‘Process Driven’ – Evaluating Young Quarterbacks Spring Priority
Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Curt Cignetti watches from Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium, eager to see what quarterbacks Tyler Cherry, Jacob Bell, and walk-on Maverick Geske can do.
It matters now, in spring practice, because it might matter next season. Cignetti didn’t win a national football championship at Indiana by not knowing what he has.
Given the importance of the quarterback position, he needs to know, and that includes backup depth.
So, on this day, Cherry, Bell and Geske -- with a combined three college snaps -- get all the practice work. Veterans Josh Hoover and Grant Wilson, known quantities with a combined nine years of college experience, have sideline duty.
Can the young quarterbacks help if called upon? Every coach has a next-man-up approach, but few do it as well as Cignetti and his staff, in part because they prepare like few others. Cignetti wants early offensive answers, and if that means doing what he hasn’t done before, well, he’s all in. Rigid thinking, after all, can get you beat. Cignetti wants no part of that.
“We have more young quarterbacks that I needed to find out about,” he says. “We sat down Josh. That’s the first time I’ve done that, but we needed to do it to find out more about these guys. I need to see who gets better through competition.
“I needed to see Cherry with the 1s. I needed to see Geske with the 2s. I needed to give Bell more work because he has a live arm. I need to give him work with the 2s.”
As for Wilson, “he hasn’t gotten work the last couple of days. He’s a veteran who has played and who is very much in the mix.”
Victory requires evaluation and insight and – most important – production.
No position requires more production than quarterback.
Hoover has produced with 9,629 passing yards and 71 touchdowns in three seasons at TCU. He directed 17 victories over the previous two seasons.
Wilson threw for 2,656 yards and 21 touchdowns in two seasons at Old Dominion. He was 1-for-3 for five yards in limited action last year for IU.
Cherry is listed at 6-foot-5 and 220 pounds. He arrived as a four-star prospect out of nearby Center Grove High School. He led the Trojans to an Indiana Class 6A state championship as a junior, compiled a 23-4 record in two seasons as the starting quarterback, throwing for 5,461 yards and 56 TDs in that stretch.
At IU, he missed all of last season with a knee injury.
“He’s taken big steps,” Cignetti says. “He’s way ahead of where he was as a freshman.
“He’s done some good things. He’s got to tighten up his footwork. Tighten up his release. He missed a couple of throws out there (in Thursday’s practice), but I like the way he’s improved. I like what I’ve seen.
“He’s really smart. Dedicated. There were some people who didn’t think he’d come back from that knee. He did. He had his mind made up. He was committed to playing football. I like where he’s at.”
Cherry isn’t the only Hoosier coming off a major knee injury that cost him last season. Receiver Tyler Morris, a Michigan transfer, was expected to have a major impact last year until his spring injury sidelined him.
He was a part-time starter on the Wolverines’ 2023 national title team. In 34 games there he caught 39 passes for 470 yards and three touchdowns.
“Knees are tough, they take a while,” Cignetti says. “It's a process. I think he was a little tentative early on in the spring, and I think he's starting to gain confidence. It shows up. Like (on Thursday), it showed up.
“He also returned punts at Michigan and did a nice job catching the ball. That's the No. 1 job criteria for punt return. He's a real smart guy that can run a lot of positions.”
And so, the Hoosiers work. They will use 13 spring practices, culminating with the April 23 spring game. before moving on to summer training. It’s all part of building a new team and preparing for new opportunities while maintaining the same winning culture. Last season’s success doesn’t guarantee anything for this coming year.
“We’re very process driven,” Cignetti says. “Regardless of whether you’ve been here before or not, you have to start over and build a whole new foundation. I think this team is on track. I really do.
“There are a lot of miles to go yet. There will be some challenges. That was the key to last year’s team. They met every challenge and responded to adversity. They were resilient. I like where we’re at right now.”