Way too early predictions for 2025 IU Football

[td75]

Trey Wedig was a 5.9 rated 4* who was ranked 10th at his position directly out of high school.

Zen Michalski was a 5.8 rated 4* who was ranked 29th at his position directly out of high school.

It will be interesting to see how Michalski shakes out at RT. If he can produce similar results as Wedig, it's a win.

 

[TominDallas]

The off-season workouts should be pretty lively with lots of bulletin board material. All the ESPN and SEC squawking, plus the actual losses at the end...should make a motivation filled winter.

 

[td75]

The off-season workouts should be pretty lively with lots of bulletin board material. All the ESPN and SEC squawking, plus the actual losses at the end...should make a motivation filled winter.

I agree; Cignetti has a TON of bulletin board material to work with. The amount of disrespect and general BS, should have every player highly motivated.

 

[ribbont]

If the pieces that are even talent at this moment don’t improve then Bostad didn’t do his job. I expect 4 of the 5 to be improved, and the question remains at RT. However, the pedigree of Zen is better than Weidig. With the being said, a lot of the issues were driven by Rourke’s lack of mobility which now makes way more sense. Not trying to be argumentative, but I think we will be better than this year.

No worries. We are having a discussion, not an argument, IMO. I am just not sold that we will be better. Evans is coming off an Achilles injury. And I am not sure if Michalski and Benson are better than Katic and Weidig. Maybe they are, IDK.

But as happy as I am with Bostad and his ability to develop and improve the OL, other teams have coaches too and the top teams usually have the best coaches teaching 4 and 5 star talent. And those coaches, like Bostad, are expected to improve their D lines.

So. I am just skeptical and hope to be proven wrong.

 

[EvansvilleHoosier88]

L

Trey Wedig was a 5.9 rated 4* who was ranked 10th at his position directly out of high school.

Zen Michalski was a 5.8 rated 4* who was ranked 29th at his position directly out of high school.

It will be interesting to see how Michalski shakes out at RT. If he can produce similar results as Wedig, it's a win.

Way to do the leg work that I should’ve done. I was thinking he was somewhat unheralded, but I was clearly mistaken.

 

[vesuvius13]

Our coaches are pulling in very good players, I hope it shows this Fall. IU faces bigger challenges in 2025 and I hope we have better players to take them on with. I believe in our coaches thinking they will get our players up to speed.

 

[Big Red Crimson Buffalo]

Our coaches are pulling in very good players, I hope it shows this Fall. IU faces bigger challenges in 2025 and I hope we have better players to take them on with. I believe in our coaches thinking they will get our players up to speed.

It’s amazing that we are up to 16 portal transfers in already.

 

[EvansvilleHoosier88]

No worries. We are having a discussion, not an argument, IMO. I am just not sold that we will be better. Evans is coming off an Achilles injury. And I am not sure if Michalski and Benson are better than Katic and Weidig. Maybe they are, IDK.

But as happy as I am with Bostad and his ability to develop and improve the OL, other teams have coaches too and the top teams usually have the best coaches teaching 4 and 5 star talent. And those coaches, like Bostad, are expected to improve their D lines.

So. I am just skeptical and hope to be proven wrong.

I appreciate that mindset. Far too often people take back and forth on here to be some personal affront. Maybe I’ve just spent too much time on the basketball board. All fair concerns, and to be fair I’ve been pretty consistently wrong with my expectations year over year. For better or worse, Doctor Cignetti has me feeling a little more confident in my vision ha

 

[Walt542]

I am 100% with you on the LB speed, or lack thereof, unless Hardy/Clark steps it up.

I think Morris helps with speed at WR and Hemby at RB.

I think the DL will be fine with the Wheeler and Ratcliff additions. But we need a younger guy to take that next step and get into the rotation.

OL is still a concern to me. Recent additions are nice, but are they better than Katic and Wedig? Are they champion level to compete with the best? TBD.

All good points. When I posted this I had not yet looked at the Morris tapes. I am excited about that guy.

I don’t know much about the new DL guys but I think they are still looking. West came after spring practices last year I believe. And like you I hope we see some of the younger guys continue to step up.

I see your points about the OL. What I have not figured out is if the problems at the end of the year were OL personnel problems like missed assignments or just getting beat or if they were scheme things that the coaches need to fix. It certainly always helps to upgrade the talent there.

