Indiana
Cignetti Mum on Indiana Football’s Replacements for Injured Starter Stephen Daley
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana football’s biggest question likely won’t get an answer until the No. 1 Hoosiers (13-0) kick off at 4 p.m. ET Jan. 1 against Alabama (10-3) in the Rose Bowl.
After losing All-Big Ten honorable mention defensive end Stephen Daley, who led the conference and tied for the Division I lead with 19 tackles for loss, to a knee injury suffered while celebrating the Hoosiers’ Big Ten championship game victory over Ohio State on Dec. 6, Indiana must pivot to replace his production.
But Indiana coach Curt Cignetti, who met with reporters Monday on Zoom, didn’t pull back the curtain covering the Hoosiers’ plan to fill Daley’s void.
“Yeah, well, Bryant Haines does a great job coordinating our defense,” Cignetti said. “We have a lot of confidence in our players, and we’ll find the best solution that gives us the best chance to be successful.”
Indiana has plenty of possible solutions.
Potential replacements for Stephen Daley
The first centers around the “next man up” approach, a role Daley thrived in after Indiana lost starting edge defender Kellan Wyatt to a season-ending knee injury in a 38-13 win over Michigan State on Oct. 18.
Daniel Ndukwe, a 6-foot-3, 244-pound sophomore from Lithonia, Ga., saw snaps against Wisconsin and Ohio State in relief of starting edge defender Mikail Kamara, who battled lower-body ailments.
Ndukwe has played 104 snaps on defense — 47 in run defense, 32 in pass rush and 25 in coverage — while registering five total pressures, including four quarterback hurries and one hit, according toPro Football Focus. He’s steadily risen up the depth chart this fall, taking over as the No. 3 edge rusher after Wyatt’s injury and the No. 2 when Kamara missed time.
The Hoosiers have other options to consider beyond merely replacing Daley with Ndukwe.
Indiana moved defensive lineman Mario Landino from field defensive end, where he spent his freshman season, to defensive tackle over the offseason. The 6-foot-4, 284-pound sophomore has flourished on the interior, collecting five sacks and six tackles for loss this fall.
Landino has played sparingly on the outside this season, as he’s played either left or right defensive end on 76 of his 423 snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. But he’s a viable candidate to see more snaps on the end of the line of scrimmage.
Be it promoting Ndukwe to a larger role, kicking Landino outside or reshuffling additional pieces, Indiana’s coaching staff has lots to ponder — and Cignetti gave no indication of which avenue the Hoosiers plan to take.
“It’s a little bit of all,” Cignetti said. “And I guess we’ll see when we play the game what we decide to do, right?”
Fernando Mendoza did not attend Indiana University’s visit to the White House commemorating the Hoosiers’ college football national championship on Monday. The Las Vegas Raiders quarterback said earlier this month that he would not attend if it interfered with any activities with his new team.
“I’m on the bottom of the totem pole here,” Mendoza said following a rookie minicamp practice. “I got to prove myself. I can’t miss practice. I don’t know anything official. I don’t have the calendar, but I just wouldn’t. As a rookie, I don’t think that’s a good look, and I want to try to best serve my teammates. And I don’t know if that’d be accomplishing that goal.”
According to the team’s official offseason schedule, the Raiders did not have any formal practices or workouts on Monday. The team’s next organized activity is May 18, its first OTA workout.
“Fernando couldn’t be here today because, as I said, he’s now a member of the Las Vegas Raiders,” President Donald Trump said in his address. “Let’s see how good of a team they have, and I think he’s gonna do great. He’s a winner.”
Mendoza wasn’t the only absence. Center Pat Coogan and cornerback D’Angelo Ponds were among the other Hoosiers not in attendance for the event due to NFL obligations. Indiana had a program-record eight players selected in April’s NFL Draft.
Trump highlighted Mendoza’s accomplishments and contributions to the school’s first football national title. He celebrated Mendoza as Indiana’s inaugural Heisman Trophy winner and praised his fourth-quarter touchdown run in the championship game against Miami.
“He’s gonna be a good one,” Trump said.
Indiana was well-represented by returning members of the team. Charlie Becker, one of Mendoza’s go-to receivers during the College Football Playoffs, and Jamari Sharpe, whose late interception secured the title-game victory, both spoke on behalf of the school, as did head coach Curt Cignetti.
Mendoza is one of four members of the national champion Hoosiers who joined the Raiders this offseason. Running back Roman Hemby and wide receiver E.J. Williams Jr. signed as undrafted free agents in the days following the draft. Wide receiver Jonathan Brady earned a contract after impressing as a tryout player during rookie minicamp.
MUNCIE, Ind. (WISH) — Police are investigating a triple shooting that took place on Muncie’s south side Sunday evening that left a woman dead and two men injured.
According to police, at approximately 5:27 p.m., Muncie Police Officers were dispatched to the 2700 block of South Walnut Street in reference to reports of several people being shot.
Officers arrived and located three gunshot victims: A 23-year-old female who died from “multiple wounds,” a 39-year-old male who is hospitalized in stable condition, and a 40-year-old male who was airlifted to an Indianapolis hospital in critical condition.
Police say a suspect is in custody, a 21-year-old man.
Police did not provide any additional information.
Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Muncie Police Detective Division at 765-747-4867 or dispatch at 765-747-4838.
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Sports Seriously
The Indiana Pacers lost 63 games this season for a chance at a franchise-changing lottery pick. On Sunday, May 10, they lost that chance, too.
All Pacers president Kevin Pritchard could do was apologize for taking the risk.
Indiana’s pick landed at No. 5 in the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery, one spot outside the top four protections attached to a midseason trade. The selection now belongs to the Los Angeles Clippers .
Shortly after the results were announced, Pritchard took social media and apologized.
“I’m really sorry to all our fans,” Pritchard wrote. “I own taking this risk. Surprised it came up 5th after this year. I thought we were due some luck.”
The Pacers entered the lottery with a 52.1% chance of securing a top-four pick after finishing 19-63, the second-worst record in the NBA. It wasn’t enough.
Indiana sent Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, a 2028 second-round pick and a 2029 first-round pick to Los Angeles in the midseason deal for Ivica Zubac and Kobe Brown, along with the conditional 2026 first-rounder. The pick was theirs to keep only if it landed in the top four.
Zubac appeared in just five games for Indiana after the trade because of a fractured rib.
“This team deserved a starting center to compete with the best teams next year,” Pritchard wrote. “We have always been resillient.”
Pritchard will have to be resilient if he looks at the replies to his statement. About half of the Pacers fans’ comments were not happy, and fans of other teams called him out for “tanking.”
There were also a large number of fans who were supportive of Pritchard taking that risk.
Tyrese Haliburton is expected to return next season after tearing his Achilles in last year’s NBA Finals. The Pacers will have him Pascal Siakam and a roster they think is built to compete. They just won’t have that first-round pick to add to it.
The 2026 NBA Draft begins June 23 in Brooklyn.
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