All eyes were on Bloomington Wednesday for Fernando Mendoza’s pro day. The reigning Heisman Trophy winner and national champion is poised to become the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft. He’s the latest transfer quarterback to thrive with the Hoosiers under head coach Curt Cignetti.
The next in line is Josh Hoover, who came over from TCU, where he combined for 71 passing touchdowns across the three seasons he started games for the Horned Frogs.
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Hoover’s turnover issues are no secret. His old coach, TCU’s Sonny Dykes, called attention to them in an interview last month with Frogs Today. Cignetti, bold an unafraid as usual, alluded to those comments while going to bat for his new QB1 on Thursday during a spring ball news conference.
“Got to clean up some of the turnovers, obviously, which Coach Dykes made light of,” Cignetti said. “But when Josh got here, he met his two new best friends: Great defense and a really good run game.”
Cignetti added before giving a wink and a cheeky grin: “And he was never the same after that.”
Hoover has played in 36 games and tossed 33 interceptions. His 13 picks in 12 games last season were the most any Big 12 quarterback threw during the 2025 campaign.
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“Look, numbers are numbers, and stats are stats,” Dykes said during an episode of “State of the Frogs” on March 23, when asked about new TCU offensive coordinator Gordon Sammis. “I think Josh started 31 games here as a quarterback, and we turned the ball over 40 — he turned the ball over 42 times in those 31 starts.”
Dykes continued: “Gordy was the offensive coordinator last year at Connecticut, and their quarterback turned it over twice. And so, you know, I think that’s where we want to get to. You look at the teams that played for a national championship. You look at Indiana this year. They were No. 1 in the nation in turnover margin. …”
The Horned Frogs are looking to get back to the Big 12 championship game and the College Football Playoff for the first time since their national runner-up finish in 2022. Turnovers have undoubtedly held them back, but that’s not been the only limiting factor in Fort Worth.
When Hoover had the keys to the offense, the Horned Frogs asked a lot of him. They didn’t rank top 70 in the country in rushing yards per game in any of the three seasons he was the team’s first-string signal-caller. In 2024 and 2025, Hoover finished 11th and tied for 13th in pass attempts per game, respectively, among all quarterbacks nationally.
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Then of course there’s TCU’s defense, which didn’t rank higher than 62nd in points per game allowed in any one season from 2023-25.
For reference, last season at Indiana, the Hoosiers had the 12th-best rushing offense in the FBS. Plus Mendoza attempted only 23.7 passes per game — in other words, 94 other quarterbacks, including Hoover, averaged more pass attempts than him in 2025.
Oh, and he was supported by the No. 2 scoring defense in the nation.
Cignetti’s transparency is endearing to the media and fans. He put that on display last week when inviting the world into a “wake-up call” he gave Michigan State transfer wide receiver Nick Marsh after he showed up to the first spring practice wearing gold cleats.
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Cignetti was also his candid self when discussing Hoover on Thursday.
“We’re still learning about him,” the third-year Hoosiers coach said. “A couple different things there. Would like to see him play a little faster at practice, a little more urgency, drive every ball. I don’t know what was asked of him where he came from in terms of practice, but no plays are like a throw off.
“Even in walkthrough, we get on wide receivers for running half speed. Well, we want to drive every football, throw it like in the game. But obviously, I think the great thing is — excited about Josh, first of all. Let’s be clear about that.”
Cignetti pointed out: “And he’s got a body of work in terms of winning football games, passing yards, touchdown passes.”
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As for those other stats, Cignetti’s clearly not concerned.
