NOTEBOOK: Gearing Up for Old Dominion
Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Anticipation has grown, hype has built, and this much is certain as Indiana wraps up preparations for Saturday’s season opener against Old Dominion at Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium:
The Fernando Mendoza quarterback era is set to begin, and Hoosier Nation can’t wait.
After thriving at the University of California for 20 games and 19 starts, the 6-foot-5, 225-pound redshirt junior seeks to up his performance as a Hoosier. Why not? IU has talented skill players behind and beside him, a powerful offensive line in front of him, and a coaching staff known for producing elite quarterback play.
At Cal, Mendoza completed 66.4 percent of his passes while throwing for at least 250 yards 10 times. In 11 games last season, he threw for 3,004 yards and 16 touchdowns.
Add it all up and Mendoza is poised for a big season.
Nothing is guaranteed, of course. Head coach Curt Cignetti said the focus isn’t about making Mendoza the team leader as much as a productive player.
“He’s played a lot of football,” Cignetti said, “so I have a lot of confidence in him. I’ve never made it a point to try to make the new quarterback the leader of the team.
“Our focus has always been on developing him, making him the best he can be, because you lead through your actions. There's nothing like positive performance to establish yourself as a leader.”
Under the direction of Cignetti and offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan, Mendoza is prepared to follow the success of Kurtis Rourke last season at IU, and others at James Madison before that.
“He has a skill set and you guys (in the media) can evaluate his skill set during the course of the season,” Cignetti said. “I am not going to give away any secrets.
“Everybody has watched his Cal tape, so they understand who he is. He's a big guy who is very mobile. He’s got a quick whip and good velocity on the ball and can really drive it. He’s done a nice job of learning the offense. He’s not perfect, but nobody out there is."
Much of the responsibility for developing Mendoza falls to new quarterbacks coach Chandler Whitmer, whose background includes four seasons in the NFL as well as college stops at Yale, Ohio State, and Clemson.
“His primary experience was in the NFL and as a college assistant,” Cignetti said of Whitmer. “He had a learning curve in the spring. He’s done a great job. A terrific job. He’s done a great job in mentoring quarterbacks.
“He has great ideas. I’m very pleased. He’ll add a lot to this staff. He has a great work ethic. He’s a film junkie. He’s really smart and a great leader.”
Indiana aims to surpass last season’s 11-2 record and playoff appearance. Cignetti said the Hoosiers came out of fall camp healthy and ready to go.
“I like where we're at in terms of how we practice, and how we compete. The identity is established throughout the season once you start playing the games.
“We've got a lot of nice pieces. We've got a lot of new guys that will be playing their first football for us. So, we’re anxious to see how we respond and react. It's my job to get us to play the way we're supposed to play, my job and the assistants, play in, play out until the game is over from the first play to the last play.”
Like most teams, IU hit the transfer portal hard, bringing in players such as Mendoza, center Pat Coogan (Notre Dame), and running back Roman Hemby (Maryland), although it retained key veterans such as offensive lineman Carter Smith, defensive end Mikail Kamara, linebacker Aiden Fisher, and cornerback D’Angelo Ponds.
August camp was all about blending everyone into a cohesive, thriving force.
“It's a total gear shift in terms of mental intensity, the preparation required, the urgency, staff, and players,” Cignetti said of transitioning from fall camp. “It’s stacking moments, meetings, practices, days, to put ourselves in the best position to play as well as we can on Saturday against a team that I really respect, Old Dominion. It’s a conference (the Sun Belt) that I respect a lot.
“It's all about us and our preparation, having the right mindset, and going out there and playing our brand of ball with a bunch of new faces.”
Cignetti is familiar with the Monarchs’ program as the former James Madison coach and well versed in the history of Sun Belt Conference teams against major conference opponents (remember Marshall over Notre Dame, Georgia Southern over Nebraska and Appalachian State over Texas A&M, all in 2022?).
“We’ve talked about the history of the Sun Belt teams, current members of the Sun Belt and the blue bloods that they have defeated,” he said. “It's a who's who in the top 15.”
Old Dominion is no stranger to playing Power 4 conference teams. Last year, it faced South Carolina and Virginia Tech. In 2023, it was Virginia Tech and Wake Forest. It again plays Virginia Tech this season.
As a two-time All-American, Monarchs’ linebacker Jason Henderson rates among the nation’s best. He’s on the Lombardi Award, Bednarik Award, Walter Camp Award, Butkus Award and Nagurski Trophy watch lists.
Henderson led the nation in tackles in 2022 with 186 and followed that with 170 in 2023. An injury cost him basically all of last season, but he’s healthy now.
Quarterback Colton Joseph is on the Manning Award list after throwing and rushing for 11 touchdowns last season. He had a pair of 300-yard passing games and two 100-yard rushing games. Backup Quinn Henicle also returns, as do four offensive line starters.
“The quarterback can beat you with his legs and his arm,” Cignetti said.
Old Dominion is picked to finish fifth in the Sun Belt Conference, although Athlon Magazine called the Monarchs a dark horse to win the conference championship and earn a bowl bid.
“Offensively, it all begins with the structure and design of the offense,” Cignetti said. “They're going to spread you out. They have big, wide splits, and force you to defend the whole field. They've always been high in the conference in rushing. They do a really nice job.”
IU is set to go with a three running back rotation of veterans Kaelon Black, Hemby, and Lee Beebe Jr. Cignetti and Shanahan prefer a rotation to keep everyone fresh, healthy, and productive.
It worked last year, when Justice Ellison and Ty Son Lawton rushed for a combined 1,516 yards and 22 touchdowns. Black added 251 yards while averaging 5.5 yards a carry.
Hemby had 3,352 all-purpose yards with 27 touchdowns in three years at Maryland. Beebe had 1,276 all-purpose yards with 12 touchdowns at Alabama-Birmingham.
“We've always split the carries,” Cignetti says. “Right now, the top three backs are Hemby, Black, and Beebe. I expect them all to carry the ball Saturday.”