‘Needs Addressed’ – Strong Newcomer Class Reflects Unprecedented Success
Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - And so, after eight months of full-throttle action, unprecedented success, difference-making recruiting, another strong transfer portal showing and even a key hire, Indiana football coaches rested.
Well, they thought about it.
The aftermath of an 11-2 playoff season finds Class of 2025 recruiting over and immediate urgency in the rear-view mirror. The class includes 42 scholarship newcomers, with 33 enrolled in the second semester and preparing for spring practice. Those 33 consist of 19 college transfers, most of whom will likely have key roles next season, and 14 freshmen, most of whom are likely to be developed. The rest will arrive in the summer, as well as any late spring transfer additions because in this transfer portal era, you always plan for the unexpected.
“I feel like we addressed the needs that we needed to address for the '25 season,” head coach Curt Cignetti said on Wednesday. “The high school guys are developmental, our kind of guys.
“The staff is looking forward to taking a couple of days off. I don't think we really had a day off since we came back to work in July.”
The most heralded newcomer is quarterback Fernando Mendoza, a transfer from the University of California. Considered the nation’s No. 3-ranked transfer quarterback prospect, he won three ACC quarterback-of-the-week awards last season while throwing for 3,004 yards and 14 touchdowns.
He is the older brother of Alberto Mendoza, a Hoosier freshman.
“We’d been aware of him for a while because we got Alberto, the younger brother, here,” Cignetti said. “He was a two-year starter at Cal. He did a lot of really good things on tape.”
As the coaching cliché says, tape doesn’t lie.
“He was under duress quite a bit,” Cignetti said. “The protection wasn't great out there. Not only did he show the ability to make all the throws from the pocket, but to extend plays and be able to make plays on the move with his arm and his legs. He's an extremely intelligent guy, and he's got two years (of eligibility remaining).
“He was a target. It was a good day when he decided to come.”
For years, Cignetti and his offensive coaching staff have thrived with transfer quarterbacks. That includes Kurtis Rourke, the former Ohio University standout who last year emerged as one of the nation’s best players by completing 69.4 percent of his passes for 3,042 yards, an IU single-season-record 29 touchdowns, and five interceptions.
“We've had great success with quarterbacks,” Cignetti said. “We had four-straight conference offensive players of the year, and then Kurtis was No. 1 in the country in quarterback rating but made second-team all-conference. He had a great year.”
Quarterbacks coach Tino Sunseri left to become the offensive coordinator at UCLA. Cignetti replaced him with Chandler Whitmer, who spent the past four seasons in the NFL working as an offensive quality control assistant for the Los Angeles Chargers and then pass game specialist for the Atlanta Falcons. In both roles, he worked mostly with quarterbacks, including former Hoosier Michael Penix Jr. at Atlanta.
“I was very impressed with Chandler in our conversations,” Cignetti said. “He came highly recommended. He has a lot of knowledge. He’s been around a lot of great people. He’s an excellent teacher.”
Whitmer’s background includes working with NFL quarterbacks such as Justin Herbert, Trevor Lawrence, and Justin Fields.
“We were looking to bring in a guy to develop the quarterback,” Cignetti said. “First and foremost, we wanted a quarterback developer. You're always looking for ideas from every staff member, but his No. 1 job is to develop the quarterback.”
IU’s success last season – including its first playoff appearance – enabled it to once again thrive in the transfer portal. That included the return of defensive back Louis Moore (who played for the Hoosiers, transferred to Ole Miss for a season, then transferred back) and offensive lineman Kahlil Benson (another former Hoosier who left for Colorado and then rejoined the IU program), and key additions such as offensive lineman Pat Coogan from Notre Dame and Zen Michalski from Ohio State, tight ends Holden Staes from Tennessee and Riley Nowakowski from Wisconsin, receiver Tyler Morris from Michigan and even IU receiver E.J. Williams Jr., who entered the transfer portal last fall before deciding to return to the Hoosiers.
“I think winning opens doors,” Cignetti said. “There's no doubt about it. Now, whether they're more talented remains to be seen. We haven't had a practice yet.”
That’s coming soon. Players are currently heavily invested in the winter strength and conditioning program.
“We like who we got,” Cignetti said about the transfers. “They checked the boxes in terms of character and athletic ability. Almost all of them were starters where they came from. I think we had one guy that had started and played significant minutes but wasn't a full-time starter. They fit what we're looking for and they fit our positions of need.”
As for the true freshmen, Cignetti said the top priority is acclimating them into the IU system.
“Try to get them up to speed with the standards, the day-in and day-out consistency, the routine. When they come in as freshmen, they're behind the older guys, so they're just trying to get in the groove and make progress daily.
“All we ask of anybody in this program is be accountable, be where you're supposed to be, and hopefully five minutes early, do your best and rub off on others positively, and the process will take care of itself.
“There's no pressure on anyone to be a starter in the fall or whatever. It's just do those things and you'll develop.”
The recruiting success is in addition to retaining key returning players, highlighted by All-Big Ten performers Aiden Fisher (linebacker), D’Angelo Ponds (cornerback), Mikail Kamara (defensive end), Elijah Sarratt (receiver), Carter Smith (offensive lineman), and Nicolas Radicic (kicker).
"The very visible players, we handled those guys on the front end," Cignetti said. “The retention piece wasn’t an issue.
“I think everybody was in a good place, excited about where we're going. They obviously had a good experience last fall. We didn't lose anybody that was in our long-term plan, which is a real plus.”
Cignetti and his staff are determined to show last year’s success wasn’t a one-year thing, that the Hoosiers are gearing to be perennial Big Ten and playoff contenders. The next step is spring ball. Cignetti said it comes down to developing players and practice habits.
“That’s where you start to develop some intangibles on your team -- consistency, toughness, resiliency, competitiveness. You get an idea of what your two-deep might look like heading into the fall. And then you might look at a couple of things schematically -- offense, defense, special teams -- which is a continual process.”