Curt Cignetti reveals how Indiana will protect Josh Hoover from committing turnovers
· Yahoo Sports
Indiana football is one of the early favorites to challenge for the 2026 College Football Playoff Championship. If the Hoosiers have any question marks on their roster, however, it's at that most important of positions: quarterback.
Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti, tasked with replacing Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 overall draft pick Fernando Mendoza, went into the portal to get his quarterback of the future in TCU signal-caller Josh Hoover.
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In a recent film review with ESPN's Rece Davis, Cignetti turned on game film and showed the all-22 of Hoover against Stanford in 2024. Cignetti came away impressed as he watched Hoover rip a 46-yard deep pass late in the second half.
"That shows you the arm talent," Cignetti said in his interview with Davis. “He's got an innate ability to play quarterback and I think he processes really quickly, too."
The 65-year-old coach then switched to a different camera angle of Hoover, one that simulates the quarterback’s point of view against defensive coverage. He said it was obvious Hoover has a special ability to process a defense.
"I think there's no doubt. It stands out right now," Cignetti said of Hoover. "You just follow his eyes and feet and what goes on on defense, and you can tell whether he sees it or not. Some guys just can't see it very well. Some guys can. Just like some people are really good at video games and some people aren't."
Hoover has big shoes to fill after transferring to Indiana, which went undefeated and won the national championship last season with Mendoza. Cignetti picked out a few plays to go over with Davis in a study session, which included multiple plays from Hoover’s three seasons as starter at TCU.
While Hoover put up gaudy numbers — 9,629 passing yards with 79 total touchdowns for the Horned Frogs — Cignetti noted his new quarterback struggled with interceptions at times, throwing 33 picks in his career.
Cignetti detailed his confidence in Hoover at Indiana, along with how the Hoosiers plan to use their new quarterback this season.
"We're probably going to run the ball more than Josh has in the past," Cignetti said. "He did a lot of RPOs, which we do a lot of RPOs and that was great, I was really glad to see that when I watched him.
"We're going to take some pressure off him because he did turn the ball over a little too much at TCU, he'll be the first to admit that. He won't be in quite as many of those situations here."
Indiana’s Big Ten slate will be a step up in competition for Hoover as well, especially as the Hoosiers face expected tough defenses against Ohio State and Michigan, among others.
But it’s clear Cignetti is excited for his new quarterback, even if Hoover doesn’t turn out to be Mendoza. It doesn’t hurt that Indiana’s offensive system, led by offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan, is proving to be one of the best in college football.
"He's a smart guy, and he's going to play a good quarterback for us," Cignetti said. "Coming out of spring ball, he's about where all the other ones were, and all the other ones were player of the year in the league. I'm not saying he's gonna be, but he's going to play a good quarterback for us."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Curt Cignetti reveals how Indiana will protect Josh Hoover from committing turnovers