In Indiana’s Thursday practice, Curt Cignetti has done something he has never done before, but the goal is simply to build depth at QB. For the upcoming season, the Hoosiers’ QB room consists of a mix of high-profile transfer additions and returning homegrown talent. And there are three redshirt freshmen, leading the head coach to try a new approach.

In his remarks after the practice, Curt Cignetti said that he sat Josh Hoover out at practice so that other quarterbacks on the depth chart could get some snaps. As the presumptive QB1 for the 2026 season, Hoover brings a wealth of experience from TCU, where he posted a 19–12 record over 31 starts and arrives as the nation’s leading returning passer with over 9,600 career yards. Skipping one day of practice may not affect him much, but it will definitely help the red-shirt freshmen.

“That’s the first time I’ve done that,” said Cignetti. “But we needed to do it to kind of find out more about these guys. I needed to see him (Hoover) against better competition. You know what I mean? I needed to see Tyler Cherry with the ones. I needed to see Maverick Geske with the two. And I needed to get Jacob Bell more work because he’s got a live arm, and I probably need to get him some two works here.”

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Following the departure of 2025 Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza, Indiana has the likes of Hoover and Grant Wilson. The latter brought 14 games of Division I starting experience from Old Dominion last season. He appeared in three games during the Hoosiers’ undefeated 2025 season and remains with the program as the primary backup. Besides these two, the QB room’s experience is limited.

Tyler Cherry, a former 4-star high school recruit from the 2024 class, is returning to the depth chart after missing the 2025 championship season due to a significant knee injury. Then reserve QB Bell and walk-on Geske, a local product from Indianapolis, both redshirted last season. Now, these QBs are learning under Tino Sunseri, but to Hoover, this is a new system too.

Curt Cignetti has confidence in Josh Hoover

Leading Indiana to its first-ever national title in 2025 in his first season with the Hoosiers, Fernando Mendoza set the bar high. Now, if Josh Hoover takes the starting QB position, he has big shoes to fill. But having already done with it with one transfer QB, Cignetti knows what Hoover is also capable of.

“He’s got a body of work in terms of winning football games, passing yards, and touchdown passes,” said Cignetti. “Got to clean up some of the turnovers, obviously.”

In his first full season as a starter in 2024, Hoover played in 13 games, and he set TCU’s single-season passing record with 3,949 yards. Last season, he started all 12 regular-season games, but he opted out of the Alamo Bowl to enter the transfer portal. Over three seasons, he recorded 71 TDs, but he had 33 interceptions.

“But when Josh got here, he met his two new best friends: a great defense and a really good run game,” said Cignetti.

Indiana has weapons to protect its QB. The support system includes a defense that ranked No. 2 nationally by allowing just 11.7 PPG, complemented by a rushing attack featuring Roman Hemby and Kaelon Black, who combined for 2,160 yards in 2025.

With a championship-caliber defense and run game already in place, the pressure is now squarely on Hoover to prove he’s the final piece for another title run.