BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti has expressed confidence in his new-look running back room throughout spring practice. 

They rewarded that confidence with a strong showing on Thursday night in the team’s spring game. The offense won 34-25 over the defense in front of fans at Memorial Stadium. The running backs scored two of the team’s five offensive touchdowns. 

“I think that group definitely caught my eye,” Cignetti said. “I just think our running back room is faster, more dynamic, good at pass pro, good at catching the ball out of the backfield, can break tackles.”

Last year, Indiana’s rushing offense ranked No. 102 in the country out of 133 FBS teams with 120.1 yards per game. The team’s 3.3 yards per carry ranked even lower (No. 120). The Hoosiers put up pedestrian numbers on the ground going all the way back to the 2018 season. 

Cignetti made retooling the running back room one of his top priorities after taking over. 

Indiana had four backs with 50-plus carries last year and none of them are still on the roster. Their leading rusher last season Trent Howland was the most recent departure after re-entering the portal during the spring window. 

David Holloman, who has 17 career carries, is the only running back still on the team from last season. 

While Cignetti told offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan “to throw it 65, 75 percent of the time” on Thursday night, Indiana’s new group of running backs had some standout moments. The game also presented a glimpse at what the rotation will look like come fall. 

More: Why Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti followed a new trend during spring practice

‘We have more speed and athleticism back there’

The biggest play early in the game for the first-team offense was a 23-yard run from Kaelon Black. 

He bounced it to the outside with a quick lateral move and got a nice block from Myles Price to seal the edge against Amare Ferrell. Josh Sanguinetti completely misjudged Black’s speed and couldn’t do anything as the running back got into the second level. Black finished it off with a spin move to get a few extra yards. 

In the second quarter, Black ducked under defensive tackle Robby Harrison’s arm to get through the line of scrimmage and convert a third down. He showed off a quick burst on the next play with a 9-yard gain up the middle. 

Black led James Madison last year with 637 yards (4.5 per carry). He forced 18 missed tackles and had 18 runs of 10-yards or more on 133 rushing attempts, according to Pro Football Focus. 

A finger injury late in the year limited Black’s touches, but both numbers would still have led all of IU’s running backs last year. He had 11 designed runs go for 15 yards or more while the Hoosiers combined for 14 as a team. 

Fellow James Madison transfer Ty Son Lawton also had a nice night. 

On his first carry, he showed nice patience going off the left side behind Drew Evans to convert a third and long.

He also prevented the first-team offense from going three and out late in the first quarter. He sidestepped a blitz on third and short and hit the hole for a short gain. Lawton made a nice blitz pick up off the edge on the next play. 

One of the best plays of the night for the offense was Lawton’s 15-yard touchdown run at the start of the second quarter. He knocked Sanguinetti back with a stiff arm to get to the outside then lowered his shoulder at the goal line to power past Ferrell. 

Black finished the game with a team-high 39 yards on just four carries while Lawton had four carries for 25 yards with a touchdown.

More: Indiana football RB Trent Howland announces plans to transfer ahead of spring game

Indiana’s running back rotation takes shape

Cignetti will likely feature at least three running backs in prominent roles on the offense this fall. 

Wake Forest transfer Justice Ellison, who had three carries for 12 yards with a touchdown in the spring game, and Black appear to be the frontrunners to start with Lawton taking over as the team’s primary third down back. 

Ellison has the most experience of all IU’s running backs with 43 career games played and 427 carries. He’s rushed for more than 500 yards each of the past three seasons against Power Five competition. He’s averaged 4.5 yards per carry during his career.

“All three of those guys just love football,” Cignetti said, after the game. “They’re football nuts. Tough guys. They’re tough guys.”

North Carolina transfer Elijah Green, who was a late addition out of the portal in the winter, will provide some added depth. He was the Tar Heels starting running back for a six-game stretch at the end of the 2022 season. 

He had nine carries for 25 yards and worked with both the first- and second-team offense in the spring game. 

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

INDIANAPOLIS — The NBA announced the schedule for each of the first-round playoff series in the 2024 postseason earlier this week. That includes the Indiana Pacers vs Milwaukee Bucks set, which is the three-seed vs six-seed tilt in the Eastern Conference.

The best-of-seven will begin on Sunday in Milwaukee for Game 1. That will be the sixth meeting of the 2023-24 campaign between the two teams — they played five times during the regular season since they are division rivals who also battled in the In-Season Tournament knockout stage.

The full schedule for the Pacers-bucks series can be seen below.

