Big-Play Potential -- Hemby Looks Forward to Hoosier Challenge
Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Roman Hemby wasn’t yet an Indiana Hoosier, didn’t know he would one day choose cream and crimson over Maryland’s red, white, black, and gold.
Flash back to last September. Hemby was a two-time honorable mention All-Big Ten running back for the Terrapins facing a new IU program, one led by head coach Curt Cignetti and his winning culture.
What he saw from Indiana last September made a big impression. In so many ways, now that he is part of that culture, it still does.
“When you have an outside lens and see how things operate and are incorporated with special teams, offense, defense, scheming, see that from the outside, and now the inside, it makes a difference,” he says.
“You know what a program stands for when you have to face them. You see the morals and standards and culture of this program, the close-knit brotherhood, the way the coaches believed in their players. I saw it from the outside and now I see it from the inside. It helps me put my best foot forward.”
The impact for this upcoming season, which opens with an Aug. 30 home game against Old Dominion, could help ensure last year’s 11-2 breakthrough success continues. Hemby is an all-around threat poised to thrive in IU’s balanced attack. In four seasons at Maryland, he totaled 3,352 all-purpose yards -- 2,347 rushing, 921 receiving, 84 on kickoff returns) -- while scoring 27 touchdowns. He rushed for 100-or-more yards seven times and caught a pass in his last 26 games.
“Hemby has got a body of work as a starting player in the Big Ten,” Cignetti says. “He’s been a good player, both running and catching.”
The 6-foot, 208-pound redshirt senior joins an offense that, under offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan, led the Big Ten in scoring last season at 41.3 points while averaging 261.3 passing yards and 165.1 rushing yards per game.
“I love the offense here,” Hemby says. “It’s a pro-style system, a spread offense system where a lot of people can touch the ball, and a lot of people can make plays.”
That’s true mentally as well as physically, he adds.
“The biggest thing that is different here is a lot of the players are really gritty. They do things the right way. They hit the ground running every day and that is something that inspires me. I have been really trying to model my game after that since being here.”
Hemby says every Big Ten team plays with a “hard-nosed mentality,” but “what sets this team apart is the culture. From the staff to the coaches to the players, everybody wants to see each other succeed.”
Learning a new system, he adds, is made easier because “I’ve been playing football since I was 4 years old. Football is still football, although the magnitude changes a little bit.
“I look forward to the challenge. I’ve put a lot of thought into this.”
Hoosier running backs play a big receiving role, and Hemby says he’s ready to do his part.
“I bring a lot to the table as a receiver,” he says, “and that’s true of a lot of running backs in the room. They bring different things. We have all the tools to be a well-knit group.
“For myself, the ability to be able to do a little bit of everything helps me.”
Hemby, like most top players, has NFL aspirations.
“A lot of people look at the next level. The NFL is my end goal, and (pro) coaches want running backs who can play on third down, who can be that guy who can be looked at in a time of need. That’s what I try to do.
“Since being here, I’ve been able to do better in the run game. I’ve always been able to do well in the pass game -- catching screens, catching swings, little check downs. Make myself available in pass protection. I want to fine tune everything to better suit the team and help myself have success.”
Last season, IU beat a 3-1 Maryland team 42-28 at Memorial Stadium to improve to 5-0. Hemby rushed for 117 yards with a 75-yard touchdown run.
“Their front was very challenging,” he says. “They had speed and talent in the backend. It was a well-rounded defense. We knew we would have trouble with them, but we knew we’d be able to compete.
“It was a good game. They came out on top. I’m glad I was able to see them from that angle. It helps me being on (the offensive) sideline.”
The Hoosiers’ near sell-out crowd, which stayed the entire game despite rainy conditions, left a big impression.
“Nobody left even though the rain was cold and coming down sideways,” Hemby says. “The fans were still engaged. It was a good atmosphere and helped IU. We weren’t able to gain any momentum. When we’d get a sliver of hope, it got taken away. The atmosphere jumped out to me.”
Last season, Hemby led the Terrapins in rushing (607) and touchdowns (six) while averaging 4.5 yards per carry. That was down from 680 yards in 2023 and 989 (with 10 TDs) in 2022.
Maryland had consecutive 8-5 records before slipping to 4-8 last season.
Hemby says the biggest lesson he learned from last year’s struggles was trust.
“Sometimes I would get a little antsy, get a little in my head, because I knew what I was capable of, and I wasn’t putting it on tape. I wasn’t showing up on Saturdays.
“Everybody had blame in it. I can’t point the finger at anybody because there was a lot I needed to do.”
That meant taking a long look in the mirror.
“When the season ended and I got into the weight room, the film room, I looked at myself first. What can I do better? It started with my mentality and how I go about things.
“It’s being able to read the defense faster because at this level, holes open and close fast. I was able to see that sometimes I was frustrated at external things, sometimes they were internal. I reflected on that and built myself back up as a person, made my relationship with God a little stronger.”
Hemby says he was in the transfer portal for maybe two weeks before choosing IU.
“I pretty much had my head down and wanted to work and see what came to me. I had a few opportunities, but when I came on my visit here, I really fell in love with the university. So, there was nothing really else that needed to be said, nothing else that needed to be done. It was pretty much a done deal.”
He adds that facing Indiana and seeing last season’s dramatic improvement factored in his decision to become a Hoosier.
“I took everything into consideration. The times I played (at Memorial Stadium), the times that I played Indiana in general; they have been great games and great atmospheres.
“The Big Ten, I feel, is the best conference. When you can go out there and show what a running back can do on a stage like this, it helps you a lot. I knew getting an opportunity to come here and seeing what happened last year and seeing the success that the program had, I knew that if I could submit myself as a player to contribute, I would be doing a good thing. That is why I made the decision to come here.”