Indiana

Indiana Football Position Previews: New Set Of Returners For 2024

Published

2 years ago

August 17, 2024

Indiana Football Position Previews: New Set Of Returners For 2024

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – For the past two Indiana football seasons, when you looked back to see who was returning kicks? You saw No. 12 in a Hoosier uniform ready to go to work.

Jaylin Lucas handled kick returns almost exclusively in 2022 and 2023 and then added punt return duties in 2023.

He was explosive too. Lucas scored three kick return touchdowns, one of them kick-starting a comeback in 2022 as the Hoosiers overcame a 31-14 second-half deficit at Michigan State to eventually earn a 39-31 victory in overtime.

Lucas, however, was part of the exodus when Curt Cignetti replaced Tom Allen as head coach. Lucas will ply his trade for Florida State in 2024.

Along with Lucas, every other Hoosier who had multiple returns also left the team or ran out of eligibility after the 2023 season. So get used to some new faces.

Personnel

#18 Solomon Vanhorse: graduate student, 5-foot-8, 185 pounds, played seven games at James Madison.

#4 Myles Price: senior, 5-foot-9, 183 pounds, 42 games at Texas Tech.

#5 Ke’Shawn Williams: senior, 5-foot-9, 189 pounds, 46 games at Wake Forest.

Top expected contributors: Myles Price, Sean Vanhorse, Ke’Shawn Williams.

Contributors who departed from the 2023 team: Jaylin Lucas (to Florida State).

Transfer infusion

Myles Price, Ke’Shawn Williams and Solomon Vanhorse.

What do they have in common? Those three Hoosiers are the only ones on the roster with five career returns or more – and they all come to Indiana from different places.

Of the trio, the most intriguing is wide receiver Myles Price, a transfer from Texas Tech. Price will have an impact on Indiana’s passing game, but he is also explosive as a punt returner.

Price returned nine punts for Texas Tech in 2023. He was below the minimum NCAA standard to qualify for the punt return average crown.

That’s a shame for Price, because his average of 21.8 yards in nine punt returns would have put him a yard ahead of Southern California’s Zachariah Branch, the NCAA punt return leader.

As is common in 2020s football, many teams kicked away from Price in 2023. He played in 10 games in 2023 for the Red Raiders, but only returned punts in six of them. In just one of those games did he return more than one punt.

Given that he broke punt returns of 43, 33 and 29 yards, it’s no wonder opponents wanted no part of him. However, Price remains determined to get his first career punt return touchdown.

“I need to get some touchdowns,” Price said during a spring press conference. “I think that’s the biggest thing. I’m doing a good job fielding the punts and getting a lot of yards, but I don’t have a touchdown yet.”

Indiana wide receiver Ke’Shawn Williams runs a drill during a practice. / Indiana athletics

On the kick return side, Wake Forest transfer Williams averaged 19.8 yards on 33 career kick returns for the Demon Deacons.

Williams returned kicks in all four of his seasons at Wake Forest. He averaged 23.4 yards in 2023, though with only eight returns to his credit.

Cignetti signaled that he wants competency on kick returns.

“Not many kicks get returned,” Cignetti said. “When you look at it, it’s some 30%. But we’ve got guys that are good with a ball in their hand. The most important thing to me is at the end of the play, we have possession of the ball.”

Indiana running back Solomon Vanhorse takes part in a practice drill. / Indiana athletics

Vanhorse came from James Madison, where he returned three kicks and two punts over two seasons for the Dukes. He had punt returns of 35 and 25 yards against Bucknell in 2023.

A running back in a crowded backfield, Vanhorse’s path to the field might be via return duties. Cignetti said all three were good punt and kick return candidates.

Four other players – Miles Cross, Kaelon Black, Elijah Green and Justice Ellison – all have either a kick or a punt return on their career ledger, but none are expected to be part of the return mix in 2024.

Returning talent

As mentioned, Indiana doesn’t return any of its return crew from 2023. Omar Cooper Jr. does have four career kick returns, but they occurred in 2022. Camden Jordan returned one punt for the Hoosiers in 2023.

The bottom line

It will be interesting to see what Big Ten opponents do with Price. Given his explosiveness, enemy punters might avoid him entirely. If that equates to positive field position for the Hoosiers, his presence is worth it even if he doesn’t get to show his stuff.

Lucas will be missed on kick returns. Williams was serviceable at Wake Forest and Vanhorse could be good, but until proven otherwise, those two will have to show they can match Lucas’s standard of recent seasons.

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Indiana

Is ‘The Bachelorette’ happening? This Carmel contestant weighs in

Published

2 hours ago

March 30, 2026

Press Room

Is ‘The Bachelorette’ happening? This Carmel contestant weighs in

Should ABC air the canceled-for-now season of “The Bachelorette”? A Carmel man who was set to compete on it seems to think so.

Matt Carroll, a 43-year-old Purdue basketball alum and Carmel resident, took to social media over the weekend to address the cancelation of season 22 of “The Bachelorette,” on which he appeared. Public opinion on whether the show should see the light of day is split, but the former Boilermaker forward and industrial real estate broker hopes the footage makes it to air.

