Breaking news: Indiana Hoosier head coach has finally commit a best wide receiver from Florida State due to his….
The Indiana Hoosiers updated their roster to reflect the team as they head into 2025. There were some surprises as it came out on Wednesday.
First, 2023 Indiana starting corner back Jamier Johnson has entered the NCAA Transfer Portal according to a program source. Johnson played in 12 of IU’s 13 games and started at the corner position opposite D’Angelo Ponds. Johnson made 35 tackles and had one interception.
The Hoosiers brought in Ryland Gandy (Pitt) and Amariyun Knighten (NIU) to shore up the depth at that position. Both have significant experience and production.
The most surprising absence was probably redshirt freshman quarterback Tyler Cherry. The answer of where Cherry is going was answered by the Indianapolis Star’s Zach Osterman who reported that “edshirt freshman Tyler Cherry will serve as a student coach through the upcoming Indiana football season during his recovery from a knee injury suffered in the build-up to the College Football Playoff game against Notre Dame last month.
Cherry will not be on roster in that time, as he is medically unable to participate in football activity. He can return for 2026 if able.”
The Hoosiers are still weeks away from starting spring practice which will conclude on April 19th with the annual sp
ring game.
Year 1 of the Curt Cignetti Era was an undeniable success for Indiana. In fact, it wasn’t so much a success as a watershed, a season that set a new bar for the program and what it can accomplish with a good coach and an administration that is clearly behind him.
The Hoosiers’ 11-2 record, College Football Playoff appearance, and tie for second place in the final Big Ten standings were all signs of a program on the rise and Cignetti spoke repeatedly during his first season about elevating the Hoosiers. That process will not end after one great season. Indiana cannot coast on its accomplishments in 2024. In fact, pressure is now greater on Cignetti and his staff to keep the Hoosiers at the level they have proven is possible.
Cignetti built a great team in his first season in Bloomington. That won him acclaim and it convinced the team’s downtrodden fanbase to buy in wholeheartedly. Now, with perhaps the highest level of goodwill any coach in college football has ever enjoyed, Cignetti will have to build a great program. That process begins in earnest this offseason, as he works on ensuring the charmed 2024 campaign is not a one-off peak for the Hoosiers.
Indiana has plenty of talent to replace. Quarterback Kurtis Rourke, running backs Justice Ellison and Ty Son Lawton, receiver Myles Price and Miles Cross, and Ke’Shawn Williams, tight end Zach Horton, offensive linemen Mike Katic and Trey Wedig, defensive tackles CJ West and James Carpenter, linebacker Jailin Walker, and safety Shawn Asbury II are among those standouts who will not be back next season.
Indiana’s high school recruiting in the 2025 class was not at the level Cignetti expects it to eventually be – he believes 2026 will be the class that really demonstrates IU’s elevation as a program – meaning the Hoosiers need to be active in the transfer portal this offseason to fill holes. They already were prior to their College Football Playoff game against Notre Dame and added several more important pieces in the days following the 27-17 season-ending loss to the Irish.
Here is a look at how Cignetti is shaping and reshaping his roster and coaching staff this offseason in an effort to ensure he does not suffer a sophomore slump in Bloomington.
This document will be updated as events warrant during the
offseason.
