Josh Hoover just became one of college football's most intriguing breakout candidates

If Curt Cignetti is going to lead the Indiana Hoosiers to another College Football Playoff appearance with a shot at back-to-back national titles, transfer QB Josh Hoover is going to need to put together a strong campaign. Hoover comes to Bloomington after four seasons in the Big 12 with TCU, and while following a Heisman Trophy-winning season from Fernando Mendoza is a nearly impossible task, Hoover has the experience and talent to shine in Cignetti's system.

Indiana will be front and center of the college football world when the season starts

Given Cignetti's success with getting the best out of his quarterbacks during his tenure at Indiana, Hoover could be in for a monster season.

FOX Sports lists Josh Hoover as college football's prime breakout candidate for 2026

The start of the college football season is still several months away, but the anticipation continues to build. Over the weekend, FOX Sports released its list of the top breakout candidates heading into the 2026 season.

To the delight of Hoosier football fans, Hoover is at the top of the list. Furthermore, he is also the only quarterback on the list.

FOX Sports' Michael Cohen has a lot of positive things to say about Hoover in his analysis of the Hoosier gunslinger. Along with Hoover's experience and skill level, Cohen notes Cignetti's previous success with experienced transfer quarterbacks at Indiana.

Cignetti has made a habit of bringing in experienced quarterback through the portal, and Hoover fits that mold perfectly. Entering his first season at IU, Cignetti brought in sixth-year senior Kurtis Rourke from Ohio. He then brought in Mendoza, a rising junior, from Cal in Year 2. Both IU tenures for Rourke and Mendoza went extremely well.

"Rourke had already been named the 2022 MAC Offensive Player of the Year at Ohio before throwing a career-high 29 touchdown passes in his only season at Indiana while leading the Hoosiers to the College Football Playoff. And all Mendoza did after throwing for 3,004 yards and 16 touchdowns as a sophomore at Cal was put together one of the most decorated campaigns in recent memory, punctuated by the Heisman Trophy and a national championship en route to becoming the No. 1 overall pick. Such remarkable precedent suggests that Cignetti can probably elevate Hoover, too."

Michael Cohen

Hoover spent four seasons in Fort Worth with TCU and comes to Bloomington for his final collegiate season. He has and has appeared in 36 games with 31 starts under his belt, and no returning quarterback in college football has more career production than Hoover.

The 6'2" 200-pound gunslinger has 9,629 yards and 79 total touchdowns to his name in his collegiate career. Given that proven track record of performing at a high level, Hoover is the perfect fit for Cignetti and Indiana.

Josh Hoover is built to lead the Hoosier offense

Hoover is also familiar with the system Cignetti and offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan want to run. As Joel Klatt discussed earlier this month, Hoover is extremely familiar with an RPO-heavy system.

"He's almost a clone of Mendoza," said Klatt when speaking on his show, The Joel Klatt Show, earlier this month. "Last year Fernando Mendoza threw more RPOs than anybody in college football. The next player on that list was Josh Hoover. He's built for this offense."

Hoover's style of play, as well as his long collegiate career so far, could lead to great results in Bloomington this season. His cadence, experience, and RPO-heavy skill set have Indiana fans fired up to see what he can do when the new season comes around.

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