big programs.  We kept ‘em all though.

Are you daring to imply that we may have gotten an NIL 'stay where you are' discount?

Sacrilege!

[Demo 24,669]

1 minute ago, Hovadipo said:

Wouldn’t surprise me if Sarratt, Kamara, Ponds, or Fischer (a bit less likely for an off-ball backer imo) fetched that. 

1st one I thought of was Kamara. Would think a pass rusher’s phone would never stop ringing.

[Pagoda 5,419]

Fall camp hype vid narrated by Coach Cig.

https://x.com/indianafootball/status/1950307847100911875?s=46&t=zoBJGD5TXRBDk1ODyOZqlg

[BBTB 77]

1 hour ago, Pagoda said:

Fall camp hype vid narrated by Coach Cig.

https://x.com/indianafootball/status/1950307847100911875?s=46&t=zoBJGD5TXRBDk1ODyOZqlg

That was great ,so ready for football .Also tired of all those people saying well I think Indiana just had a good year last year but well I don't think they will be  as good this year .Just  keep  us under the radar then ,I hope we are as good or better than last year ,just to shut the talking heads up .

[cthomas 6,677]

This team has the potential to be better than last years team. Depending on how the pieces fit, the opportunity is there to have a really special season. CCC is the guy to lead this program to places we have never seen. Right now, I don't even care about basketball. I can't get enough of IU football!

[Lebowski 3,776]

11 hours ago, cthomas said:

This team has the potential to be better than last years team. Depending on how the pieces fit, the opportunity is there to have a really special season. CCC is the guy to lead this program to places we have never seen. Right now, I don't even care about basketball. I can't get enough of IU football!

The Dude abides. 

The roster is the most loaded it has ever been in its entire history. The only positions that worry me is QB and OL, due to lack of depth (injuries happen). All other positions, in my opinion, are good to go. Assuming a healthy roster, the Illinois game will tell us a lot.

[AH1971 3,436]

46 minutes ago, Lebowski said:

The Dude abides. 

The roster is the most loaded it has ever been in its entire history. The only positions that worry me is QB and OL, due to lack of depth (injuries happen). All other positions, in my opinion, are good to go. Assuming a healthy roster, the Illinois game will tell us a lot.

Spots 1-22 is a very talented roster, but any injuries to QB, WR, Tackle, interior DL, LB, and/or safety is going to be problematic. Last years team was pretty fortunate with the injury bug all things considered, need that luck to continue to match preseason expectations.

[Pagoda 5,419]

Speaking of injuries Drew Evans is back practicing, which is pretty amazing.  If we can get him some reps vs the cupcakes and have him ready for conference play that would be a nice boost for the OL.

[Pagoda 5,419]

Presser after day 1 of fall camp.

 

[Lebowski 3,776]

2 hours ago, AH1971 said:

Spots 1-22 is a very talented roster, but any injuries to QB, WR, Tackle, interior DL, LB, and/or safety is going to be problematic. Last years team was pretty fortunate with the injury bug all things considered, need that luck to continue to match preseason expectations.

I'm not worried about the WR and the defense in general. Yeah, there are question marks about some back-ups on the D but they're still pretty solid with depth. 

LB - There are two LB's (Hardy and Jones) that can play both spots (WILL and MIKE) in a pinch. I'm guessing that's the reason why they didn't add another LB in the portal. It also means the staff probably likes where they're at in terms of depth. Quentin Clark comes to mind. And who knows what PJ Nelson and Jamari Farmer will do. Farmer is pretty much a clone of Hardy. 

DL - They added a lot of depth in the portal and we're going to see some solid rotation!!! They aren't going to replace CJ West so heavy rotation is what I fully suspect. I'm extremely high on Stephen Daley. Kellan Wyatt played a hybrid EDGE/LB type at Maryland, so who knows if he ends up on the line or with the LBs or both! 

DB - Another position that was hit in the portal. Some really solid players that can contribute and make impact plays to help Ponds. 

WR - They are stacked from top to bottom. The lowest guy in that room is Charlie Becker. They lost Morris but gained Brady from Cal, someone The Nandolarian is familiar with. 

Our defense should be really really good. Like win some important games good, even with injuries, should that god forbid happen. 

