Indiana QB Josh Hoover continues to progress, make 'offense run smoothly' as spring practice nears its end

It’s the third spring camp for Curt Cignetti at Indiana and it’s the third different quarterback he’s had under center. Like the first two seasons, there’s no quarterback competition for the starting spot, but there’s a continuous learning curve that’s needed. As spring practice wraps up, Cignetti is happy with the development and progression of Josh Hoover.

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“I think we’re putting new stuff in still, so he’s learning the offense. He’s probably about where most of the other quarterbacks have been at this point in the spring,” Cignetti said on Thursday. “We’re a little thin on the offensive line, so when we go to team periods the protection isn’t the best in the world. So he doesn’t have a lot of time to get rid of the ball.”

Hoover was widely regarded as one of the top quarterback transfers in the portal this offseason. After throwing for 3,472 yards and 29 touchdowns a season ago, he brought his career total to 9,627 yards and 71 touchdowns while completing 65.2 percent of his passes as a three-year starter at TCU.

From a stats standpoint, the body of work and experience that Hoover arrived in Bloomington with is more impressive than the previous two starters at Indiana, Kurtis Rourke and Fernando Mendoza.

It was one of the qualities that stood out immediately to this coaching staff when looking for a replacement for the Heisman-winner and projected No. 1 overall pick in this April’s NFL Draft.

Even with the ‘body of work’ that came with him, it wasn’t going to help bypass the learning curve that was needed in the offense, with his new receivers and understanding a new culture. But immediately his leadership and drive stood out to his teammates.

“Josh is one of the hardest workers that I’ve met, and he throws so much,” IU receiver Charlie Becker said. “I don’t know how he does it, my arm would fall off. He texts me probably every day asking if we want to throw, just to be able to build that connection, which is good.”  

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That’s high praise coming from a receiver who spent last year with Fernando Mendoza, who has been widely praised around college and NFL circles for his preparation and work ethic.

“As soon as last season was over, me and Josh were texting,” Becker said. “We had a little break, so he was like, ‘As soon as you guys get back, let’s get right to it’. After every workout, we’ve been throwing and just trying to build that connection that me and Fernando (Mendoza) had.”

Becker isn’t the only receiver, or offensive player, working through an offseason change. Only two other skill position players who are expected to play significant roles this year were on the roster last year. So, the balance between building that connection, learning the ropes of the system and Indiana culture while setting the tone as the leader, is a high bar to set — let alone hit.

Hoover is doing that so far.

“I feel like he’s a great leader,” IU transfer running back Turbo Richard said of Hoover. “You know, he pushes offense to be good. Breaking the huddle hard and fast, and making sure everybody’s good with their assignments. And just overall having an offense run smoothly.”

Hoover, the FBS active leader in career passing yards and passing touchdowns, will not fully replace the leadership and personality of Mendoza — but that’s not what’s asked of him.

It’s to be the best version of himself that caught the eye of the staff this offseason and the early attention of his teammates.

Doing so will help everything else figure itself out.

“Catching a ball is catching a ball,” Becker said. “It doesn’t really matter who it’s coming from. You just got to as a receiver, you just got to do your job.

“I’ve been sitting in the quarterbacks meetings during spring ball, which has personally helped me a lot in just being able to try to understand what they’re thinking and how they’re reading coverages, just so I know how to help them out even more. I think just making sure that I know what Josh is thinking versus different coverages and all the quarterbacks, I think that’s a way to really elevate our game as receivers.”

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