Disney and ABC pulled season 22 of “The Bachelorette” because its lead, “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” star Taylor Frankie Paul, faces an ongoing domestic violence investigations. The network announced the decision March 19 after TMZ leaked a video from a 2023 domestic violence incident involving Paul and her ex Dakota Mortensen.

Neither Carroll nor the show have officially commented on the cancelation, but that doesn’t mean he and other contestants haven’t hinted at their feelings on social media.

Carroll’s Instagram reel — in which he struts through the streets of Carmel, rose in hand, RAYE’s “Where the Hell is My Husband” soundtracking it all — breaks the ice. “So…about that,” he joked, tagging both “The Bachelorette” and Bachelor Nation, the franchise’s official hub for news and content.

The reel has garnered comments from fellow Carmel residents wishing Carroll well, even offering to set him up with local singles. Notably, though, some of Carroll’s followers have called for the season to air — and he agrees.

“Trying to manifest that they still air this,” one comment from model Brittany Mason reads. “America wants it the world wants it!”

“From your lips to God’s ears,” Carroll replied.

Another response from him put it more plainly:

“I’m still hoping they decide to air it.”

Whether “The Bachelorette” will air is unclear. Disney Entertainment Television’s official statement only indicated that it was halting the season “for now,” so it’s possible the network could dust off the footage and air it after all.

Contact IndyStar Pop Culture Reporter Heather Bushman at hbushman@indystar.com. Follow her on X @hmb_1013.

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Game times announced for Saturday’s Final Four in Indianapolis

Published

14 hours ago

March 29, 2026

Press Room

Game times announced for Saturday’s Final Four in Indianapolis

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – The 2026 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament’s Final Four is set.

Four teams have advanced to the Final Four and will compete for the national championship this upcoming weekend in Indianapolis.

The two national semifinal matchups will take place on Saturday. Tip times for the two games have been announced:

6:09 p.m. EDT – No. 3 seed Illinois vs. No. 2 seed UConn
8:49 p.m. EDT – No. 1 seed Michigan vs. No. 1 seed Arizona

The winners of Saturday’s games will then play in the National Championship Game on Monday, April 6.

Each game will take place inside Lucas Oil Stadium.

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Hundreds gather at Indiana State Capitol for ‘No Kings’ protest

Published

1 day ago

March 29, 2026

Press Room

Hundreds gather at Indiana State Capitol for ‘No Kings’ protest

INDIANAPOLIS — Hundreds of Hoosiers gathered at the Indiana Statehouse Saturday morning as part of nationwide ‘No Kings’ events to voice their concerns about the current administration.

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Hundreds gather at Indiana State Capitol for ‘No Kings’ protest

“I’m out here today because what’s happening in our government is completely trash,” Donna Sipes told WRTV. “It’s wrong. We need to do something about it.”

“I’m tired of every single day when the TV comes on to see what stupid thing he’s done next,” Lindi Marti said.

WRTV

Attendees noted the growing popularity of the demonstrations.

“This is my fourth one to come to. I didn’t come to all of them when it was really cold, but I’m glad to see that they are getting a lot more people out here every time,” Marti added. “It seems like there’s more and more coming.”

Demonstrators highlighted specific foreign policy concerns, including the administration’s handling of the war in Iran.

“We’re bombing the heck out of them. We’re killing civilians,” Marti’s husband said. “We’re getting ready to send our Marines.”

Others focused on the administration’s handling of immigration.

“That’s what I’m concerned about,” Reverend Kenny Little told WRTV. “Little kids, they’re taking them away from their family. And I’m just one of those people, I think everyone got rights.”

Indiana medical students also attended the rally to speak out against changes to the healthcare system.

“We’re really worried about the attacks on the health care system in general, but with Medicaid… current estimates range from anywhere from 325,000 to 450,000 Hoosiers will lose coverage by 2032,” Wade Catt said with concern.

Poster image - 2026-03-28T202405.362.jpg

With midterm elections approaching later this year, attendees emphasized the importance of now taking action at the ballot box.

“If we don’t vote, then things are gonna not, they’re gonna stay the same,” a protester said.

Meanwhile, Indiana Lieutenant Governor Micah Beckwith says he’s happy to see Hoosiers exercise their First Amendment right to protest.

However, he takes issue with the idea that President Trump is acting like a king. Beckwith says the fact that people have the freedom to protest is proof that the president is not acting like a tyrant.

He acknowledges that bridging the gap between the sides is probably an uphill battle, but believes communication is key.

“I think when you sit down with people face to face, you’re confronted with humanity. There’s another human sitting across that table from you and talking to you. And so, all I have to say, I think that’s probably the thing I would encourage all Hoosiers to do is say, ‘Hey, if you don’t agree with somebody or if you don’t like somebody, why don’t you try grabbing coffee with them? And give it 30 minutes, and just see what happens.’ I bet most of the time people will walk away with a much softer heart and spirit towards that person before they came in,” Beckwith said.

Beckwith is currently on a 92-county tour of the state. He says all sides are welcome to attend his events.

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