Josh Hoover Doesn’t Have to Be Perfect — He’s Right on Schedule

There is a danger that comes with following a Heisman Trophy winner and national championship quarterback.

Every incompletion gets examined. Every missed deep ball becomes a concern. Every possession that doesn’t end in a touchdown creates another question.

And after watching Fernando Mendoza make some extraordinary plays during Indiana’s run to a national championship last season, perhaps that’s understandable.

But it also creates an unfair comparison for Josh Hoover.

We remember January Fernando Mendoza and compare him to September Josh Hoover.

That’s not how quarterback development works.

Hoover wasn’t perfect Saturday in Indiana’s 38-0 victory over Western Kentucky. There are probably three throws he would love to have back. There were explosive opportunities Indiana didn’t capitalize on, and when Big Ten play begins those opportunities become increasingly important.

Put them on the film. Coach them. Correct them.

The standard is still the standard.

But demanding improvement isn’t the same thing as demanding perfection. And through three games, the numbers suggest some of the doom and gloom surrounding Indiana’s new quarterback has gotten considerably ahead of reality.

Look at Where Hoover Actually Stands

Instead of comparing Hoover after three games with the finished product Mendoza became during Indiana’s championship run, compare the first three games of each of Indiana’s last three starting quarterbacks.

The raw yardage total initially catches your eye. Hoover trails Mendoza by 59 yards and Rourke by 106.

But look at the number of opportunities.

Hoover has thrown 25 fewer passes than Mendoza and 23 fewer than Rourke through their respective first three Indiana games.

Despite those fewer attempts, Hoover has thrown more touchdown passes than either quarterback, essentially matched Mendoza’s completion percentage and produced significantly more yards per attempt and yards per completion.

That’s not a quarterback Indiana needs to rescue.

That’s an efficient quarterback playing for a football team that hasn’t needed him to throw the ball 30 times a game.

The Success Around Hoover Matters

Indiana rushed for 233 yards against Western Kentucky. Turbo Richard ran for 149 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. The Indiana defense allowed only 186 total yards and recorded its second consecutive shutout.

Hoover finished 18-of-24 for 273 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Indiana accumulated 513 total yards. And the Hoosiers won 38-0.

That’s complementary football.

Yet somehow we can walk away from a 38-point victory, a second straight shutout and a 3-0 start spending most of our time discussing the three throws the quarterback didn’t make.

Enough with the doom and gloom.

There are 21 other players on the football field. Football isn’t designed for one player to carry an entire team — and Indiana certainly isn’t constructed that way.

Don’t Compare September Hoover to January Mendoza

This may be the most important part of the conversation.

Mendoza became a Heisman Trophy winner and national champion. That’s what everyone remembers.

What we shouldn’t do is take the quarterback Mendoza became late in that championship season and make that the Week 3 standard for Hoover.

Mendoza’s Indiana debut against Old Dominion wasn’t perfection. He completed 18 of 31 passes for 193 yards without a touchdown pass. Indiana still won.

Then he got better. And better. And better.

Eventually we saw the quarterback capable of making the extraordinary plays that helped Indiana win a national championship.

Development is a process. Rourke went through it. Mendoza went through it. Now Hoover is going through it.

What Indiana Actually Needs From Hoover

Indiana doesn’t need Hoover to become Mendoza. It doesn’t need him to become Rourke. And it certainly doesn’t need him trying to manufacture a Heisman moment every Saturday.

Indiana needs Hoover to be consistent. It needs him to be accurate. It needs him to make good decisions with the football, command the offense before the snap, work through his progression after the snap and hit the explosive opportunities when they present themselves.

If Hoover misses an open receiver, coach it. If his feet cause an inaccurate throw, correct it. If he makes the wrong read, put it on the film.

That’s what maintaining the standard looks like.

But the standard can’t become a requirement that the quarterback play flawless football.

The Numbers Don’t Look Like a Problem

Three games into Hoover’s Indiana career:

• 72.5% completions
• 649 passing yards
• 10 touchdown passes
• Zero interceptions
• 12.7 yards per attempt
• 17.5 yards per completion
• 3-0

That’s exactly as good as Indiana could possibly be after three weeks.

Now the evaluation changes. Big Ten play begins, the windows will become smaller, pressure packages will become more sophisticated and Indiana won’t always be able to remove Hoover from games because the score has gotten out of hand.

There will eventually be a Saturday when Indiana needs its quarterback to make a play in the fourth quarter. That’s when we’ll learn more.

But there’s no reason to manufacture that crisis before it arrives.

Coach Griff’s Take

Hoover wasn’t perfect Saturday.

Good. Now there’s something to coach.

Three throws he’d like back don’t erase 18 completions, 273 yards, two touchdowns and another afternoon without an interception. They certainly don’t erase what he’s accomplished through three games.

The standard Cignetti has established at Indiana shouldn’t change because the Hoosiers are winning. If anything, it should continue getting tougher.

But there’s a significant difference between demanding excellence and expecting perfection.

Indiana doesn’t need Josh Hoover to win football games by himself. It needs him to play winning football while the other 21 players do their jobs.

Right now, Indiana is getting exactly that.

The Hoosiers are 3-0. Hoover is on schedule. And there is a lot more football — and development — still ahead.