Does Indiana REALLY Have A Quarterback Battle Going On? — Transcript

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1. 0:00Some Indiana fans have been calling for
2. 0:01a quarterback change for weeks [music]
3. 0:03now. They got their wish in the second
4. 0:05half of Indiana's matchup against
5. 0:07Minnesota when Curt Signetti finally
6. 0:09made the change. The Hooers won the game
7. 0:11and it created a massive question.
8. 0:13Should Sig go with the quarterback who
9. 0:15hasn't started a game since 2024, but
10. 0:18has been quietly hiding in the shadows
11. 0:20of a Heisman winner and has met with one
12. 0:22of the best minds in college football on
13. 0:24a daily basis for 2 years? or do you
14. 0:27stick with the guy who's already set a
15. 0:30passing record at another power four
16. 0:32school and was named the preseason Big
17. 0:3510 newcomer of the year by USA Today.
18. 0:37So, who should be the starting
19. 0:38quarterback moving forward? Let's go
20. 0:40right to the tape to find out. And to
21. 0:42start, we got to understand why people,
22. 0:44myself included, were so excited about
23. 0:46Josh Hoover entering the year. I had him
24. 0:47as a top 10 quarterback entering the
25. 0:49season for good reason. Because he can
26. 0:51make throws like this right here. You
27. 0:52got a post over the top Becker and then
28. 0:54you got an over route. And when Hoover
29. 0:57is operating from the pocket, throwing
30. 1:00with confidence, the ball's coming
31. 1:01smooth out of his hand, he can hit over
32. 1:03routes like this, which are uh tough to
33. 1:07defend when he's operating at his
34. 1:09traditional Josh Hoover levels. It also
35. 1:12showed up here with another, you know,
36. 1:14post over the top and then deep over
37. 1:16coming this way. He's able to throw into
38. 1:18second and third windows. And you know,
39. 1:22you guys know the deal. There's a lot of
40. 1:23passing attacks across the country that
41. 1:25don't have a drop back game. Josh
42. 1:27Hoover, again, when he is throwing
43. 1:30accurately, has a drop back game that
44. 1:32unlocks something this Indiana offense
45. 1:34has that other high-end college football
46. 1:36offenses don't. The only problem is
47. 1:37those are the only two throws in this
48. 1:39Minnesota game that show a high level of
49. 1:42operating from the pocket. The reality
50. 1:43is he was benched for a reason. Right
51. 1:45here, you got Nick Marsh on the slot.
52. 1:46He's got a post. I think this was a
53. 1:48third down. This is open. I'll pause it
54. 1:50at the top of Hoover's drop when he lets
55. 1:51this go, but this is just an inaccurate
56. 1:53throw. And I know he's dealing with the
57. 1:54injury. I think after watching this
58. 1:56film, it's as much mental as it is
59. 1:59physical. But right here, these are the
60. 2:01type of opportunities that a year ago
61. 2:02with Omar Cooper Jr. in the slot as a
62. 2:04firstround NFL receiver and Fernando
63. 2:06Mendoza as the Heisman Trophy winner.
64. 2:07They never miss these opportunities.
65. 2:09Instead, what could have potentially
66. 2:11been a home run shot, but at the very
67. 2:12least, a first down completion sails
68. 2:15over his head. A missed opportunity
69. 2:16there. We go to a dig route on the top
70. 2:19of the screen. This is on the margins,
71. 2:21right? This isn't necessarily like a
72. 2:22glaringly inaccurate throw, but it's
73. 2:24behind Marsh again. I think this is a
74. 2:27third down. I believe this is the one
75. 2:29where Hoover's jumping up after he
76. 2:30throws this cuz he knows it's
77. 2:31inaccurate, but just enough. Right. Look
78. 2:34at the body language of that receiver.
79. 2:35Just enough where he's having to contort
80. 2:37his body. It's not a first down
81. 2:39completion. And there's a lot of grass
82. 2:40moving forward where if you throw this
83. 2:42accurate, it's a nice gain for Indiana.
84. 2:44We move to a third inaccurate example.
85. 2:47This one you got Becker going in motion.
