New Indiana Football quarterbacks coach and co-offensive coordinator Tino Sunseri appeared on the newest episode of Under the Hood with Indiana football.
Sunseri followed new Indiana football head coach Curt Cignetti from James Madison after spending 2021-2023 as the school’s quarterback coach. He played quarterback at Pitt for four years and then played three seasons in the Canadian Football League before moving to coaching.
On the episode, Sunseri shared his approach to coaching quarterbacks and his mindset for the 2024 quarterback room.
“I think that each and every year it’s a fresh new group and you have to be able to take it as all those guys have no experience,” Sunseri said. “Especially when you come into a new room in which you haven’t been able to implement your culture of the standard in which you have to be able to operate each and every day.”
Indiana’s quarterback room has a mix of new and old faces. Tayven Jackson and Broc Lowry were the only quarterbacks to return while Indiana added sixth-year senior Kurtis Rourke, and freshmen Tyler Cherry and Alberto Mendoza to the roster.
“I think the biggest thing that this group has been able to show me really early on is that they’re very eager to learn,” Sunseri said about the quarterback room. “They’re very eager to be able to dive into the process of what we believe and I believe wholeheartedly where you have to play at a certain level, but it takes a lot of things to be able to get you to that level.”
Of the quarterbacks, Ohio transfer Kurtis Rourke has the most experience, having thrown 50 career touchdown passes in 36 career games. Rourke is expected to be the starting quarterback heading into the season.
Sunseri emphasized that he wants unity in the quarterback room, and he pushes his guys to hold each other accountable to help them succeed.
“I think that each and every one has tools and gifts, but the biggest thing that I had to really specify to them is that they’re really only competing against themselves every day,” Sunseri said. “Our goal is to be able to have the best quarterback room in the country. … Where we’re self-assessing each other and every day we’re going to be able to grow and maximize each and every opportunity.”
Sunseri who had previously coached under Nick Saban, Jimbo Fischer and Jeremy Pruitt, explained how he learned a lot from them in terms of holding players accountable.
“We’ve already had one meeting where I kind of just laid out the ways in which that we have to be able to operate off the field, in the classroom, in the workouts,” Sunseri said. “… I think that how you do one thing is how you do everything and things carry over.”
An interesting aspect of Sunseri’s philosophy was his emphasis on starting fresh every year.
“What we’re going to do is our way and what our way is being able to start from scratch each and every year,” Sinsuri explained. “… Even if you’re a fifth or sixth-year senior there’s still things in which that if you dive into it and be able to go to the baseline of what you’re doing. You’re going to be able to still learn something as little as this to be able to have it where it’s going to make a huge difference in your game.”
By focusing on improving the little things, Sinsuri believes it can make a huge difference in the success of a quarterback. For a position that is required to do so much for a team, the attention to detail down to the smallest things can make a big difference.
Sunseri’s proven track record with quarterbacks like Jordan McCloud, who threw for 35 touchdowns last season, will make his addition to the Indiana football coaching staff even more exciting.
Fans will get their first look at the Hoosiers’ new quarterback room when Indiana football hosts it’s Spring Game on April 18 at Memorial Stadium.
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