Connection Building -- Hoover Set to ‘Attack’ Hoosier Opportunity
Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Indiana media swarms Josh Hoover for the first time. The TCU transfer is the center of attention at Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium, the spring game behind him, summer workouts and August camp ahead, preparing for the biggest challenge of his career:
Replacing Fernando Mendoza as quarterback for the reigning national champions.
“I’m trying to be the best version of myself and be who I am every day,” he says. “That’s all I can do. Be myself. Fernando is an unbelievable person and player. I have to be myself, do my best for IU, and make guys around me better.”
So far, say Hoosier teammates, so good.
“Josh is one of the hardest workers that I’ve met, and he throws so much,” veteran receiver Charlie Becker says. “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. As soon as last season was over, we were texting. 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.”
Running backs Khobie Martin and Turbo Richard seek similar connections. They figure to have significant receiving roles as well as pass protection responsibilities. Beyond that, they have seen Hoover’s leadership impact.
“He’s adapted to the culture,” Martin says. “He’s a great guy and a great leader. That’s off the field. On the field, he’s a great dude, a great quarterback. He can really throw the rock.”
That’s what you’d expect from the active FBS leader in career passing yards (9,629) and touchdowns (71).
“He pushes offense to be good,” Richard says. “Breaking the huddle hard and fast, and making sure everybody’s good with their assignments, and overall having the offense run smoothly.”
There's more to it than that.
What drew the 6-foot-2, 200-pound Hoover to Indiana after three-plus standout years at TCU?
“I wanted to get better,” he says. “I wanted to be the best quarterback I could be. Number one, I felt coming here would give me a chance to get better, get developed by some great coaches and No. 2, be part of a great program with a bunch of great guys who are unselfish.
“They’re not me guys, they’re team guys. That’s what I wanted. That’s the vision I had -- to be around great guys, great coaches, and a great community. A place where you can compete for championships and win.”
IU under head coach Curt Cignetti hits all those standards -- a 27-2 two-year record, Big Ten and national titles, elite offense, dynamic passing game, potent rushing attack, shutdown defense, exceptional special teams, and the ability to thrive in the biggest moments.
It’s a winning culture, a proven process, a potential life-changing opportunity, and Hoover pushes to make the most of it.
“I’m trying to work hard, set the precedent. Put the work in to be the best I can be every day. Try to make other guys around me better.
“It’s like Coach says, it’s a process. It’s a long season. We’ve got a lot of time to work. We’re going to take advantage of that time. Bring guys along, continue to develop my game and the guys around me. Put in the work.”
Hoover arrives with those impressive numbers that also includes a 65.2 completion percentage over 36 games, and if he isn’t flawless (33 interceptions and 42 total turnovers), well, nobody is. Mendoza wasn’t coming out of the University of California, but he took advantage of his one-year IU opportunity to win the Heisman Trophy and lead the Hoosiers to college football’s promised land.
Can Hoover do the same?
“I’ve got so much respect for Fernando with him coming in last year and what he did,” he says. “He won the Heisman, the Big Ten championship, the national championship. He did it all. Anybody who does that, I have the utmost respect for.”
Mendoza’s presence loomed large over the spring game when he was selected No. 1 overall by the Las Vegas Raiders in the NFL Draft. The game was briefly stopped so fans could acknowledge the accomplishment.
“That’s awesome for him and his family,” Hoover says.
He says he briefly interacted with Mendoza during IU’s early April Pro Day.
“He’s one of the best guys in the world. I’m definitely pulling for him (in the NFL). He’s going to do wonderful.”
Hoover hopes to do the same someday and even though Mendoza isn’t in Bloomington, film of him in action -- games and practices -- is invaluable.
“I’ve watched a lot of his tape,” Hoover says. “He’s a great person to learn from on tape. It’s an advantage to learn from someone like that.”
Taking over for Mendoza to lead a program coming off a 16-0 season is a challenge not for the easily intimidated. Hoover certainly isn’t. Cignetti knew that when signing him.
“He embraced that challenge when he made the decision to come here,” Cignetti says. “He’s a process-oriented guy. He’s trying to make the most of every rep right now. There’s not a lot of scrutiny other than the coaches’ scrutiny going on.
“He’s played a lot of football. I’m confident he’ll come out of (August) camp ready to play well and build off his successes.”
Hoover’s past success includes leading TCU to an 18-8 record over the past two seasons. That experience, he says, will help his transition in mastering the Hoosier attack directed by offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan and co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Tino Sunseri.
“There are plays I’ve run before that probably a lot of people run. There are a lot of plays that everybody does different. I have that experience of running similar plays. It’s just figuring out how does Coach Cignetti want it; how does Coach Shanahan and Coach Tino want it. Get that down and married up with their vision of it. It’s about getting better every day.”
Don’t judge Hoover’s potential from the spring game. A battered offensive line (missing Carter Smith, Bray Lynch, and Baylor Wilkin), combined with key skills players out with injury (no Becker or running back Lee Beebe Jr.) while going against defensive coordinator Bryant Haines’ complex attack, limited his effectiveness.
Plus, IU’s previous two starting quarterback under Cignetti, Mendoza and Kurtis Rourke, also struggled in the spring while adapting to a new system and coaching staff, then went on to standout seasons.
“I’d say Josh is right where Fernando was last year and Kurtis the year before,” Cignetti says. “He knows how to play quarterback. He’s thrown for a lot of yards and touchdown passes. He’s a quick thinker, nice touch, accurate with the ball. I like where he’s at.”
Facing Haines’ offense-wrecking defense is a challenge and a benefit.
“You see why Coach Haines is who he is,” Hoover says. “That defense has made me so much better. I’ve never played against anything that was as complex and able to disguise like they do. I have a lot of respect for that side of the ball and for Coach Haines and all those coaches on defense.
“It was good for me to go against that every day, play against a top defense in the country. They have good players and a good pass rush. It will only make us better. I’m appreciative.”
Appreciation comes with the main goal of achieving offensive comfort.
“Any time you get in a new offense,” Hoover says, “the first steps are learning what it is and what you do. What the coaches want; what their idea is; what their picture is for the plays, and how they run this offense.
“As the spring went on, it got better as far as knowing what they wanted. Marrying up footwork and reads and seeing the coverage and defense. I got more comfortable. That was the big thing.”
It will continue to be a big thing moving forward.
“This summer there will be things we address, and things we need to get better at,” Hoover says. “That’s what we’ll do. We’ll get them addressed. That’s what spring was for, to get problems exposed and address them. We’ll get there.”
It starts Sept. 5 against North Texas. Doubt Hoover and the Hoosiers at your own risk.
“We’ve got 125 days till our first game,” he says. “We have 90 days in the summer before fall camp. We’ll figure out the steps we need to get better and continue to improve.
“It’s about getting comfortable, developing the chemistry with these guys. It’s a day-by-day process. You have to attack it. That’s what we’re going to do. I’m excited about it.”