The Hoosiers made a big splash when they got the commitment of Josh Hoover, a highly rated QB out of Rockwall Heath High School in Texas. Rivals ranked Josh Hoover as the 5th best Pro-style quarterback out of Texas, and the 27th Nationally.
At the midway point of his senior season, Hoover has done nothing but exceed expectations.
The 6-foot-1, 205-pound prospect has lit up the Dallas area, posting 2038 yards, 23 touchdowns, all while completing 68% of his passes. Hoover went on Indiana Sports Beat Radio with @JimCoyleISB on Monday to talk about his season thus far and his visit to Bloomington this past Saturday.
Coyle was joined by filmmaker Angelo Pizzo, writer for the film Hoosiers, and former Hoosier basketball star Charlie Miller. All three were blown away by Hoover’s season thus far and some jaw-dropping throws that he has made. Pizzo asked Hoover what NFL quarterbacks he tries to emulate or compares himself to.
“I’m obviously not there yet, I hope to be there someday… I have this thing where I can change arm angles a little bit just from playing baseball like you see Mahomes and Stafford do,” Hoover said. “I compare myself to Stafford, Aaron Rodgers, and Patrick Mahomes, all those guys, you can learn from everybody.”
Hoover is ranked 82nd in the state of Texas and the 21st ranked right-handed pitcher according to Prep Baseball Report. Josh went undefeated as a starting pitcher, helping his team win a state championship in the spring of 2021. Hoover definitely would have had his pick of the litter in terms of offers to play baseball. But, that skillset from the mound will do nothing but help him under center for the Hoosiers.
“Texas football is kind of like Indiana basketball,” Hoover said. “I’m excited about coming to Indiana because I can tell the people of Indiana want to be good so bad, they are itching for success. I’m excited about trying to be a part of that.”
Rockwall Heath routinely pulls 15,000 to 20,000 people on Friday nights and even bigger crowds for bigger games against local rivals. However, Hoover said the atmosphere on Saturday against Michigan State struck him.
“It was definitely exciting to be in Bloomington with the gameday atmosphere," Hoover said. "I came in the summer but COVID was going on, so there weren’t many kids at the campus. It was really cool to be there and see how everything goes down.”
Hoover continued to talk about observing Coach Tom Allen over the weekend, and how everything he thought about him was confirmed.
“I really enjoyed the coaching staff, not just the full time coaches, the entire program. I can tell Coach Allen has an impact on a lot of people. He’s contagious, his personality is contagious, and his passion for what he does,” Hoover added. “That’s something that really attracted to me to the program.”
Pizzo reiterated that.
“He is as authentic of a human being as I’ve ever been around in my life. Everything he says comes from the heart. He’s a great listener… He wants to hear how you think, he’s interested in how you respond to his ideas.”
“That’s one thing I wanted to find was a coach that does what he says that he is," Hoover emphasized. "That’s one thing I notice as well is his heart and how he lives his life, reflecting what he says."
Hoover confirmed to Coyle that he would be enrolling early in January to get his Indiana career started as quickly as possible.
He also said he will be back in Bloomington this weekend for the Hoosiers matchup against Ohio State.
You can find the full interview below.
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