86. 2:49He's into the flat. You got Hoover
87. 2:51rolling out to his right. This defensive
88. 2:53end does make life tough. He's right in
89. 2:55Hoover's face and you can tell Hoover
90. 2:57once he rolls out is then looking to
91. 2:59potentially go against the grain on an
92. 3:02over route coming left to right and then
93. 3:03gets back down to Becker late.
94. 3:05Regardless though, if you're playing at
95. 3:07even just a good level, this is an easy
96. 3:09pitching catch. Gets soft there in the
97. 3:12in coverage. Yes, I know he's in the
98. 3:13face, but this is the classic find a way
99. 3:16throw. Put it on your dude. Get yourself
100. 3:18a completion because even though this
101. 3:20wouldn't have been a big game, when you
102. 3:21miss throws like that, it adds to a
103. 3:24compiling effect of miss throws that
104. 3:27then leads you to lose confidence if
105. 3:29you're a quarterback. Same thing happens
106. 3:30here. Just simple out route into the
107. 3:32boundary. This is an RPO where they're
108. 3:34going to give a run action in the back
109. 3:36field and then Hoover is going to pull
110. 3:38this ball reading this end man on the
111. 3:40line of scrimmage. Once he pulls this,
112. 3:42this is a short throw into the boundary.
113. 3:44Just misses him here. And you did not
114. 3:46see this from Josh Hoover a year ago,
115. 3:48which again, I know there's the injury
116. 3:50piece, but it just feels like a
117. 3:51quarterback that has yet to settle in to
118. 3:54his new environment. And we can't
119. 3:56underestimate the fact of how daunting
120. 3:59the shoes are that he is filling
121. 4:01entering into this season, not only from
122. 4:03a Fernando Mendoza perspective, but a
123. 4:05expectations perspective of how people
124. 4:08view this Indiana team. and the
125. 4:10responsibility that's on his shoulders.
126. 4:12It again shows up. This is the third
127. 4:14down one. Excuse me. Where again you
128. 4:16have a dig route at the chains and he
129. 4:18just misses him. He sails it over his
130. 4:20head. And it's interesting because you
131. 4:22guys know if you've been around the
132. 4:23channel for a while. And on that note,
133. 4:25if you like what you're seeing, do me a
134. 4:26solid, like the video down below and
135. 4:28subscribe to the channel. We're coming
136. 4:29out with breakdowns all season long. But
137. 4:31you have heard me say before on this
138. 4:32channel, you can tell a lot about how
139. 4:34confident a coordinator is in his
140. 4:36quarterback by the choice of play calls
141. 4:38they elect to go with. You're not
142. 4:40calling progression passes and full
143. 4:42field reads if you don't think your
144. 4:43quarterback can do that. There are tons
145. 4:45of offenses in college football that
146. 4:46don't do that. Indiana still continues
147. 4:48to do that because they know that when
148. 4:50Josh Hoover is playing at normal Josh
149. 4:53Hoover levels and when Josh Hoover is
150. 4:54playing at TCU level Josh Hoover, he can
151. 4:57operate this. The only problem is what
152. 4:59were 1 2 3 four. This is my fifth
153. 5:01inaccurate example in this game. And I
154. 5:03got four more for you guys. It's clearly
155. 5:06not working for him. At least in the
156. 5:08past week. Dig route top of the screen.
157. 5:12There's a window there. It's a tight
158. 5:13window, but there's a window there. He
159. 5:16misses them. We go then to the next
160. 5:17example here. This one is a little bit
161. 5:19more um hardcore X's and O's, or I guess
162. 5:22to say it differently, it's less
163. 5:23glaringly obvious. We got to sit over
164. 5:25the middle of the ball. a spray release
165. 5:27post. Uh I think I have the receivers
166. 5:30wrong in this, but yeah, I got the
167. 5:32receivers wrong in this, but three of
168. 5:33those receivers in the bunch will end up
169. 5:35in those positions. And then you got
170. 5:36Becker coming underneath. Hoover is
171. 5:38going to try to hit this spray release
172. 5:40post. And you can tell they're trying to
173. 5:41scheme this open. This is the first read
174. 5:43because you have an out outside leverage
175. 5:45corner. You have a safety that's got to
176. 5:47manage a lot. You like that leverage.