Bottom line, this team is the most stacked IUFB has ever had. A lot of the backups would be successful starters for a lot of our previous teams, which isn't saying much, but it gives you a picture. I am a biased homer and might be talking out of my ars but I truly feel like this is our best team we've ever had. For real. 

[AH1971 3,436]

27 minutes ago, Lebowski said:

I'm not worried about the WR and the defense in general. Yeah, there are question marks about some back-ups on the D but they're still pretty solid with depth. 

LB - There are two LB's (Hardy and Jones) that can play both spots (WILL and MIKE) in a pinch. I'm guessing that's the reason why they didn't add another LB in the portal. It also means the staff probably likes where they're at in terms of depth. Quentin Clark comes to mind. And who knows what PJ Nelson and Jamari Farmer will do. Farmer is pretty much a clone of Hardy. 

DL - They added a lot of depth in the portal and we're going to see some solid rotation!!! They aren't going to replace CJ West so heavy rotation is what I fully suspect. I'm extremely high on Stephen Daley. Kellan Wyatt played a hybrid EDGE/LB type at Maryland, so who knows if he ends up on the line or with the LBs or both! 

DB - Another position that was hit in the portal. Some really solid players that can contribute and make impact plays to help Ponds. 

WR - They are stacked from top to bottom. The lowest guy in that room is Charlie Becker. They lost Morris but gained Brady from Cal, someone The Nandolarian is familiar with. 

Our defense should be really really good. Like win some important games good, even with injuries, should that god forbid happen. 

Bottom line, this team is the most stacked IUFB has ever had. A lot of the backups would be successful starters for a lot of our previous teams, which isn't saying much, but it gives you a picture. I am a biased homer and might be talking out of my ars but I truly feel like this is our best team we've ever had. For real. 

Love your optimism but just have to disagree. Losing Fisher would be monumental. We all have high hopes of Hardy taking a huge jump but that isn't always a guarantee. You become extremely thin (and inexperienced) if he goes down. Any time you talk about relying on a true freshman at one of the most important positions on the field, you're generally in trouble.

Same with interior DL. I think we're set on the outside, but you lose one of Wheeler, Tucker, or Ratcliffe you're more than likely relying on a true freshman to play a bunch of snaps in a league notorious for producing high level interior offensive lineman.

 

 

[Lebowski 3,776]

17 minutes ago, AH1971 said:

Love your optimism but just have to disagree. Losing Fisher would be monumental. We all have high hopes of Hardy taking a huge jump but that isn't always a guarantee. You become extremely thin (and inexperienced) if he goes down. Any time you talk about relying on a true freshman at one of the most important positions on the field, you're generally in trouble.

Same with interior DL. I think we're set on the outside, but you lose one of Wheeler, Tucker, or Ratcliffe you're more than likely relying on a true freshman to play a bunch of snaps in a league notorious for producing high level interior offensive lineman.

Losing Fish, Ponds or Kamara will be devastating, no doubt. So let's hope we don't lose any of them! LOL!

Injuries happen and isn't anything new. The two LBs have a combined total of 307 snaps (Hardy 107 snaps and Jones 207 snaps) from last year. I don't know who starts but either one of them will be Fish's back up. I'm guessing Jones, but again, no clue if that will be the case. Assuming Jones is the back up, I still think he'll end up getting a lot of snaps this season. Definitely more than 200 and probably closer to double that number. It think the staff is going to want him to be the back up for Fisher so they have experience behind him if any type of injury happens. Quentin Clark must have really made an impression to the staff because, again, they didn't add someone in the portal. He only played 1 snap last year but he has had a full year of development in the books. And I think he gets a lot more snaps this year as well. 

Regarding the DL, Landino played 140 snaps over 12 games last year. He did that on an 11 win P2 team. He was recruited by Coach Cig and staff at JMU and they believed in him enough to offer him at IU. They didn't red shirt him for good reason. How many times do you see a DL that is barely a 3* make any kind of impact in their true freshman season?  But he did. He might be an anomaly.

I do fully understand your concern but I just have faith in this staff. They develop players, put the pieces together, and have won at every school they have coached. They've done it at every stop. IUFB finally has a coaching staff with continuity and that's why I'm so optimistic. 