The most notable scheduling quirk is that Game 2 is on Tuesday, April 23 — just two days after Game 1. With Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo dealing with a calf injury, less time between the early games in the series could end up causing the former MVP to miss more outings.

Indiana announced their broadcast schedule for the battles earlier today, including the local listings. While playoff games are on National TV, Bally Sports Indiana will have a broadcast for every game that currently has a scheduled time, and they could add more depending on future network slots.

The Pacers are ready to prove what they can do in the postseason. Despite it being the team’s first playoff berth in four years, they aren’t just happy to be there. They want to win, and some of their player’s past experiences against the Bucks in the postseason could prove to be valuable. It all begins on Sunday.

• The Indiana Pacers are playoff bound and will face the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the postseason. CLICK HERE.
• Myles Turner steps up and leads Indiana Pacers over Atlanta Hawks the way he said he would . CLICK HERE.
• Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark meets Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton, gets praise from Rick Carlisle. CLICK HERE.
• Indiana Pacers electric offensive night guides them past Atlanta Hawks and into 2024 NBA Playoffs. CLICK HERE.
• Follow AllPacers on Facebook: All Pacers SI
• Follow AllPacers on Twitter: @SIPacers

Indiana’s spring game is here.

IU takes the field at Memorial Stadium at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday, on Big Ten Network, in the first extended look at Curt Cignetti’s team. The Hoosiers have a little over four months before they kick off the 2024 season against FIU in Bloomington.

The spring game is, obviously, much different than a real game, and should be taken with a grain of salt. But it will be the first opportunity for fans to see the group Cignetti has assembled for the coming year and how much progress the team’s made through spring camp.

Here are a few things to watch for on Thursday night.

Quarterbacks

The most important position on any football team is always worth keeping an eye on. But it’s particularly the case when the likely starting quarterback is new to Bloomington and playing for a new staff, in a new system.

Kurtis Rourke has had a good spring, by all accounts, while adapting to IU after transferring from Ohio. He’s building rapport with his receivers and making strides as a passer under Tino Sunseri and Mike Shanahan. The spring game will be the longest look we get at Rourke all spring, and potentially, at all before the season opener on August 31.

And while the redshirt senior appears likely to start for IU, the backup quarterback battle will also be noteworthy. Redshirt sophomore Tayven Jackson and true freshman Tyler Cherry are IU’s second and third-string quarterbacks, in some order. But it’s not yet evident who will be Rourke’s primary backup, and the spring game could provide an early look at who the favorite is to claim that job.

Pass rush

Indiana’s pass rush was inconsistent last season.

Andre Carter had a nice season, but opponents were sometimes able to key in on him and limit his impact. And IU just didn’t have enough other rushers who were consistently getting home and pressuring opposing quarterbacks. A more productive pass rush could’ve made a big difference for last year’s defense, and this year’s squad has a chance to improve in that area.

Lanell Carr Jr. picked it up in the second half of the season, starting with the two-sack game at Michigan, and he’s back in the fold for the coming season. Jacob Mangum-Farrar is moving to the “stud” position in Bryant Haines’ defense, which will see him rushing the passer more often. IU would greatly benefit from his continued production in a new role.

Among newcomers, JMU transfer Mikail Kamara may be the most intriguing player in this group. He was named second-team All-Sun Belt last season, and though he finished third on the team with 7.5 sacks, that would’ve led Indiana. With three forced fumbles and 18.5 tackles for loss last season, he would’ve been one of IU’s top pass-rushers. If he can establish himself in the Big Ten, Indiana’s defensive front could be much improved.

Fellow JMU transfer James Carpenter is similarly promising, but he’s missed IU’s spring camp with an injury. But the spring game will be a chance for Kamara and others to prove their value to fans. It’ll be the first sign of whether Indiana’s pass rush can truly improve going into the 2024 season.

Old regime vs new regime players

This, obviously isn’t a specific position group. But it’s one of the biggest storylines of spring ball.

Cignetti has talked frequently about establishing his standards for the program and wanting to “eliminate the old Indiana” mentalities. It’s felt like when he’s publicly praised players, it’s mainly been for new players added by his staff this offseason, and when he’s publicly called out players, it’s been holdovers from the Tom Allen era.

The spring game will give some insight as to how that dynamic is playing out so far. No, it won’t be 11 newcomers or returnees on either side of the ball; but do the new Hoosiers have an edge in Cignetti’s mind? How is that impacting roles and reps? Generally, who stands out the most from both groups of players?

For complete coverage of IU football, GO HERE.

The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”

Related