Hoosiers turn to new QB for help
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INDIANAPOLIS -- Josh Hoover's player bio looks different from most of this year's other quarterbacks in the Bowl Subdivision.
He's already logged 31 career starts, thrown for more than 9,000 yards, won a bowl game MVP award, set multiple school records and been in line for conference and national honors.
Now, Hoover is about to embark on a new journey, one that has come full circle and puts him squarely under an unusual spotlight in replacing a Heisman Trophy-winner for No. 6 Indiana, the defending national champion.
"I wanted to get better, I wanted to be the best quarterback I could be," Hoover said after Indiana's spring game in April. "I felt like coming here was going to give me a chance to, No. 1, get better, get developed by some great coaches and, No. 2, be part of a great program with a bunch of great guys who are unselfish. They're not me guys, they're team guys. That's what I wanted, that's the vision I had."
Hoover hasn't spoken with reporters since that night, and he's not expected to talk again until after making his Indiana debut Sept. 5 against North Texas.
Indiana head coach Frank Cignetti's first two Indiana quarterbacks, Kurtis Rourke and Fernando Mendoza, also arrived with questions. Rourke had a history of injuries and almost no experience against Power Four foes. Mendoza had been sacked 42 times in his final season at California.
Each answered the questions by leading to the Hoosiers to the best back-to-back seasons in school history. Hoover would like to extend the good vibes, though upstaging the first 16-0 season in major college football since the 1890s will be a big challenge.
"I don't think there's any question he's improved and is more confident," Cignetti said Monday. "There's always improvement that can be made. There's still some missed opportunities that can be converted and executed. If you want to make a comparison, you've got to kind of look at where we were last year at this time. We walked off the field after the second scrimmage and we really weren't good at all throwing the football. We weren't feeling very good about things."
From college to pro and back
BATON ROUGE, La. -- After a stop in the NFL, former Mississippi tight end Dae'Quan Wright could be heading to LSU thanks to a court order that is creating havoc throughout college sports by allowing Wright and others an unexpected fifth year of eligibility.
Wright's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, told The Associated Press on Monday that the tight end had been waived by the Cleveland Browns and, if he clears waivers, will join Lane Kiffin's roster at No. 11 LSU.
If he joins the Tigers, Wright would be the first known player to return to college after playing in the NFL. He may not be the last.
At a news conference Monday, Kiffin declined to discuss any specific players, but he did say of the players in the lawsuit: "They're available to recruit. So, ourselves, like many places around the country, are recruiting them."
Wright signed with the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted rookie following the draft. After Philly released him on Aug. 11, the Browns signed him. Wright didn't play in Cleveland's two preseason games. Wright played two seasons for Kiffin at Ole Miss. Last year, he caught 39 passes for 635 yards and five touchdowns for the Rebels.
The SEC has its own rule barring transfers inside the conference beyond a designated window in January. Commissioner Greg Sankey sent the schools a reminder about that rule earlier this month, though there's no certainty on how it would play into Wright's move to LSU in the wake of the court order.
QB names on list
Penn State redshirt senior quarterback Rocco Becht was named to the Manning Award watch list on Monday.
Pitt sophomore quarterback Mason Heintschel was also named to the list.
The Manning Award was created by the Allstate Sugar Bowl in honor of the college football accomplishments of Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning. It is the only quarterback award that includes the candidates' postseason performances in its balloting. The winner will again be selected by a voting panel, which includes national media and each of the Mannings, after the postseason.
The two are among 40 candidates across the country.
More competition up north
MINNEAPOLIS -- The eligibility chaos across college football has complicated the competition at Minnesota for the place kicking job.
Brady Denaburg handled that job last year for the Gophers and was out of the picture until a federal judge in Denver ruled on July 31 that high school class of 2022 athletes were eligible for a fifth year. The appeals court ruling since then has put him back in the lurch.
Minnesota also added New Mexico transfer Luke Drzewiecki after he benefited from a Louisiana state court ruling challenging the NCAA's exclusion of class of 2022 athletes who had begun pro careers.
The Gophers open up their season on Thursday, Sept. 3, at home against Eastern Illinois.