The 2024 Hoosiers benefited greatly from tremendous quarterback play. Kurtis Rourke came in as a transfer from Ohio and put together an All-Big Ten caliber year and led IU to a program-record 11 wins. Rourke threw for 3,042 yards and 29 touchdown passes to just five interceptions. Rourke is moving on to chase his NFL dreams. The Hoosiers also lost the services of Tayven Jackson who started one game and filled in nicely while Rourke dealt with a thumb injury.

The Hoosiers bring in Fernando Mendoza from Cal and Grant Wilson from Old Dominion to replace Rourke and Jackson. Fernando’s brother Alberto Mendoza will be a redshirt freshman and IU brings in two true freshmen in Jacob Bell and Maverick Geske to round out the room. The Hoosiers will be without Tyler Cherry in 2025 after an injury during postseason practice knocked him out for the year. He will serve as a student assistant as he recovers and could rejoin the team in 2026.

Kurtis Rourke – 3,042 Passing Yards, 29 Touchdown Passes

Tayven Jackson – 349 Passing Yards, 4 Touchdown Passes

Roman Purcell – Transfer Portal

Tyler Cherry – Injury (serving as student coach)

Frenando Mendoza – transfer from California

Grant Wilson – transfer from Old Dominion

Jacob Bell – Incoming Freshman (Not in for Spring)

Maverick Geske – Incoming Freshman

The Hoosiers will retool at quarterback after the departures of Kurtis Rourke and Tayven Jackson. The Hoosiers grabbed Fernando Mendoza out of the transfer portal, a major recruiting win for IU, to be the starter. The plan at backup had to be reshaped after the injury to Cherry, but IU brings in an experienced veteran in Grant Wilson from Old Dominion to bolster the depth behind Mendoza.

Starter – Fernando Mendoza – Redshirt Junior (transfer from California)

Fernando Mendoza was the crown jewel of IU’s transfer portal haul in the offseason. He will enter spring practice as the clear number one quarterback. He possesses a big arm and can use his legs to move the pocket. Mendoza has played in some big games before and should be able to fit right into the IU offense. It will be an offense that Cignetti and offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan will tailor to Mendoza’s strengths. He will be playing behind a much better offensive line than the one he had at Cal, which should let Mendoza show off his arm talent.

Backup – Grant Wilson, Redshirt Senior+ or Alberto Mendoza

Grant Wilson was a late pickup in the portal and an insurance policy that IU is thankful to have. Wilson only played in three games in 2024 due to injury, but made 11 starts in 2023 and totalled 21 touchdowns at ODU. Prior to Old Dominion, Wilson played in seven games for Fordham. Wilson is a capable passer and can use his legs to extend plays.

Alberto Mendoza, Fernando's younger brother, has impressed so far in spring practice. He has cleaned up his throwing motion and could pass Wilson for the backup role. The younger Mendoza has had a year in the offense already. He has the arm talent to be a very good quarterback in the future.

Depth -- Redshirt Freshman/Jacob Bell – Freshman/Maverick Geske (Freshman)

Jacob Bell is the other scholarship quarterback on the roster. He was a late add to the 2025 recruiting class after flipping from Ball State. Bell is from Naperville, Illinois where he had an outstanding prep career and was named All-State as a senior after putting up 3,082 yards with 38 touchdowns and seven interceptions while also running for 142 yards and four touchdowns.

Former Brebuef (Indianapolis) quarterback Maverick Geske is a walk on who was a finalist for Indiana Mr. Football as a senior. He set the school records at Brebuef for yards passing (8,904), completion percentage (.599) and total touchdowns (114).

There should be no real surprises in the quarterback room. The two-deep is cut and dry and the developmental depth is clear. The talent of Mendoza at the P4 level is not a secret. However, the rise of Alberto Mendoza has been a pleasant surprise during spring practice.

The trust and confidence level in great quarterback play from a Curt Cignetti coached team should be sky-high. Every year it seems as if his offenses are led by great quarterback play. Cignetti and his staff do a great job of tailoring the offense to whomever the quarterback is. This year’s offense may look a little different because Fernando Mendoza is a little bit of a different type of quarterback than Kurtis Rourke. The only issue here is a slight problem with depth with Tyler Cherry being sidelined for the year