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BLOOMINGTON — An annual rite of spring has been a new quarterback competition for the Indiana football team.
There’s a fresh round of optimism this year with the program hiring Curt Cignetti, a coach with a proven history of developing quarterbacks. The same is true of the brain trust he hired — offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan and quarterbacks coach Tino Sunseri — to guide the competition.
The one part of the cycle that hasn’t changed is the influx of new talent.
Indiana signed former MAC Offensive Player of the Year Kurtis Rourke (Ohio) out of the transfer portal while adding a pair of quarterbacks from the high school ranks — four-star recruit Tyler Cherry and former JMU commit Alberto Mendoza.
Cherry was the No. 233 ranked player in the 2024 signing class and No. 6 in-state prospect, according to 247 Sports composite rankings. The one-time Duke commit reopened his recruitment right as Cignetti arrived in Bloomington.
“Right now, quarterbacks are attracted to us because, when you put — take four different guys in five years and they’re all Player of the Year in the conference and they all have different styles, they recognize that you do a great job of developing quarterbacks,” Cignetti said, on early signing day.
The two holdovers from last year are Tayven Jackson and Broc Lowry. Jackson threw for 914 yards with two touchdowns and five interceptions in five starts last season. Lowry redshirted as a true freshman.
That group minus Mendoza, a summer enrollee, will be competing for the starting job this spring.
Ohio quarterback Kurtis Rourke, center, runs between Iowa State defensive back Ben Nikkel, left, and Ohio tight end Will Kacmarek during an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023 in Athens, Ohio. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)
‘It’s all going to be earned on the field’
Cignetti’s…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/spring-practice-know-indiana-football-091614629.html
Author : The Herald-Times
Publish date : 2024-03-21 09:16:14
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