 

[TMFT]

All good points. When I posted this I had not yet looked at the Morris tapes. I am excited about that guy.

I don’t know much about the new DL guys but I think they are still looking. West came after spring practices last year I believe. And like you I hope we see some of the younger guys continue to step up.

I see your points about the OL. What I have not figured out is if the problems at the end of the year were OL personnel problems like missed assignments or just getting beat or if they were scheme things that the coaches need to fix. It certainly always helps to upgrade the talent there.

A little column A, a little column B.

I think a lack of depth started catching up with the team as injuries mounted. One thing that comes to mind is that we didn’t have any drops for like the first 7 weeks, then they started happening with increasing frequency. It’s a long season, especially when you’re leaning so hard on relatively few guys.

 

[IUNorth]

A little column A, a little column B.

I think a lack of depth started catching up with the team as injuries mounted. One thing that comes to mind is that we didn’t have any drops for like the first 7 weeks, then they started happening with increasing frequency. It’s a long season, especially when you’re leaning so hard on relatively few guys.

Another possibility…our line was actually really good…Rourke with his ACL just wasn’t capable of helping them out against the better teams on our schedule later in the year.

I think our line performed basically just as well as NDs and OSUs did, against us. And better certainly than Michigans did. OSUs Howard was just able to extend some more plays when we got to him. And Leonard killed us with his legs and short passes after beating our pressure.

They didn’t need Michael Vick. But someone able to better slide up in pockets and break some initial pressure and pick up some third downs or make a few plays off script. If we had had that…I think the perception of our line, even after the Evans injury would have been completely different. We dominated some fairly stout defenses in Nebraska, Washington, and MSU at the LOS…and in different ways.

 

[red hornet]

How bad was Evans injury? Is he expected to be ready to play? It was a tendon, not a ligament?

He was a find, so I feel like Bostad will have a good line.
,

My understanding of his injury was a ruptured Achilles tendon which generally takes 6-9 mos. to heal.

 

[vesuvius13]

Our offense looks like it will be better next season while the defense needs a couple of players. I am getting excited about the 2025 season already.

 

[hoosier48]

Our starting ranking will play a big role on whether IU gets in the CFP next year too.

 

[UncleMark]

I'll play the curmudgeon and say 7-5 or 8-4. I think over time our records will regress to the mean, but that Cignetti will have the mean set much higher than it's been over over years. In the past we might average 4-5 wins; in the future it should be 7-8. And for this old IUFB fan, that will be pretty damn sweet.

 

[Tammany Hall]

I'll play the curmudgeon and say 7-5 or 8-4. I think over time our records will regress to the mean, but that Cignetti will have the mean set much higher than it's been over over years. In the past we might average 4-5 wins; in the future it should be 7-8. And for this old IUFB fan, that will be pretty damn sweet.

vbg

 

[Kelly_32]

I'll play the curmudgeon and say 7-5 or 8-4. I think over time our records will regress to the mean, but that Cignetti will have the mean set much higher than it's been over over years. In the past we might average 4-5 wins; in the future it should be 7-8. And for this old IUFB fan, that will be pretty damn sweet.

You sound daunted.

 

[Walt542]

vbg

Ha ha, I guess you don’t want to be a curmudgeon on this board!😳😊

 

[red hornet]

Screw that. Talent and schedule are upgrades. Hoosiers find a way to beat a top 10 team and win the rest. 11-1, miss out on the B10 title game and go back to the CFP.

Right, I love the talent that Indiana is bringing in. Check out Taylor Morris long TD catch & run where he outruns the Alabama secondary in last year's game. He's a speed merchant with talent & good hands & we have a top QB in Fernando Mendoza to deliver the ball to our receivers. Then there's Roman Hemby & his 75yd. run for a TD against us, is top-end speed. Focus because things are fast out on the field this year.

 

[vesuvius13]

Right, I love the talent that Indiana is bringing in. Check out Taylor Morris long TD catch & run where he outruns the Alabama secondary in last year's game. He's a speed merchant with talent & good hands & we have a top QB in Fernando Mendoza to deliver the ball to our receivers. Then there's Roman Hemby & his 75yd. run for a TD against us, is top-end speed. Focus because things are fast out on the field this year.