Most importantly, let's hope no major injuries occur and this type of discussion is just for us to kill time until the season starts. Cause man, I don't even want to think about an injured Fish. 

[CSP 12,241]

The exercise of worrying about how bad it would be if we lose an All B1G Ten performer isn't for me and not all that relevant. 

Just be thankful to have them

[DChoosier 9,958]

So….the 2025 Bronco Nagurski defensive player of the year watchlist has been released.

60 players, from 41 different schools are on the list.  Georgia leads the way with 4 players on the list while fellow powerhouses Alabama, Texas, Oregon and INDIANA each have 3 players on the list.  I love, but admittedly am still not used to, seeing us on lists like this!!

The Big Ten has 14 players on this defensive players watch list. The tally by school is:

Indiana - 3 (obviously Kamara, Ponds and Fisher)

Oregon - 3

OSU - 2

ILL - 2

PSU - 2

Iowa - 1

Minnesota - 1

Of the 11 non-IU BT players on the list IU plays teams that have 10/11 of those players. 
Can’t wait for the season to start !! 

[8bucks 7,617]

6 hours ago, Lebowski said:

I'm not worried about the WR and the defense in general. Yeah, there are question marks about some back-ups on the D but they're still pretty solid with depth. 

LB - There are two LB's (Hardy and Jones) that can play both spots (WILL and MIKE) in a pinch. I'm guessing that's the reason why they didn't add another LB in the portal. It also means the staff probably likes where they're at in terms of depth. Quentin Clark comes to mind. And who knows what PJ Nelson and Jamari Farmer will do. Farmer is pretty much a clone of Hardy. 

DL - They added a lot of depth in the portal and we're going to see some solid rotation!!! They aren't going to replace CJ West so heavy rotation is what I fully suspect. I'm extremely high on Stephen Daley. Kellan Wyatt played a hybrid EDGE/LB type at Maryland, so who knows if he ends up on the line or with the LBs or both! 

DB - Another position that was hit in the portal. Some really solid players that can contribute and make impact plays to help Ponds. 

WR - They are stacked from top to bottom. The lowest guy in that room is Charlie Becker. They lost Morris but gained Brady from Cal, someone The Nandolarian is familiar with. 

Our defense should be really really good. Like win some important games good, even with injuries, should that god forbid happen. 

Bottom line, this team is the most stacked IUFB has ever had. A lot of the backups would be successful starters for a lot of our previous teams, which isn't saying much, but it gives you a picture. I am a biased homer and might be talking out of my ars but I truly feel like this is our best team we've ever had. For real. 

Rewatched the UCLA game tonight and got to wondering if we might be overlooking how good Rourke was last year.  Sure he wasn’t too mobile but he was incredibly accurate with a variety of throws with touch. He made it look so easy

[Hardwood83 5,128]

40 minutes ago, 8bucks said:

Rewatched the UCLA game tonight and got to wondering if we might be overlooking how good Rourke was last year.  Sure he wasn’t too mobile but he was incredibly accurate with a variety of throws with touch. He made it look so easy

Yes, he made the right read nearly every time and delivered the ball soooooo well. No doubt Mendoza is more physically talented, if he is even 80% as smart as Rourke? IU is gonna freaking roll. 

[Hovadipo 62,058]

9 hours ago, 8bucks said:

Rewatched the UCLA game tonight and got to wondering if we might be overlooking how good Rourke was last year.  Sure he wasn’t too mobile but he was incredibly accurate with a variety of throws with touch. He made it look so easy

I sure hope folks haven’t overlooked that. Rourke was freakin’ incredible. It was in an understated way; no flash, not a cannon, poor guy couldn’t out-run Cig on that knee, but he was razor sharp. The entire offense was a well-oiled machine from the depth guys all the way up to Shanahan, but Rourke made that thing go. 

[IndyHoosier1997 220]

Rourke did struggle in my view against better teams when the O Line didn’t hold up. Obviously ACL was a big part of that. 
 

but he just couldn’t move, couldn’t extend plays, and it’s really hard for your pass protection to hold consistently against teams like OSU and Notre Dame. 
 

that’s one element Mendoza brings, the guy can move.