177. 5:48Only problem is Hoover throws it behind
178. 5:51him more on like this trajectory rather
179. 5:53than in front of him. and I'll meet you
180. 5:55at the A in Indiana and go get a rebound
181. 5:58and tap your feet right on the A and go
182. 6:00score a touchdown. And this is an
183. 6:01example of why I think some of this is
184. 6:03mental for Josh Hoover because he he
185. 6:06speeds through this read and throws the
186. 6:08ball so quickly. There's like no chance
187. 6:11for this to really come open. And you
188. 6:13might say, "Well, Max, he's doing his
189. 6:14one two three step drop, no hitch, and
190. 6:16getting the bottom of his hands. That's
191. 6:17good." Yeah, but like this is just like
192. 6:20not open. This corner is an excellent
193. 6:22leverage. I still want to see what's
194. 6:23going on with this safety. And again, to
195. 6:25me, this ball needs to be thrown here,
196. 6:28knowing that this safety is going to get
197. 6:29attached to the uh to the middle hook.
198. 6:31As a quarterback, you should feel that
199. 6:33that is the winning area rather than
200. 6:35driving it right now into this window
201. 6:37with all sorts of junk underneath. The
202. 6:39other reason, and you can tell this is
203. 6:40why Indiana has Becker underneath, is if
204. 6:43this is all murky back here, all good.
205. 6:45Check the ball down. He might get hit
206. 6:46for just a three- yard gain, but you at
207. 6:48least give yourself a completion.
208. 6:49Instead, you guys know the uh the term
209. 6:51we call it here. It's uh good old foul
210. 6:53ball, an uncompetitive, uncontested
211. 6:55throw. It's a wasted rep and uh just an
212. 6:57inaccurate throw. We go again here. And
213. 6:59this one was fascinating to me because
214. 7:01it felt like these were the exact
215. 7:03examples that Fernando Mendoza always
216. 7:05had a knack for coming down with or
217. 7:07executing a year ago that then in 2026
218. 7:11this just looks like, oh, great coverage
219. 7:12by Minnesota. Oh, man. Oh, shucks kind
220. 7:14of thing. But then, nah, if you contrast
221. 7:16that to where Indiana's offense was a
222. 7:18year ago, they always found a way to
223. 7:20make these plays. And here's what I
224. 7:21mean. You got Becker on a little switch
225. 7:22release, take the middle route, and then
226. 7:24you got Marsh, which I love when they
227. 7:26line them up both together. He's on a
228. 7:28corner route. As we'll see, Hoover then
229. 7:31escapes the pocket. Right now, he's
230. 7:32already decided to escape. To me, the
231. 7:34winner's right here. Throw it in the eye
232. 7:37to the second best receiver in college
233. 7:40football. Allow him to make a play. If
234. 7:42you step up forward and feel this
235. 7:44spacing and know that you're trying to
236. 7:45scheme this open, I think there's a shot
237. 7:47for that to win. instead he then steps
238. 7:49up to his right knowing that then
239. 7:51subconsciously and quarterbacks know
240. 7:52this. They know this subconsciously if
241. 7:54they're stepping up to the right that
242. 7:55you then are only going to have one
243. 7:56option towards the back pylon. And with
244. 7:58how good Nick Marsh is and this is
245. 8:00relatively good protection. I know he
246. 8:02has to step up but it's still a cleanoff
247. 8:04window. At that point you know you're in
248. 8:05the tight red zone. Throw this ball now
249. 8:07and I'll meet you at the back pylon and
250. 8:08I know that's my only option. If for
251. 8:10whatever reason you didn't like Becker
252. 8:11here. Sweet. Go towards the back pylon
253. 8:13and at least give yourself a chance.
254. 8:14instead it's like escape mode and he's
255. 8:16not able to execute this play versus a
256. 8:19year ago it felt like Mendoza always
257. 8:20made the those uh those contested red
258. 8:24zone throws. And then last but not
259. 8:25least, just had to show it so you guys
260. 8:27can see that like hey if they don't go
261. 8:29with Hoover this game or why was Hoover
262. 8:31benched, it's because of the three six
263. 8:33nine inaccurate throws in this game.