I think coach Cignetti is making a better team for 2025 for the teams we play. Games this year showed us that we needed more talent to be the top of the conference.

 

[vesuvius13]

I'll play the curmudgeon and say 7-5 or 8-4. I think over time our records will regress to the mean, but that Cignetti will have the mean set much higher than it's been over over years. In the past we might average 4-5 wins; in the future it should be 7-8. And for this old IUFB fan, that will be pretty damn sweet.

UncleMark I don't think coach Cignetti will let IU go back and he wants IU to improve.

 

[UncleMark]

UncleMark I don't think coach Cignetti will let IU go back and he wants IU to improve.

He won't let IU go back to the laughing stock we were, and of course he wants us to improve. I'm just trying to bring a little realistic perspective to our prospects going forward. I hope he has us battling for the conference title year in and year out, but I don't believe we're there -- yet. A 7 or 8 win season next year might be a letdown, but it won't be a disappointment for me.

 

[abraxis]

Imagine, as I do, a disappointing season of 8-4. My, how expectations change after a new coach's one season. Thank you, Coach Cignetti, for changing our expectations so hurriedly.

 

[YOTHN]

He won't let IU go back to the laughing stock we were, and of course he wants us to improve. I'm just trying to bring a little realistic perspective to our prospects going forward. I hope he has us battling for the conference title year in and year out, but I don't believe we're there -- yet. A 7 or 8 win season next year might be a letdown, but it won't be a disappointment for me.

I agree. In reality, a bowl season at IU will be a winning season in my book, until it's proven that we're consistently able to compete against the top teams. I am not naive enough to expect this year to be the norm but after this past season, I'm also not closed minded enough to think it's not possible. vbg

But really, if we routinely go to a bowl game, I will complain about certain aspects of games like any fan would over a loss, but I will not be calling for a change unless we go back to that sad sack of a program we once were.

 

[UncleMark]

I agree. In reality, a bowl season at IU will be a winning season in my book...

But really, if we routinely go to a bowl game...

Simply being bowl eligible -- i.e. winning 6 games -- isn't good enough for my raised expectations, but neither do I expect us to be in the CFP every year. Consistently give me a warm weather NYE/NYD bowl and I'll be happy.

 

[kmathum]

Imagine, as I do, a disappointing season of 8-4. My, how expectations change after a new coach's one season. Thank you, Coach Cignetti, for changing our expectations so hurriedly.

For us oldtimers it's absolutely surreal.

 

[Hoosiers Rising]

16-0

 

[kmathum]

15-0

I guarantee you that's what Cig's preaching.

 

[kmathum]

Imagine, as I do, a disappointing season of 8-4. My, how expectations change after a new coach's one season. Thank you, Coach Cignetti, for changing our expectations so hurriedly.

Thank God for Scott Dolson and Pam Whitten for recognizing the importance of football. If it wasn't for them the other powers that be would be sitting around with they're thumbs up they're asses hoping for a miracle from Woodson.

 

[abraxis]

Thank God for Scott Dolson and Pam Whitten for recognizing the importance of football. If it wasn't for them the other powers that be would be sitting around with they're thumbs up they're asses hoping for a miracle from Woodson.

Even unwound clocks get lucky a time or two. That Pam Whitten was somehow instrumental in Cignetti's hire just because she attends football games is an argument best left to the myth-busters. I'll give credit to Dolson for rooting CCC out of relative obscurity but I bet Scott had just as much uncertainty as we all had in fear of the Peter Principle playing out. Let's not forget how many were disappointed when a coach from JMU was hired, not to mention the trepidation we all had when he brought 13 transfers from JMU with him. Many were quick to say, give him time to recruit more prestigious players.

 

[EvansvilleHoosier88]

Even unwound clocks get lucky a time or two. That Pam Whitten was somehow instrumental in Cignetti's hire just because she attends football games is an argument best left to the myth-busters. I'll give credit to Dolson for rooting CCC out of relative obscurity but I bet Scott had just as much uncertainty as we all had in fear of the Peter Principle playing out. Let's not forget how many were disappointed when a coach from JMU was hired, not to mention the trepidation we all had when he brought 13 transfers from JMU with him. Many were quick to say, give him time to recruit more prestigious players.

It wasn’t the hire alone, but the resources which followed it that deserve the credit.

