IU football’s first spring under Curt Cignetti will be different. Here’s what to watch.

BLOOMINGTON – Indiana fans will wait longer than normal for Curt Cignetti’s first spring season to begin.

Cignetti opted to shift the Hoosiers’ practice calendar so it doesn’t start until after spring break, meaning spring camp will happen in a shorter space of time.

Which makes it one of a handful of developments worth monitoring as the Hoosiers do approach Cignetti’s first full practices. Here are five threads worth some tugging in a few weeks’ time:

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Direction at quarterback

Aug 26, 2023; San Diego, California, USA; Ohio Bobcats quarterback Kurtis Rourke (7) throws a pass against the San Diego State Aztecs during the first half at Snapdragon Stadium.

There is, of course, the seemingly annual question of whether someone can emerge from the spring season with one foot in the starting job behind center. Lots of eyes will be on Ohio transfer Kurtis Rourke, whose resume as one of the MAC’s most productive passers and playmakers across the past three seasons speaks for itself.

But any examination of this position will run deeper than 2024, Rourke’s last in college. Even if we assume the sixth-year quarterback from Canada eventually rises to the top of the coming season’s depth chart, Cignetti and his staff will be future-proofing behind a player who cannot remain in college past the fall.

Three of the Hoosiers’ other four scholarship quarterbacks will be on the field for the spring (Miami Columbus’ Alberto Mendoza enrolls in June). We’ll see the new staff working with Tayven Jackson, Broc Lowry and Tyler Cherry.

What does their handling of that trio tell us about Cignetti’s quarterback philosophy? Does a player separate himself not just as a backup…


Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/iu-footballs-first-spring-under-094007713.html

Author : IndyStar | The Indianapolis Star

Publish date : 2024-01-30 09:40:07

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