Indiana

Indiana football: Curt Cignetti doesn’t rule out making more position changes for 2024

Published

2 years ago

July 29, 2024

Indiana football: Curt Cignetti doesn’t rule out making more position changes for 2024

BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football’s new staff moved swiftly to reshape the roster for a program that’s won just nine games over the last three seasons.

The Hoosiers brought in more than two dozen transfers, but the coaches also shifted around some key personnel that opted to stay in Bloomington during spring practice. The most notable changes were shifting linebacker Jacob Mangum-Farrar to defensive end and corner Nic Toomer to safety.

Indiana coach Curt Cignetti didn’t have any further changes to announce at Big Ten Media Days last week — ”nothing earth shattering in terms of position changes” — but was also non-committal whether or not those position changes will stick for Mangum-Farrar and Toomer.

“As of today, yes,” Cignetti said.

More: Can Indiana football receiver E.J. Williams overcome his ‘biggest nemesis’ this fall?

Why so coy? Cignetti wants to see both defenders show a bit more consistency when call camp opens next week.

“I thought both those guys came out of spring, learned a new position and had some good moments,” Cignetti said. “The one thing I’ll say when you are introduced to new stuff in spring ball — you are a lot better in the last half of spring, but when you come back for August camp, the amount of improvement now guys are just playing and not thinking.”

Mangum-Farrar started in the spring game alongside Mikail Kamara at defensive end. He will have to beat out Lanell Carr, who is healthy after sitting out the spring with an injury, to keep that spot.

The Hoosiers need Mangum-Farrar to be productive whether he wins the starting job or not. They didn’t add a defensive end during the spring window and didn’t have any experienced depth beyond Kamara and Carr.

He had 62 tackles last season (33 solo) with four tackles for loss, four pass breakups and 21 quarterback pressures. Farrar got more experience rushing the passer last year for IU (94 pass rush reps) than he had over three seasons at Stanford (31 pass rush reps).

Toomer ran with the second-team defense in the spring game. He’s played 1,016 snaps on defense with 880 of those coming at corner. He earned the second-highest coverage grade among IU corners last year (66.0), according to Pro Football Focus.

The 6-foot-2, 194-pounder had 26 tackles (22 solo) with an interception and three pass breakups.

He’ll be competing for playing time in the coming weeks against Shawn Asbury II, Josh Sanguinetti, Bryson Bonds, Amare Ferrell and Terry Jones Jr.

Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.

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Indiana

Young male critically injured in downtown Indianapolis shooting

Published

12 hours ago

April 12, 2026

Press Room

Young male critically injured in downtown Indianapolis shooting

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Police say a young male is in critical condition after being shot Saturday night on Indy’s north side near the IU Indy and Purdue Indy campuses.

According to a release from Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, just after 11 p.m. officers responded to the 900 block of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard on the report of a person shot.

Officers arrived to find a young male with injuries consistent with gunshot wounds.

He was transported to a nearby hospital in critical condition.

Police say they do not have any further details on the incident or the suspect.

Police are asking anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers.

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Indiana

Veteran forward becomes first unrestricted free agent to sign with Indiana Fever in 2026

Published

1 day ago

April 11, 2026

Press Room

Veteran forward becomes first unrestricted free agent to sign with Indiana Fever in 2026

Veteran forward Monique Billings is signing a multi-year deal with the Indiana Fever.
She has recently played alongside future teammates Kelsey Mitchell and Caitlin Clark in other leagues.
Billings has fully recovered from an ankle injury that sidelined her for part of the 2025 season.

Monique Billings is coming to the Indiana Fever on a multi-year deal, sources confirmed to IndyStar on Saturday.

Billings, an eight-year veteran forward, played with the Golden State Valkyries in 2025 after she was selected as the lone unrestricted free agent in the 2024 expansion draft. She played 26 games with eight starts in 2025, averaging 7.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.

She missed part of the Valkyries’ season with an ankle injury, missing all of August while she recovered. She has since fully recovered, playing in the final month of the WNBA season and participating in Unrivaled and the FIBA Qualifying Tournament in early 2026. Billings has recent history with some of Indiana’s core players, too: she played with Kelsey Mitchell on Hive BC in Unrivaled, then with Caitlin Clark at the FIBA Qualifying Tournament in Puerto Rico in March.

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This story will be updated.

Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at capeterson@indystar.com or follow her on X at @chloepeterson67. Get IndyStar’s Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter. Subscribe to IndyStar’s YouTube channel for Fever Insiders Live.

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Indiana

Sixers beat Pacers, ensuring Indiana’s season ends as second-worst in league

Published

2 days ago

April 11, 2026

Press Room

Sixers beat Pacers, ensuring Indiana’s season ends as second-worst in league

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Tyrese Maxey scored 32 points, Paul George had 21 and the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Indiana Pacers 105-94 on Friday night to snap a three-game skid.

VJ Edgecombe scored 16 points, Kelly Oubre Jr. had 15 and Andre Drummond had 16 rebounds and 10 points for the Sixers (44-37), who maintained their eighth-place position in the Eastern Conference with one game remaining.

A year after they made it to Game 7 of the NBA Finals, Pacers (19-62) ensured they will finish with the second-worst record in the league.

Jarace Walker led Indiana with 17 points, followed by Quenton Jackson with 16 and Ethan Thompson with 15. Micah Potter had 13 points and 10 rebounds.

The Pacers went 14 of 50 from 3-point range, while the Sixers were 5 of 29. Indiana had 21 turnovers while the Sixers had just eight.

Philadelphia finished with a 64-28 advantage in points in the paint.

The Sixers led 58-51 at halftime. Indiana tied it twice in the third quarter, the last time at 64-all, before Philadelphia closed the quarter with a 25-13 stretch to take an 89-77 lead.

Philadelphia big man Joel Embiid, who averages 27 points, had an appendectomy on Thursday in Houston and was released from the hospital Friday. Coach Nick Nurse said the surgery went well, but there is no timetable for Embiid’s return.

Indiana was without coach Rick Carlisle, who missed his second consecutive game to attend his daughter’s sorority spring parents formal at the University of Virginia. He will return for Sunday’s season finale.