IUFB Spring Game: Matchup to Watch

Written by: Nate Comp (@NathanComp1)

We’ll get our first look at first-year head coach Curt Cignetti’s progress with the team this week as Indiana football officially kicks off their spring game Thursday night at 8pm inside Memorial Stadium. The spring game will mark the end of the spring practice session which lasted roughly a month.

There are a lot of changes with the roster since we last saw it in November! With 24 players transferring out and 22 new Hoosiers transferring in, while also adding a 17-player freshman class (not all of which are on campus yet), there will certainly be a lot to have our eyes on. But what will be the main matchup to watch? My belief is it will be the Indiana receivers versus the Indiana secondary.

Starting with the receivers. We saw this offseason a lot of change in the room. On paper, it all looks like this will be for the better. It started off with keeping star receiver Donaven McCulley, who entered the transfer portal but ultimately decided to stay with the Hoosiers. McCulley really came on at the end of last season, totaling 28 receptions for 420 yards and five TDs in Indiana’s final five contests. Indiana also returns Omar Cooper and EJ Williams (he has been limited in spring practice due to injury), but our eyes will really be on some new additions to the room: Elijah Sarratt (JMU), Myles Price (Texas Tech), Ke’Shawn Williams (Wake Forest), and Miles Cross (Ohio).

All four of these guys are new to the roster and expected to play a big role in Cignetti’s offense this season. This will be the public’s first look at them, and in Cignetti’s high-powered offense, the wide receiver room will certainly be one to watch.

And on the other side of the ball, matched up against the wide receiver room, we have the Indiana secondary. Cignetti has already mentioned that he expects the Indiana secondary to look different once the fall comes around, so both the cornerback and safety rooms are a bit in transition at the moment. In fact, we saw just yesterday FCS All-American cornerback Cedarius Doss from Austin Peay was added to the cornerback room. So things are still a bit in flux, and more turnover/additions are likely when the second transfer portal window is open from April 16-30. But for now, I am interested to see where the secondary stands.

There are some familiar names: Nic Toomer, Josh Sanguinetti, Amare Ferrell, Kobee Minor, and Jamari Sharpe come to mind. But where do some of the new additions, like Shawn Asbury II and Terry Jones Jr. slot in? And how does Jamier Johnson slot in after injuries kept him sidelines most of last season? All things I will be watching as the spring game kicks off.

For all spring game coverage, make sure to stay tuned in to everything we are doing at Hoosier Huddle. We are treating this week as a mini-game week content wise, so stay tuned and enjoy the spring game Thursday!