It is one of the more underappreciated aspects of the 2024 IU football season.
In a pressure-packed scenario, a 7-0 Indiana team hosted Washington with ESPN’s College GameDay in town. And the Hoosiers were without starting quarterback Kurtis Rourke, who had suffered a broken thumb a week earlier.
Stepping into one of the more crazed scenes anyone has ever witnessed on the Bloomington campus was backup quarterback Tayven Jackson to lead the Hoosiers against defending national runner-up Washington.
Jackson was by no means perfect against the Huskies. No quarterback ever is, and certainly not a backup in an atmosphere like that.
But Jackson, who had played well the week before and had several starts under his belt, was up to the task and helped lead IU to a 31-17 win. Without his performance, Indiana’s appearance in the College Football Playoff never happens.
Fast forward a year, and it’s reasonable to wonder if the Hoosiers have the same kind of security blanket should anything happen to presumed starter Fernando Mendoza.
When he announced his transfer to IU in early January, many assumed Grant Wilson would step into the backup role. He certainly has the most experience as a college signal-caller among the potential second-stringers.
The 6-foot-3 and 217-pound Wilson started three games at quarterback for ODU in 2024 before his season was ended by an injury. He completed 46-of-86 passes for 507 yards, with four touchdowns and three interceptions.
In 2023 Wilson played in 12 games, starting 11 at quarterback. He completed 178-of-312 passes for 2,149 yards, 17 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Against Curt Cignetti and James Madison, Wilson went 26-for-36 for a career-high 277 yards and two touchdowns.
In-state product Tyler Cherry would have been another option in 2025. But the former 4-star recruit suffered a knee-injury late in his 2024 true freshman campaign and will miss the entire 2025 season. A true freshman in 2025, Jacob Bell is another option, but like most first-year guys, he’ll likely take a redshirt season to develop.
But none of them are the current No. 2. Coming out of spring practice, Indiana’s depth chart at QB looks like this: 1. Mendoza, 2. Mendoza.
“Right now, the second-team quarterback would be the younger brother Alberto,” Cignetti said last week. “Fernando, Alberto. He had a nice spring, he’s got a good skill set.”
Cignetti has built a reputation for going into the portal to find his quarterbacks. He likes production over potential, as you’ve no doubt heard him say.
The 6-foot-2 and 203-pound Alberto appeared in just one game last season, the 77-3 shellacking of FCS school Western Illinois. He completed just one pass.
So just how comfortable is Cignetti with his quarterback situation if something happens to Fernando? If he’s concerned about it, he’s not letting on.
“I’m more worried about the starter being ready right now, because he’s going to play the most snaps,” Cignetti said. “All these guys have a body of work, they’re either getting better or getting worse, never staying the same.”
Cignetti also says regularly his transfer quarterbacks struggle early adapting to his offense, and then find a groove with the passage of time.
That was the case with both Kurtis Rourke and year ago, and Fernando this spring. The head coach was pleased with their progress each of the last two springs.
“When you bring new guys into your system, everybody’s system is a little bit different, so they’ve all got development,” he said.
Perhaps that still gives Wilson a chance. Alberto had the advantage of knowing the system this spring. Cignetti could ultimately be compelled by Wilson’s experience if something were to happen to Fernando.
It would certainly be a major storyline if Alberto were to step into a big moment having only one college completion under his belt. But at the same time, it was Fernando’s same redshirt freshman season at Cal when he first emerged. So perhaps it is Alberto’s time to shine if duty calls.
To no one’s surprise, Cignetti isn’t announcing that anything is final at this point.
“Every day you go out there you’ve got to compete for the job,” he said. “Nobody owns a job. You’ve got to earn that job every single day.”
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