Indiana quarterback Josh Hoover is expected to be available when the Hoosiers return home to face Minnesota on Saturday, even after playing through a wrist injury in last weekend’s overtime win at Michigan.
IU coach Curt Cignetti made that clear Monday, saying Hoover should be ready to go and trending upward.
"I expect him to be fine and better this week," Cignetti said.
The injury was part of the conversation throughout Indiana’s win in Ann Arbor, where the staff even weighed whether to turn to seventh-year backup Grant Wilson at halftime. Cignetti said after the game that Wilson had pushed himself into the discussion with a strong week of practice.
"There was a lot of discussion about Grant Wilson and Josh Hoover in the second half because Grant had a good week of practice," Cignetti said Saturday after IU's win at Michigan. "He's very capable.
He's big, strong, and can run. I think at the end of the day, we felt like it's been Josh's season, and even though he's not 100 percent, we've got to finish it out with him, and he responded.
And he's only going to get better physically from here on out."
Hoover’s line in the victory showed how much the injury affected the passing game. He finished 8-of-18 for 81 yards with no passing touchdowns and one interception. He didn’t complete a pass after halftime until finding second-year tight end Brock Schott in overtime, then finished the job himself with the game-winning rushing touchdown that sealed Indiana’s first win in Ann Arbor since 1967.
Through eight games, Hoover has completed 62.0 percent of his throws for 1,741 yards, 18 touchdowns and one interception. His 84.6 quarterback rating ranks ninth in the FBS.
If Indiana needs Wilson, the Hoosiers know what they have. The seventh-year quarterback arrived from Old Dominion before the 2025 season after starting his career at FCS school Fordham. He was IU’s third-string quarterback last season behind Fernando Mendoza and Alberto Mendoza, and he has served as the backup this year.
In two seasons at Indiana, Wilson has completed five of six passes for 79 yards and two touchdowns, and he has added five rushing attempts for 51 yards and a score. At Old Dominion in 2023, the 6-foot-3, 220-pound quarterback appeared in all 12 games, completing 57.1 percent of his passes for 2,149 yards, 17 touchdowns and eight interceptions while also running 130 times for 289 yards and four touchdowns.
Indiana’s next game comes Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington against Minnesota on Homecoming. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
ET, with CBS carrying the broadcast. ESPN's "College GameDay" will also be in Bloomington.
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