264. 8:36Here you have a little out route to the
265. 8:37tight end and he just sails it over his
266. 8:39head. Um yeah, not the cleanest of games
267. 8:43for Josh Hoover. gets caught in between
268. 8:44reads. Um, obviously not ideal. All
269. 8:47right, so we see the both sides of Josh
270. 8:49Hoover when it's great, but then also
271. 8:50where it was ugly against Minnesota. So
272. 8:52then they go with the backup Grant
273. 8:53Wilson. And you might be like, "All
274. 8:54right, Max. Well, then what changes with
275. 8:56Grant Wilson?" Well, the very first
276. 8:57thing that jumps out to me is the
277. 8:58quarterback run game is much more of a
278. 9:01focus when it comes to the play calling
279. 9:03when Wilson's in there. He's a little
280. 9:04bit bigger. He's got the uh got some
281. 9:07mobility here. They dial up a little
282. 9:08quarterback draw and it's effective.
283. 9:10It's effective. I think the difference
284. 9:13right away when I watch this first half
285. 9:14compared to the second half is you can
286. 9:16tell Indiana has a notch more confidence
287. 9:19in Josh Hoover's ability to win from the
288. 9:22pocket, but then with Grant Wilson,
289. 9:23there's a notch more um design
290. 9:25quarterback run game. That's where I
291. 9:27started. I will show you though towards
292. 9:28the end of this breakdown. I think as
293. 9:30I'm dropping my pen, I think Indiana may
294. 9:32have uh established more confidence in
295. 9:34Grant's ability to throw towards the end
296. 9:36of the game. We'll get to that. On that
297. 9:37note, do me a solid like the video down
298. 9:38below and subscribe to the channel.
299. 9:40Helps me out a ton. That QB run game
300. 9:41shows up here too. You got a blitzing
301. 9:43safety. Excellent uh recognition by uh
302. 9:46by Grant Wilson. This end crashes down
303. 9:48and then Wilson pulls the ball towards
304. 9:50the right. This is the type of run play
305. 9:52that I guarantee USC is scheming all
306. 9:55week in scout team being like, "Hey,
307. 9:58when that number two guys in the zone
308. 10:01read game is much more alive. Hoover is
309. 10:03still mobile." But again, the play from
310. 10:04a play call perspective, it doesn't uh
311. 10:07doesn't pop as much. But even though
312. 10:08there's a pop in the quarterback run
313. 10:10game, it still isn't perfect from a
314. 10:12passing game standpoint. Here he's got a
315. 10:135-yard hitch on the outside. Pretty
316. 10:15basic throw, inaccurate throw over the
317. 10:18head of one of the best receivers uh in
318. 10:21college football. This I probably should
319. 10:23have started with this one. This is the
320. 10:24best example of why Josh Hoover started
321. 10:27over Grant Wilson outside of just the
322. 10:29investment and the uh the track record,
323. 10:31but it shows you the room to grow that
324. 10:32Grant Wilson has still from a processing
325. 10:34perspective. If you're an OG on this
326. 10:36channel, I have broken down this play as
327. 10:38a must install if you're a high school
328. 10:41offense or you're a college coordinator
329. 10:43with a struggling quarterback. I loved
330. 10:44this play call when I was at USC because
331. 10:47it's very easy to read. We called it
332. 10:49Kujo. You got a curl on the outside and
333. 10:52then you got flat routes by the number
334. 10:54two receiver. In this case, it is the
335. 10:56back and the slot receiver and then this
336. 10:58tight end is a middle hook. It's so easy
337. 11:00to read because no matter what the
338. 11:02coverage is, you start with the middle
339. 11:04hook. If this guy's open, hammer it all
340. 11:06day. If he's not, which linebacker took
341. 11:08it away? Whichever linebacker takes it
342. 11:10away, that means he's sucking in to
343. 11:12defend that. Well, that means he should
344. 11:13have leverage on the window with
345. 11:15whatever linebacker is covering that
346. 11:17defender. That was a choppy way of me
347. 11:19saying it, but it'll make sense when I
348. 11:20uh when I pause it here, right? Tight
349. 11:22ends not open. Which linebacker took it
350. 11:25away? The one on the left. Sweet. Marsh
351. 11:27is coming open. Really here though, and
352. 11:28this is why it's a concern, both these
353. 11:30guys are open. Clean pocket. And for
354. 11:32whatever reason, Wilson is not able to
355. 11:35get his eyes out there. He gets flushed
356. 11:37and goes towards his left, finds a
357. 11:38completion. It looks like, oh, great
358. 11:40mobility. Nah, this is cause for
359. 11:42concern. And if I am um Gary Patterson
360. 11:44at USC, I am putting this on tape to
361. 11:47give my secondary and defensive line
362. 11:49confidence that like, hey, this guy is
363. 11:51still trying to find his way as a
364. 11:53processor from the pocket. This right
365. 11:55here is the best receiver combo in
366. 11:57college football. Both guys are open.
