Key storylines to follow during Indiana football Spring Game

Indiana football hosts their Spring Game on Thursday at Memorial Stadium to wrap up its spring camp. It will be our first look at the new look Indiana football program led by first-year head coach Curt Cignetti.

Kick-off is scheduled for 8:00 pm and will be televised on BTN.

It’s important to remember that there is a lot of time between now and the fall. This team is going to look a lot different in September than it will on Thursday, but there are still plenty of things to watch for.

Kurtis Rourke ‘looking like a high-level quarterback’

Since Michael Penix left Indiana football, there has been a gaping hole at the quarterback position.

A big reason for Cignetti’s hiring was his success with developing quarterbacks. When he added Kurtis Rourke in the transfer portal it seemed clear that he found his guy to lead the offense.

Rourke spent five years at Ohio University where he threw 50 touchdowns and 16 interceptions, but suffered a season-ending knee injury in 2022.

While Cignetti has said he will not name a starter, Rourke seems to be leading the pack and will likely start at quarterback for Indiana in 2024.

“I think Kurtis Rourke has definitely taken a pretty significant step,” Cignetti said this week.

Thursday night will provide fans with their first look at the new Indiana quarterback.

Rourke’s fit in Cignetti’s Pro-Style offense will be something to watch for along with his connection with his wide receivers.

With Donaven McCulley’s return and the addition of Elijah Sarratt, Rourke will have some talented weapons on the outside. His chemistry with them will be something to watch from the offense on Thursday.

“He just looks like [he is more comfortable],” Cignetti said about Rourke earlier in spring. “The last two practices he’s been functioning, looking like a high-level quarterback.”

Running Back Splits

Indiana replaced its entire running back room this offseason and added four new faces with extensive experience.

The new faces include Kaelon Black, who ran for 970 yards in two years with James Madison. Ty Son Lawton also came from JMU after rushing for 568 yards in his freshman year. Justice Ellison came to Indiana after four years at Wake Forest where he ran for 1901 yards. The fourth addition is Elijah Green who ran for 664 yards in four years with North Carolina.

With an entirely new running back room, Thursday will give us a better understanding of the depth chart.

Lawton and Black likely have a leg up on the other two after playing for Cignetti at JMU, but Thursday will give Ellison and Green a chance to showcase their ability.

It is expected that Indiana will rotate running backs on offense rather than having a bell cow feature back. So we should get a decent look at all four guys during Thursday’s game.

“I think we just have a great group of core guys. We got guys who can do a lot of different things. Whether it’s catching the ball, pass-blocking, running the football, making guys miss,” Ellison said. “There’s a variety of things that we could do out of that backfield and I’m excited to see how we can be able to translate that on to the games.”

Related: ‘Every day I think about being resilient, detailed, and dominant’: Justice Ellison’s ‘go get it’ mentality made Indiana football the perfect fit for him

Jacob Mangum-Farrar’s new position

After playing most of his career as an inside linebacker, Jacob Mangum-Farrar is playing a new position on defense.

Mangum-Farrar is moving to the position called ‘stud’ where he will have more responsibility as a pass rusher. He will be playing on the edge of the defensive line as Cignetti runs a four-down base defense.

“We thought he had a skill set that could be good at that position,” Cignetti said. “He’s picked it up well.”

“In talking with Coach,” Mangum-Farrar added. “He felt with my length and size, I’d be better at stud. At Indiana, the linebackers are smaller and quicker than me. My body type is better for stud.”

Cignetti describes the position as “70 percent end, 30 percent backer.”

Mangum-Farrar has one sack in his college career, but with a bigger role as a pass rusher, he will get plenty of chances to add more.

He reportedly added 15 pounds to help him adjust to the position and Thursday will give us a chance to see what he looks like on the Indiana defense.

Donaven McCulley back after a big season but slow start to spring practice

After converting to wide receiver from quarterback, McCulley had a breakout year in his second year playing the position.

He was arguably Indiana’s best player on offense after catching 48 balls for 644 yards and six receiving touchdowns.

More: ‘No spot is guaranteed’: Talented, deep Indiana football wide receiver room focusing on ‘details’ of spring practice

When he announced he would be returning after entering the portal it was a huge boost for Cignetti. While expectations were sky-high, Cignetti has not been pleased with McCulley’s spring camp performance.

“I think Donaven [McCulley] needs to pick it up a little bit,” Cignetti said during a post-practice press conference.

With show much hype coming into the season, it was unexpected to hear that about McCulley.

Despite the disappointing start to camp, Thursday will show where McCulley fits on the wide receiver depth chart and his connection with Kurtis Rourke.

SEE ALSO: Despite seeing progress throughout spring practice, Curt Cignetti still trying to eliminate ‘old Indiana’ ways as he builds his version of Indiana football

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