Indiana football head coach Curt Cignetti has landed Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza’s apparent successor.
Quarterback Josh Hoover committed to the Hoosiers on Sunday, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel’s report. Hoover became the fourth transfer to pledge to Indiana on Sunday — one being premier receiver Nick Marsh.
Hoover spent the last four seasons at Texas Christian University under Horned Frogs head coach Sonny Dykes and has one season of eligibility left.
Hoover is ranked the ninth-best quarterback in the transfer portal, according to 247Sports. Hoover originally committed to Indiana under former head coach Tom Allen in June 2021. He remained pledged to the Cream and Crimson until he flipped to TCU just over five months later.
Hoover redshirted his freshman season in Fort Worth, Texas, playing in just one game while quarterback Max Duggan led the Horned Frogs to a national championship game appearance.
Although he didn’t begin 2023 — his redshirt freshman campaign — as the starter, Hoover was elevated to QB1 for the final six games of the season due to starter Chandler Morris’ knee injury. The Heath, Texas, native has since served as TCU’s starter over the past two seasons.
Hoover broke former Horned Frogs quarterback and 2014 fourth-place Heisman Trophy finisher Trevone Boykin’s single-season passing record with 3,949 yards through the air in 2024.
The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Hoover then passed for 3,472 yards and 29 touchdowns to 13 interceptions in 2025. The Horned Frogs finished 9-4 in each of Hoover’s two seasons as the full-time starter.
Hoover’s commitment solidifies Indiana’s spot as a desired destination for quarterbacks seeking to develop into high-caliber signal callers.
Kurtis Rourke finished ninth in the Heisman voting in 2024 before Mendoza shattered all sorts of records en route to becoming the Hoosiers’ first Heisman winner in 2025.
Now, under the tutelage of quarterback coach Chandler Whitmer, offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan and Cignetti, Hoover will have his own opportunity to rewrite record books in Bloomington.
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames and jamesdm@iu.edu) and Conor Banks (@Conorbanks06 and conbanks@iu.edu) and columnist Quinn Richards (@Quinn_richa and qmrichar@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana football season.