367. 11:59You don't find them until the scramble.
368. 12:00that leads to opportunity for USC if
369. 12:02you're uh if you're game planning. And
370. 12:04then here again, it's just a deep out
371. 12:06towards the wide side of the field. This
372. 12:07is not an easy throw. This is a big boy
373. 12:09NFL throw and he just misses him. It's
374. 12:11just an inaccurate throw again to
375. 12:13compare it to last year. And not that
376. 12:15Grant Wilson is Fernando Mendoza. These
377. 12:17are the types of throws that Fernando
378. 12:19Mendoza made with ease, easy access, off
379. 12:21coverage. Man, they wore out Oregon
380. 12:23against this route or with this route, I
381. 12:25should say. Instead here, it's just an
382. 12:27inaccurate throw. My point with this is
383. 12:29not to just ream on the backup
384. 12:31quarterback, but to show you the
385. 12:33conversation for Indiana behind the
386. 12:34scenes as they're evaluating which
387. 12:36quarterback to go with. When Hoover is
388. 12:38playing at his best, which has not been
389. 12:40a given this season, he does give you a
390. 12:42notch more from the pocket. At least
391. 12:43through the first quarter and a half of
392. 12:46Grant Wilson playing this game, the end
393. 12:48of the end of the fourth in overtime,
394. 12:49dude showed me something. This right
395. 12:51here is also a phenomenal example. And
396. 12:53this was a key moment in the game.
397. 12:54They're driving, trying to score. They
398. 12:56end up having to settle for a field goal
399. 12:57in which it gets blocked or they missed
400. 12:59it. I forget exactly what it was. But
401. 13:00this cat-and- mouse game from a
402. 13:02coordinator perspective is fascinating
403. 13:03because on second down they dial up a
404. 13:06corner route and this guy is coming
405. 13:08open. You got Marsh on the outside with
406. 13:10a little level route and the initial
407. 13:12read is he's trying to get his tight end
408. 13:13a little stop and go meet you at the eye
409. 13:15in Indiana and make it happen. He misses
410. 13:18this corner route which is happening
411. 13:19fast. It's all good. Backup quarterback
412. 13:21sometimes you're going to miss this. But
413. 13:22his offensive coordinator recognizes it
414. 13:25right away of like, "Oh, we had the
415. 13:26corner on the top of the screen. We got
416. 13:27to get back to that. We got to get back
417. 13:28to that." So the very next play, they
418. 13:31dial up a route to occupy that same area
419. 13:34of the field. You got a little uh over
420. 13:36route, dig route, and then they're
421. 13:38dialing up this out route, meet you at
422. 13:40the front pylon. This is the contested
423. 13:41catch that was all over Sports Center.
424. 13:43The coaching point here though is Wilson
425. 13:46is a tad late. He hitches and hops just
426. 13:48a tad, which then, hey, yes, this is
427. 13:50open. Yes, this is a great throw, but it
428. 13:52is technically late. The coaching point
429. 13:54here is get this ball out sooner and
430. 13:57you're not having to go to review and
431. 13:58it's not. Yes, that's a hell of a catch,
432. 14:00but you're not putting in the ref's
433. 14:01hands to then force yourself to settle
434. 14:03for a field goal in which you miss and
435. 14:05it almost cost him the game. My point
436. 14:06with showing you that is you would
437. 14:08expect Josh Hoover on the flip side, if
438. 14:11he's operating at normal Josh Hoover
439. 14:12levels to deliver that throw, get you a
440. 14:15touchdown, and you don't even have to
441. 14:16worry about the overtime craziness. But
442. 14:18on the flip side, talking out the other
443. 14:19side of my mouth, I was impressed with
444. 14:21how Grant Wilson responded throughout
445. 14:23the game, and he showed me that, hey,
446. 14:25when he does get in rhythm, he can
447. 14:27operate from the pocket. This is not one
448. 14:29of those things where they're having to
449. 14:30put their quarterback entirely on
450. 14:32training wheels. You got a deep out.