 

[kmathum]

Even unwound clocks get lucky a time or two. That Pam Whitten was somehow instrumental in Cignetti's hire just because she attends football games is an argument best left to the myth-busters. I'll give credit to Dolson for rooting CCC out of relative obscurity but I bet Scott had just as much uncertainty as we all had in fear of the Peter Principle playing out. Let's not forget how many were disappointed when a coach from JMU was hired, not to mention the trepidation we all had when he brought 13 transfers from JMU with him. Many were quick to say, give him time to recruit more prestigious players.

Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

 

[td75]

With the utter domination Cignetti's team displayed against parallel programs, it's difficult to not have huge expectations. Couple that with his portal additions and you've suddenly got expectations of another monster season.

High expectations are a GREAT thing; low expectations SUCK!

 

[abraxis]

Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

It's not the value of the gift I criticize, but the perceived giver of the valued gift, the credit being given where credit may not be true as due.

 

[OpenWheels]

... Let's not forget how many were disappointed when a coach from JMU was hired, ...

Forget... zero? Nearly everybody on this board was pumped.

And the only thing we have to go on is past presidents investment in the football program and results, versus Whitten. Don't need any inside info to realize early she wasn't the usual we've been saddled with before. Shit happened, and I don't care who, but it was on her watch.
,

 

[abraxis]

Forget... zero? Nearly everybody on this board was pumped.

And the only thing we have to go on is past presidents investment in the football program and results, versus Whitten. Don't need any inside info to realize early she wasn't the usual we've been saddled with before. Shit happened, and I don't care who, but it was on her watch.
,

I think some of that initial pumping came from the knowledge provided that Cignetti had ties to Saban’s coaching methods and his experience in recognizing talent as his recruiting coordinator. Yes, his record at JMU was mentioned, too, but concern was that his success elsewhere might not translate to higher level ball. It was never a given that he would find success here. What pumped everyone up was the hope any new coach provides, sight unseen.

 

[hoosier roadtrips]

No worries. We are having a discussion, not an argument, IMO. I am just not sold that we will be better. Evans is coming off an Achilles injury. And I am not sure if Michalski and Benson are better than Katic and Weidig. Maybe they are, IDK.

But as happy as I am with Bostad and his ability to develop and improve the OL, other teams have coaches too and the top teams usually have the best coaches teaching 4 and 5 star talent. And those coaches, like Bostad, are expected to improve their D lines.

So. I am just skeptical and hope to be proven wrong.

Unfortunately, my memory of Benson was completely being flattened by a rushing Michigan linebacker.

 

[82hoosier]

Most teams will have completely different rosters next season. And given that the experts at Indiana to finish 17th last season…… I won’t even guess about the third game of next season as to what the teams look like.

I certainly underestimated the quality of players that came in from James Madison University. Too bad the Hoosiers can’t count on a dozen new starters from a top 20 program every year. And I certainly underestimated what a did difference a complete coaching staff could make.

LEO

 

[OpenWheels]

I think some of that initial pumping came from the knowledge provided that Cignetti had ties to Saban’s coaching methods and his experience in recognizing talent as his recruiting coordinator. Yes, his record at JMU was mentioned, too, but concern was that his success elsewhere might not translate to higher level ball. It was never a given that he would find success here. What pumped everyone up was the hope any new coach provides, sight unseen.

I was one who wondered if he was overrating his Sun Belt guys, but was at least excited about a few of them.
I remember most looking at his record and thinking we finally went after a winner. More than just the usual a new coach. But maybe. I was on board with some other coach getting mentioned but as soon as Cignetti came up shortly before it was official I was on board. Was very pleased, as most seemed to be.

Of course we didn't know. And in the long term with the new NIL era nobody really knows about any of their coaches. I think for us signs are looking great that we have a guy who can navigate it. Plenty of other programs though are getting GMs. NIL managers, recruiting coordinators. But Cig will figure it out pretty well.

I'll never forget the first game where we looked coached, night and day difference from previous years. And then again against UCLA where they didn't look poorly coached with their new man, but we looked good.
,

 

[Fenny72]

11-1 and back in the CFP.

Looking forward to catching some games next year, went 1-1 with Michigan/OSU this past year. Hopefully, will make the trip to Penn St this year and make the trip to catch at least one home game.