By Tony Thomas
The Indiana Hoosiers are just 9-27 over the past three seasons, with only three conference wins, and finished the 2023 season on a three-game losing streak. That resulted in the firing of Tom Allen and the hiring of Curt Cignetti from his post with the James Madison Dukes. Cignetti led the Dukes to a 19-4 record in two seasons at the FBS level.
The Hoosiers return just 56% of their total production from last season, prompting Cignetti to raid the transfer portal for a whopping 22 players, with a handful of those being his former players at JMU. Below are three transfers that will make a positive impact for Indiana in 2024.
WR Elijah Sarratt
Previous School: James Madison Dukes
6’2”, 207 lbs.
A 1st Team All-Sun Belt Conference selection last season, Elijah Sarratt caught 82 passes for 1,191 yards and eight touchdowns. Those numbers were good enough for #14 in the FBS and 2nd in the Sun Belt. Sarratt recorded six games of 100 yards receiving, including four straight to finish the season for the Dukes.
Against Coastal Carolina, Sarratt turned in a season-high three TD catches and a rushing touchdown in a 56-14 win. Additionally, Sarratt hauled in 13 passes for 160 yards and a touchdown in a 44-6 victory over UConn. Sarratt was an FCS Freshman All-American at Saint Francis in 2022 after catching 42 passes for 700 yards and 13 TDs. For his collegiate career, Sarratt has caught 124 passes for 1,891 yards and 21 touchdowns.
QB Kurtis Rourke
Previous School: Ohio Bobcats
6’5”, 231 lbs.
Over his final five games of the 2023 season, Kurtis Rourke did not throw an interception. Rourke passed for 2,207 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 5 INTs, and he completed 64% of his passes. In addition, Rourke posted two games of over 300 yards passing and two games with three TD passes. Rourke’s season-high was 313 yards in a loss to Miami (OH.).
Rourke’s best collegiate season came in 2022 when he was named the top player in the MAC, the MAC Offensive Player of the Year, and 1st Team All-MAC. That season, Rourke threw for 3,256 yards, 25 touchdowns, and just four INTs while completing 69% of his passes. In addition, Rourke threw for 537 yards vs. Fordham and threw five TD passes, along with 317 yards and a 69% completion rate vs Buffalo.
LB Aiden Fisher
Previous School: James Madison Dukes
6’1”, 227 lbs.
In 2023, Aiden Fisher racked up 108 tackles on his way to being named 3rd Team All-Sun Belt. In addition, Fisher recorded four games of double-digit tackles, including a season-high 17 stops in a 10-point loss to Air Force. Against South Alabama, Fisher recorded ten tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, one sack, and two pass breakups in a 31-23 victory.
There will be no divisions in conference play this season, as conference re-alignment added USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Washington to the ahem “Big Ten." The Hoosiers avoid Penn State on their schedule. However, they must travel to the Rose Bowl to take on UCLA and to the ‘Shoe to battle Ohio State. Indiana does host the two teams that played in the National Championship Game this past January, Michigan, and Washington.
Indiana’s 2024-win total is projected at 5.5 wins. If Cignetti can replicate the success he achieved at James Madison, the Hoosiers can post their first winning season since the COVID-19 season of 2020, when they went 6-2.
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