Can Josh Hoover be the third transfer QB to lead Indiana to the College Football Playoff in 2026?
According to ESPN, the TCU QB has signed with the Hoosiers out of the transfer portal. Hoover’s impending arrival likely means that current Indiana QB and Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza will declare for the 2026 NFL Draft.
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Mendoza’s declaration would not be a surprise in the slightest. He’s the favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick in April and the Las Vegas Raiders — a team in desperate need of a QB — clinched the top pick on Sunday.
But we won’t officially know Mendoza’s draft intentions for a while. No. 1 Indiana plays No. 5 Oregon in the Peach Bowl on Friday night and a win puts the Hoosiers in the national title game on Jan. 19.
Hoover has played in 35 games over the past three seasons at TCU. In 2025, he was 272-of-413 passing for 3,472 yards and 29 TDs with 13 interceptions. Hoover has thrown 71 TDs over the past three years and averaged 8.4 yards an attempt in both 2024 and 2025.
After Indiana hired coach Curt Cignetti ahead of the 2024 season, the Hoosiers signed Ohio QB Kurtis Rourke out of the transfer portal for his final season of eligibility. The former MAC player of the year threw for over 3,000 yards and 29 TDs as Indiana made the College Football Playoff for the first time.
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Mendoza then arrived from Cal after the 2025 season as the Hoosiers continued their ascent. Indiana won the Big Ten in 2025 and is the only undefeated team at the top level of college football. Mendoza has thrown 36 TDs over 14 games so far this season and is averaging 9.6 yards a pass. He easily won the Heisman Trophy ahead of Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia and Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love.
Like both Rourke and Mendoza, Hoover will have one season of eligibility remaining. The Texas native was a four-star recruit in the class of 2022 and the No. 15 quarterback in the nation out of high school according to Rivals.
