Taking over as quarterback of the Indiana Hoosiers in 2026 is a tough assignment for Josh Hoover. Fernando Mendoza orchestrated the greatest season the Indiana Football program has ever seen in 2025, as he won the Heisman Trophy and led the Hoosiers to a historic National Championship.
Mendoza is now the overwhelming favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick in April's NFL Draft, and following in those footsteps would be a tough ask for anyone.
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Replacing the production Mendoza brought to the table last season is nearly impossible, but Hoover might just be the perfect fit. Hoover is experienced, can make quick decisions, is capable of making any throw, and is exceptional at running the run-pass-option (RPO). Those are the ideal attributes to have when running Mike Shanahan's offense in Bloomington.
The start of the 2026 college football season is still over five months away, but Hoover is already earning high praise as he takes over for Mendoza at the helm of the Indiana offense.
ESPN ranks Josh Hoover as a top-15 QB entering 2026
On Thursday, ESPN's Bill Connelly released his pre-spring QB rankings for all 68 Power 4 college football teams. Hoover comes in at No. 13 among all QBs in the country, and is ranked as the No. 4 gunslinger in the Big Ten.
Big Ten Pre-spring QB rankings, via ESPN's Bill Connelly pic.twitter.com/QlUqeYiP6J
— The Big Ten Huddle 🎙️ (@TheBigTenHuddle) March 5, 2026
Notre Dame's CJ Carr earned the top spot, with Ohio State's Julian Sayin coming in at No. 2 and Ole Miss' Trinidad Chambliss claiming the No. 3 spot. Texas' Arch Manning and USC's Jayden Maiava round out the top-5.
It's hard to argue with Connelly's ranking when it comes to Big Ten quarterbacks, as Sayin, Maiava, and Dante Moore are all returning to their respective teams after strong showings in 2026. Those QBs were the three leaders in terms of passing yards last season, as Maiava led the nation with 3,711 yards, Sayin was 2nd with 3,610, and Moore was 3rd with 3,565 of his own.
Connelly has Hoover as the top transfer portal QB in the conference entering 2026, which sounds about right. After four seasons in Forth Worth with TCU, the Heath, TX native comes to Bloomington with 31 career starts under his belt and has accumulated 9,629 yards and 71 touchdowns in his career. This past season, he finished 2nd in the Big 12 in completion percentage (65.9%), 2nd in passing yards (3,472), 2nd in touchdowns (29), and 3rd in completions (272).
With odds of +1200, Hoover currently has the sixth-shortest odds to win the Heisman Trophy in 2026 according to DraftKings Sportsbook. The only players ahead of him are CJ Carr (+750), Arch Manning (+750), Trinidad Chambliss (+900), Dante Moore (+1000), and Julian Sayin (+1000).