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As of today, Dec. 6, the Hoosiers have had eleven players enter the portal. A mix of wide receivers, defensive backs, and running back holes that Tom Allen will likely fill the same way they were created: the portal.
The most recent? Quarterback Michael Penix. After four years with Indiana, the redshirt junior is looking to find a new team.
Allen and defensive coordinator Charlton Warren have already bolstered their defense by adding linebacker Bradley Jennings from Miami, and a pair of defensive tackles from Ole Miss in Patrick Lucas and LeDarrius Cox.
Indiana also added wide receiver Emery Simmons from North Carolina.
When asked about what areas of the team he will address through the portal, Coach Allen has mentioned virtually every position on the field. But he's been quiet about the quarterback position. One that was purely awful in 2021; there's no other way to describe it.
Jack Tuttle didn't look good this season, even before his injury. Tuttle couldn't move the ball against Michigan State and then injured his foot after throwing a touchdown to Peyton Hendershot against Ohio State. He returned against Minnesota but only for a brief time until he was injured again. With two years of eligibility left, Indiana and Tuttle might be interested in taking different paths.
Donaven McCulley, plain and simple, just isn't ready to be Indiana's starter, and that's ok. It wasn't Indiana's plan for him to play at all in the 2021 season, so him being unprepared is not a surprise. On the other hand, Indiana thrives under a quarterback who can sling the ball around the field and McCulley appears to be a run-first, dual-threat quarterback. Something coach Allen didn't take too kindly to after the Scarlet Knights blew out Indiana 38-3.
It looks like Indiana will be going with former UMass head coach Walt Bell as the new offensive coordinator, so now there is some direction.
There needs to be another season of learning for Donaven McCulley, and Allen will likely redshirt incoming QB Josh Hoover. There are a lot of QB's in the portal who have connections to Indiana or live in areas of the country where Indiana recruits heavily and efficiently, making a new QB under the center for Indiana next season a likelihood.
