Indiana football 4-star signee Tyler Cherry ‘most slept on’ QB in 2024 class

The Indiana football program signed 25 players during Wednesday’s National Signing Day and secured key players at numerous positions. It was a ‘whirlwind’ of a first 20 days for new head coach Curt Cignetti who needed to put together a plan of action and execute to fill numerous holes on the roster.

One of the holes was at the quarterback position. Indiana lost starting quarterback Brendan Sorsby to the transfer portal and had just Tayven Jackson with college experience on the roster. Indiana also did not have a quarterback committed in the 2024 class.

But, one of the reasons Cignetti and his staff were brought it was the success and track record they’ve had at developing QBs.

“We really wanted a high-level recruiter. We wanted someone who was a proven evaluator and developer of talent,” IU Athletic Director Scott Dolson said about the hiring process. “And we really wanted someone also who had worked with quarterbacks. Quarterbacks was really important to us.”

Indiana football has played 9 different quarterbacks over the last three seasons, and the lack of consistency at the position has been a real problem for the program.

The last three QBs to play for Cignetti at JMU combined for 10,816 yards, 119 touchdowns and just 18 interceptions. That included numerous Offensive and overall conference Player of the Year honors.

So, getting a quarterback in the class was a key for Cignetti and Indiana — so instead of signing just one, it signed three … in 20 days.

Indiana landed Ohio transfer Kurtis Rourke and then two 2024 signees in 4-star in-state prospect Tyler Cherry and 3-star Miami native and former JMU commit, Alberto Mendoza.

“Right now quarterbacks are attracted to us because, when you put — take four different guys in five years and they’re all Player of the Year in the conference and they all have different styles, they recognize that you do a great job of developing quarterbacks,” Cignetti said on Wednesday. “That’s a credit to Tino Sunseri, our quarterback coach, and Mike Shanahan, offensive coordinator, and I’m involved in that a little bit too.”

For Cherry – he was a Duke commit before re-opening his recruitment just a week before signing day. He chose Indiana over Michigan State.

And, according to On3.com Director of Scouting Charles Power, Cherry is the ‘most slept on’ QB in the class.

“A longtime rankings outlier for On3, Tyler Cherry has some of the best tools among 2024 quarterbacks,” Power wrote in his QB Superlatives article. “At over 6-foot-4 and around 220 pounds, Cherry has a live, quick arm. The ball jumps out of his hand. He’s able to drive the ball to the boundary and fit his throws into small windows over the middle of the field. Cherry is a loose and fluid mover in the pocket. He led his high school to a state title as a junior and elevated his play as a senior, completing 71.5% of his passes for 3,156 yards and 34 touchdowns against six interceptions at 10.3 yards per attempt.

“Cherry came on the scene relatively late – he sat behind then Tennessee commit and current Indiana quarterback Tayven Jackson at Greenwood (Ind.) Center Grove before taking over as a junior. He also was not on the camp circuit. The one-time Duke pledge opened up his recruitment following Mike Elko’s departure for Texas A&M before joining Indiana’s class.”

Cherry is ranked No. 263 overall in the 247Sports Composite Rankings and the No. 17 quarterback. Cherry is also ranked as the No. 5 overall player in Indiana. He is the 234th player on the On3 rankings and the No. 15 quarterback.

Cherry threw for 3,156 yards with 34 touchdowns and six interceptions with a completion percentage of 71.5 as a senior this season. As a junior, Cherry led the Trojans to a State Championship, while throwing for 2,629 yards with 22 touchdowns and only five interceptions. He completed 65.1 percent of his passes.

“The one guy’s got really, really great arm talent. The other guy’s got really, really good arm talent. The one guy’s got really, really good movement. The other guy’s got good movement. They’re both winners. Their teams win, and they win big, and they’re both really smart. Excited about both of them,” Cignetti said about his two signed QBs from high school.

SEE ALSO: ‘We’re bringing a bunch of really good football players’: Curt Cignetti details Indiana football recruiting class after ‘whirlwind’ of first 20 days

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