451. 14:33Yes, he missed one earlier. Deep out
452. 14:35towards the uh towards the top of the
453. 14:37screen getting Charlie Becker a touch.
454. 14:39He can deliver that throw. This right
455. 14:40here was an absolute dime. You got the
456. 14:42over route by the slot. You got the big
457. 14:44boy post over the top to Becker. I think
458. 14:46this is Becker. Yep. And this is just a
459. 14:48flatout dime. This is an excellent throw
460. 14:51by Grant Wilson. So, he has the chops.
461. 14:53And if you're Indiana evaluating your
462. 14:55prospects moving forward, you're like,
463. 14:56"All right, if we can get this
464. 14:58consistently, well, then it's number
465. 15:00two's job against USC in the matchup." I
466. 15:03guess I'm talking through a USC lens.
467. 15:05That's uh that's in a couple weeks. The
468. 15:06post was big time. This was just as big.
469. 15:08Third and 16. Dig to the top of the
470. 15:11screen. Tight coverage. Minnesota's
471. 15:13right there. Yet the backup quarterback
472. 15:15puts it right on him. Marsh picks up the
473. 15:17first down. That was a huge completion
474. 15:20when Indiana absolutely had to have it.
475. 15:23Also impressed with this throw in the
476. 15:24two-minute drill to try to get yourself
477. 15:26into field goal range to even give
478. 15:28yourself a shot at the 60-yard. This is
479. 15:30a hell of a catch by Becker on the
480. 15:31bottom of the screen. But this is also a
481. 15:33great throw, giving your receiver a
482. 15:35chance to make a play. How many times do
483. 15:37we see this scenario where the
484. 15:38quarterback just doesn't even give his
485. 15:40receiver a chance to even come up with
486. 15:41the back shoulder. Hell of a catch. also
487. 15:44a big-time throw in a moment where
488. 15:46you're backed up against the wall for a
489. 15:48backup quarterback. And then here, the
490. 15:50uh the throw to win it. Yes, this is
491. 15:52advantageous when you got one of the
492. 15:53best receivers in college football on
493. 15:54the top of the screen, but this is a
494. 15:55dime. This is a dime. It's right on the
495. 15:58money in a critical moment with your CFP
496. 16:04Big 10, you know, title chances on the
497. 16:06line. Yes, they have room to lose one,
498. 16:08but that right there showed me a bunch.
499. 16:10And it is the reason why if I'm Indiana,
500. 16:13I'm giving the start to Grant Wilson. He
501. 16:15showed me at the end of this game that
502. 16:17there was growth in the pocket as a
503. 16:20passer. Give number two the reigns and
504. 16:22let him roll. On the flip side, Hoover
505. 16:24with the injury. And again, I think
506. 16:26there's something in between the air
507. 16:27ears where he's not pulling the trigger.
508. 16:29You know, one one of the best traits for
509. 16:31Josh Hoover, and we talked about it this
510. 16:32off seasonason, is he is smooth, [music]
511. 16:34man. He operates like a middle infielder
512. 16:35when he's playing confidently and that
513. 16:37hasn't really come out this year. tons
514. 16:39of inaccurate throws. I think he's lost
515. 16:41confidence. And I think if you're
516. 16:43Indiana, you got to bet on the fact that
517. 16:45if you give Grant the nod, especially
518. 16:47with how he played and the momentum you
519. 16:49have coming off of the Minnesota win,
520. 16:50that there's another notch that he can
521. 16:52grow into. And I'm filming this Tuesday
522. 16:55morning, so if I've missed an update and
523. 16:57signetti's already gone one way or the
524. 16:58other, my mistake. But this will be
525. 17:00something to track not only in the weeks
526. 17:02ahead, but the months ahead. And how
527. 17:05short of a leash does Curt Signetti give
528. 17:07his quarterbacks with a roster that is
529. 17:10good enough to win the national title?
530. 17:12If you enjoyed this video, do me a
531. 17:13solid, like it down below, subscribe to
532. 17:14the channel. I appreciate you guys
533. 17:16hanging out this far, and I'll see you
534. 17:17on the next one. [music]
535. 17:24[music]
536. 17:28[music]
537. 17:34>> [music]