5 storylines to follow for Indiana football heading into the 2024 season

The widely anticipated 2024 season for Indiana football is here. After a long nine-month offseason which consisted of a major roster overhaul and coaching change, Indiana is set for a new era of football.

Curt Cignetti brings a winning culture to Bloomington, looking to change a culture that has gone 9-27 over the last three seasons, including a total of just three Big Ten wins.

After a successful offseason, positive energy is following Indiana into the season — more than ever.

Here are five storylines to follow this season for Indiana football. 

Will Kurtis Rourke continue good trend of QBs under this staff?

It’s no secret that Curt Cignetti, Mike Shanahan and Tino Sunseri have a reputation of developing top quarterbacks in their conferences — including multiple Players of the Year. 

That was a reason for Curt Cignetti landing at Indiana — his resume when it comes to development at the position. The Indiana football program has not had a consistent player under center in the last few seasons, a large reason for its poor record since 2021.

Cignetti’s mantra is, ‘production over potential’ and that’s the case with Kurtis Rourke. The Ohio transfer has been a standout in both spring and fall practice and heads into the season as the clear guy for the Hoosiers. He has 33 starts under his belt in his collegiate career and has thrown for 7,651 yards and 50 touchdowns. That’s production. 

“Rourke stacks days,” Cignetti said. “He had an off day or two last week. Or maybe he wasn’t real good in seven on seven, came back and had a really good two-minute drill. Something like that. But for the most part, he’s been playing good football now.”

In 2021, IU had four quarterbacks see action in at least five games. Nobody threw for more than 940 yards. 2022 was an inconsistent year from Connor Bazelak, and an eventual benching for Dexter Williams. Last year, Brendan Sorsby had flashes of good play but it was the lack of cohesion from the offensive staff that caused issues.

Now, there is a confidence that Rourke can be the guy. He’s proven it before — just not at the Big Ten level. But, with the coaches and scheme around him, it will likely be a successful pairing. 

Time will tell, but it needs to be in order to have a successful debut season for Curt Cignetti. 

Is the offensive line rebuilt enough to be consistent in year two for Bob Bostad?

Bob Bostad was the only coach retained by Cignetti from the previous Indiana football staff. And, it was a big one. 

After losing the entire starting offensive line to the transfer portal or NFL Draft prep, Bostad’s return led way to two key pieces returning. 

Indiana has a backbone with Mike Katic and Carter Smith. That’s clear. It also has Wisconsin transfer Trey Wedig slotted to start. But, it was the injury this fall to Nick Kidwell that had the offensive line reshuffling. Kidwell was a veteran with 34 starts to his name at James Madison. 

Now, there are some questions about the depth of the position and if the line will hold up as a unit the entire season. 

Tyler Stephens, another JMU transfer, has 31 starts in his career and has played numerous positions. His versatility will be significant moving forward. But, IU will now have to rely on the inexperienced lineman of Bray Lynch and Drew Evans to step in and produce. 

“They’re all capable,” Cignetti said. “And we need them to step up.”

The offensive line has been one of the dark spots for Indiana over the last few seasons. This year may be different but the injury to Kidwell certainly throws a wrench into the group just before the season gets underway. 

IUs pass rush stood out in fall camp, can it be a strength of the team?

There’s no question the development and growth of the defensive line was one of the biggest questions heading into fall camp.

After injuries and departures left the unit shorthanded during the spring, that group has stepped up since arriving back on campus for fall camp.

There’s also a trio of pass rushers who are now setting the tone in Mikail Kamara, Lanell Carr and Jacob Mangum-Farrar. All three have different skill sets, but one thing is consistent— their disruptive style of play over the last few weeks.

“I think what you’re seeing is the standard of execution has been raised to a new level now,” Indiana football defensive coordinator Bryant Haines said this fall. “So you’re getting a lot better interior line play this fall camp … Those front-level guys have to go eat, and those guys are eating right now. Fall camp’s been good.”

IU’s pass rush was non-existent over the past few seasons, ranking last in the Big Ten in sacks in 2023 and 12th in 2022. 

With that trio leading the charge and additional transfers like CJ West and James Carpenter, the unit looks primed to take a significant step up in production this year.

Will they? 

Can D’Angelo Ponds be that shutdown corner IU has lacked in recent years?

Something that will coincide with the pass rush is the play of Indiana’s secondary. This offseason was a massive shift in the talent that IU had in its defensive backfield. 

After losing most of the production and consistent snaps from a year ago, it was replaced with numerous transfers who have played significant roles, albeit at a non power conference level. 

One of the biggest names that arrived in Bloomington was James Madison cornerback D’Angelo Ponds. A freshman All-American in 2023, Ponds had 52 tackles, 12 pass deflections, two interceptions and a fumble recovery.

After struggling to see the field on the first few games of the year, his appearance in the lineup made a drastic impact for the Dukes.

James Madison would go on to hold the last nine starting quarterbacks to below 300 yards passing the remainder of the season.

The 5-foot-9 defensive back made an immediate impact during fall camp this month and has proven to be a legit, shutdown corner. 

“I don’t know if we’ve beat him yet on a pass route,” Cignetti told reporters. “He’s just swallowed up that side of the field. He’s a good guy to everybody else to watch in terms of how to do it.”

The biggest question is, will there be enough talent around on in the secondary to help and can Ponds be a shutdown corner at this level.

By all indications, it’s a yes to the latter already.

“The way the scheme is set up, the corners are really on an island. So that’s why it’s big on technique,” Ponds said. “If you don’t trust your technique on an island and you’re by yourself, you’re literally by yourself. So you gotta trust your technique.

Going against a handful of proven and productive wideouts has certainly helped Ponds’ development.

Every defense is led by a star player on the outside and Ponds clearly has the talent and ability. He needs to show it consistently this year. 

Curt Cignetti has talked the talk. Will the results come in year one? 

‘I win. Google me’. Everyone has heard the talk from Curt Cignetti this offseason. Ever since he took over the Indiana football program, it’s been about pumping energy and excitement into the fan base. Well, it’s worked.

Outside of 2021, this has been the most anticipated season in quite some time for Indiana. Not only because there is a new era about to take place, but expectations are interestingly quite high, as well.

Indiana has made it to just five bowl games since 1994 and hasn’t been on the winning side of a postseason game since 1991.

There have been just five winning seasons since 1993.

“Now, I’ve kind of had to speak a big game taking over a job like this because we had to wake some people up and create some excitement,” Cignetti said at Big Ten Media Day. “And after all, this is the entertainment business too.

“I’m not going to tolerate not being successful. I want to make that clear right off the bat.”

Cignetti has won everywhere, to his defense. And he hasn’t changed with the framework and systematic approach at which he carries with. 

13 seasons as a head coach and 13 winning seasons. That gives a long leash in how much talk can truly be done.

Now, it’s time to back it up. 

Indiana has eight home games this year and a schedule that is quite favorable as of now. 

Six wins should be the goal — and it’s doable. It’s also not too high of a number that seems unrealistic. 

But, based on how much Curt Cignetti has talked this offseason, he needs to produce.

“We’re going to change the culture, the mindset, the expectation level, and improve the brand of Indiana Hoosier football,” Cignetti said when he was hired. “There will be no self-imposed limitations on what we can accomplish. It will be a day-by-day process that is hinged on being focused on the present moment and improving as much daily as possible to put yourself in the best position tomorrow.”

Time to put his money where his mouth is. 

SEE ALSO: ‘You get better or you get worse. You never stay the same’: Curt Cignetti sees ‘significant tangible strides’ for Indiana football as fall camp wraps up

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