Indiana Football Quick Hitters: Key Takeaways from IU’s Spring Game

The Curt Cignetti era with Indiana football is *officially* here as IU had its 2024 Spring Game on Thursday night. While it was labeled as a ‘glorified practice’ by Cignetti, it was a chance for fans to finally see the team and continue to build its excitement for this year.

Thursday night was the first time the teams had actually tackled in a live setting and while it was still in a controlled setting at times, there were some eye-popping moments.

Yes, parts of Thursday was basic and not very complex, but there were stilll some key things to take away.

Let’s dive in.

Indiana’s defensive 1s are legit — this Bryant Haines defense will be good. We had heard over the last few months about Bryant Haines and what he wanted to bring to the defensive side of the ball, but the question was, would he have the skillset to do so? Thursday showed he does. The starting group on defense went against the starting group on offense and were in control for the majority of the game. The speed, quickness, and specifically the explosiveness around the field was a massive improvement from the last few years.

A reason for it? The leadership of linebacker Aiden Fisher in the middle of the defense. The middle linebacker had very successful seasons at JMU under Haines and came with Cignetti and co. to Bloomington. His understanding of the defense and the pace they want to play with was notable. He set the tone early and often and became contagious to his teammates.

“I think Bryant Haines sleeps a lot better at night with him,” Cignetti said of Fisher after the game. “He’s like a quarterback of the defense. Knows it inside out, really studies, really respected by his teammates too, helps get others lined up. So making progress, good football player.”

Kobee Minor is back in the secondary and despite dealing with some nagging injuries throughout the spring, showed why he was the best corner for Indiana last year. Jamier Johnson had some very significant moment attacking the ball or defending the deep ball on 1v1 coverage down the field.

It’s clear Mikail Kamara will be a force on the defensive line and once Jacob Mangum-Farrar fully gets the details down related to the ‘stud’ position, that duo will be a tremendous pair attacking the backfield.

Overall, this was a win for the defense.

A wide receiver room that was already deep, looks to be deeper. Everyone knew about Donaven McCulley, EJ Williams, transfer Elijah Sarratt — but it was some of the other names that looked very good on Thursday. The main winner, however? Andison Coby. Coby, who returns to Indiana after just five receptions last year, stole the show on Thursday. He had numerous big play receptions, whether they were after the catch or contested catches in a 1v1 setting. Two big plays were a 39-yard reception on the second drive where he used his quickness and strength to create some separation and then his strength to wrestle the ball out of the air. He later had a massive catch and run play down to the five yard line, showing his speed. Then, he caught the game-winning touchdown with 45 seconds left.

Another name that showed some nice chemistry with Ohio transfer quarterback Kurtis Rourke was Myles Price. The Texas Tech transfer had the first few receptions from Rourke and was a very consistent option with the 5-10 yard routes. He has a good ability to sit down in the middle of a zone or use his quickness off the line to get to his spots in a timely manner to allow for quick outlets.

Coming into Thursday, one of the storylines was how Donaven McCulley would respond. Earlier in spring, Cignetti called out the returning Indiana football wideout saying he needed to step up. Thursday, he did just that. He caught the first touchdown of the game and had a few other notable receptions, along with drawing two pass interference calls.

“I thought he made a really nice catch that first touchdown on the post. I saw him really respond. I don’t do that a lot. I did it once last fall with our quarterback, and he really responded about the middle of the season,” Cignetti said of McCulley. “He still has some improving. Everybody’s got to improve. I know what his goals are, to be a great player, and it starts with the way you practice, your attention to detail, how you study off the field, how you prepare. Those are some of the areas he’s got to improve in. But I’m glad we got him.”

EJ Williams didn’t see the field while he was nursing an injury he’s been dealing with throughout spring. Elijah Sarratt made some nice underneath route catches, while Miles Cross had some nice routes down the field.

JMU running backs Kaelon Black and Ty Son Lawton will shine. If there was any doubt about how the skillsets and effectiveness of Black and Lawton would translate from James Madison to the power five level, Thursday put that to rest. The quickness, elusiveness and punch of both were notable. Whether they were between the tackles or outside of the line, both players made the first one or two players miss routinely.

Even on shorter runs up the middle, both players turned a potential one or two yard run into four or five. That’s significant in helping this team get positive movement on first down player.

Both players have the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield as well. Those skillsets are going to give Indiana football very reliable players in many different settings. Then, add in Justice Ellison from Wake Forest, and those three backs will continuously put pressure on any opposing defensive.

“I think that group definitely caught my eye,” Cignetti said about the running backs. “I just think our running back room is faster, more dynamic, good at pass pro, good at catching the ball out of the backfield, can break tackles. We have more speed and athleticism back there. All three of those guys just love football. They’re football nuts. Tough guys. They’re tough guys.”

Tayven Jackson steals the show at the quarterback position. The expectation is and was that Kurtis Rourke would be the guy who came out of Thursday looking like ‘the guy’. While he had some very good moments, it was Tayven Jackson that stole the show. He led the offense to back-to-back touchdowns to begin the game, including some notable down the field throws that didn’t come as easy with Rourke. While Jackson was going up against a lot of the defensive 2s, his ability to spread the ball and open up the field was notable.

Coming into Thursday, there were some questions about Jackson. Cignetti was blunt about the struggles at times he had throughout spring practice.

“Tayven’s improvement has been a little slower, and while he has the physical ability most of the time to get the ball from point A to point B, there’s a lot more to playing quarterback than that,” Cignetti said. “I need to see a jump from his game in that area.”

It has never been about talent and arm strength with Jackson — just consistency and an ability to be patient. He showed that for the most part on Thursday and it was a significant moment for the second-year Hoosier who now has true development leadership with Cignetti and Mike Shanahan.

“I was trying to figure out if our two offense was that good or our two defense was that bad,” Cignetti said smiling. “I think I know the question to that — or the answer. I think the freshman corner got exposed a little bit in the boundary. But Tayven made some nice throws, and Andison made a play or two, Coby. But we then turn around and drop a ball, could have been a big play, throw an interception. Kurtis was the victim of some dropped passes that could have kept some drives alive.”

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