BLOOMINGTON -- Last year, Curt Cignetti's first Indiana football spring season turned out to be an exciting preamble to a historic season. Hindsight proved the seeds of IU's record-breaking 2024 were sown during Cignetti's first months on the job.
Now, the Hoosiers try to reload for another go. There are proven winners already bedded in at multiple positions, but if IU is to make another playoff push in 2025, it will need to resolve some key roster questions starting with spring practice.
Here are five storylines worth watching.
Indiana's work in the portal reloaded its offensive line with depth and impact in equal measure. Now, it's up to Bob Bostad to figure out how to arrange the players in his room.
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Left tackle (Carter Smith) and center (Notre Dame transfer Pat Coogan) take care of themselves. The other three spots will be fascinating to watch.
Is Drew Evans healthy enough to resume his position as starting left guard? He will be among the highest-graded returning interior linemen in the Big Ten, per PFF, if so.
Where does Kahlil Benson play? The Indiana-to-Colorado-to-Indiana transfer has played both guard and tackle in his career. Where he fits into Bostad's plan dovetails with whatever IU thinks is the best position for Ohio State transfer Zen Michalski, predominantly a tackle throughout his career.
Does Bray Lynch slide seamlessly back in right guard? Does one of those two transfers push him? Given he can theoretically play across the three interior positions, would it make more sense to hold him as a swing player?
First 11: Projecting Indiana football's offensive two-deep depth chart ahead of spring practice
Behind that core six, Indiana has promising young players filtering up through its roster, particularly at both guard spots. There's a lot to work with here. It's up to Bostad to find the right arrangement that backstops one of the best offensive lines in the Big Ten in 2024 with more of the same in 2025.
Elijah Sarratt and Omar Cooper give Indiana proven production at receiver, while Roman Hemby and Kaelon Black ensure there's plenty of experience in the running back room. But IU needs both depth and clarity at its skill positions coming out of spring.
In the backfield, Hemby, Black and Lee Breebe Jr. given position coach John Miller a lot of tools and skills.
Hemby is well-known to IU fans who've watched him put painful numbers on the Hoosiers for the past three years. Black knows the offense inside out and averaged 5.5 yards per carry on 46 rushes last year. Beebe is a year younger than the other two but emerged as a dangerous dual-threat back at UAB last fall.
What's the division of labor among those three?
And who backs up Sarratt and Cooper catching passes? Transfers Tyler Morris (Michigan) and Makai Jackson (Appalachian State) should split the slot position, and E.J. Williams came back out of the portal to give the Hoosiers further experience at the boundary.
But three receiver spots will need to be shared among more than just five players, never mind moments when Cignetti and Mike Shanahan might want to go four wide. Charlie Becker looks like the first cab off the rank in terms of young players who might grab meaningful snaps with the twos, but the receiver rotation will be worth a watch in spring.
All-American Mikail Kamara is back for one more ride. There have been suggestions he'll move to the stud (hybrid edge/linebacker) position Lanell Carr occupied last season.
Which begs the question: Who takes over at the other end, where Kamara was so successful last year?
In terms of internal candidates, it might be best to start with Mario Landino, a sophomore who originally committed to James Madison before flipping to Indiana. Landino projected as more of an interior lineman but split his time between tackle and end last year, impressing in bursts.
Sophomore Daniel Ndukwe, another JMU-to-IU flip in 2024, and redshirt sophomore Ta'Derius Collins are the other potential options here.
Indiana waded into the portal at edge without success late in the winter window, a suggestion the Hoosiers might still be in the market for help there. Whether there are any options better than what IU has in its locker room right now come end of spring is another question. To start with, a clutch of intriguing sophomores will get to spend spring practice trying to convince Cignetti such a need no longer exists.
Indiana's left itself some options at the other hybrid spot in its defense.
Last year, defensive coordinator Bryant Haines split the linebacker/safety/nickel spot known as the "rover" between safeties the bulk of the time. Amare Ferrell did a stint there, before Haines seemed to settle on Old Dominion transfer Terry Jones Jr.
Other 11: Projecting Indiana football's defensive two-deep depth chart ahead of spring practice
That position acts like a nickel corner a lot, which is why PFF listed him as a corner the bulk of the time. But Jones was by trade a safety, and that skillset was what Indiana leaned into at rover in 2024.
With the arrivals of Ryland Gandy and Amariyun Knighten, Haines looks like he's the emergence of one more promising corner away from being able to flip that position to something more closely resembling a nickel full time. That would probably allow for more flexibility snap to snap in coverages, flipping between man and zone.
Still, with the arrivals of Louis Moore (Ole Miss, formerly of IU) and Devan Boykin (North Carolina State), it's possible IU has enough depth at safety to keep the rover spot stocked from the back end.
It will be interesting to watch that position take shape.
Last spring saw the emergence of players like Cooper, Kamara and Evans as impact starters for Cignetti's first season in Bloomington. Will anyone take the same demonstrable steps forward this time around?
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Candidates here include young receivers, any or all of those three potential edge players and a few others.
Keep one eye on Rolijah Hardy. The excellence and durability of Aiden Fisher and Jailin Walker made it hard to look far beyond IU's starting linebacker duo last fall. Jones is an able and versatile body at both positions, but Hardy (22 tackles, 5.5 for loss, two interceptions, two fumbles forced) looked like an astute last-minute add in the 2024 signing class.
Every team needs to show some evolution year to year, or risk stagnation turning into vulnerability. While it's not hard to pick out a lot of the impact players on IU's roster heading into spring practice, the Hoosiers would do well to exit this portion of the calendar with one or two surprises in tow.
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