Josh Hoover has thrown for more than 9,500 yards. Now he's taking over the Indiana offense that just produced a Heisman winner. A proven arm, a proven system -- and one question: can he cut the giveaways?
6′2″ · 200 lb · Heath, TX · Rockwall-Heath
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
On production he ranks #16 of 146 QBs; on reputation he is a projected national-award finalist. The gap between those two numbers is the story.
The numbers
passing yards · 2026
8 TD · 0 INT · 13.9 per attempt
2 games into 2026 so far -- Backed by 379 yds · 5 TD -- top 1% passing TDs game. -- Best game: 145 pass yds, 4 TD, 18 rush yds, vs Howard
The play that turned itSwung TCU from 12% to 64% to win.Texas Tech at TCU · 35-34
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Josh Hoover has thrown for more than 9,500 yards. Now he's taking over the Indiana offense that just produced a Heisman winner. A proven arm, a proven system -- and one question: can he cut the giveaways?
Aura™ · Him Watch
-12aura tax
95th pctl our passing-value metric (wEPA) QBs · 160 qualified, n=206
— the discourse is fair.Buzz vs Tape
His own fans are far more bullish than the rival fanbase.
Also worth knowing:
“Imagine taking Craig to be your QB and shit talking Josh Hoover”
Fan claims · every quote verified verbatim
TCU football found itself without a quarterback this offseason after veteran three-year starter Josh Hoover entered the transfer portal before eventually committing to Indiana, the reigning national champion.
Based on 1 comment across 1 thread · Aug 30, 2026 · via Scott & Wes Frog Fan Forum
At TCU he was a yardage machine -- 3,472 yards, 29 touchdowns and a 65.9 completion percentage in 2025, on top of a single-season program record in 2024 and more than 9,500 career passing yards. Now he inherits one of the best landing spots in the sport: Indiana, where Curt Cignetti's CFP-tested offense just turned Fernando Mendoza into a Heisman winner. The pairing is the pitch -- a high-volume veteran arm dropped into a system proven to maximize quarterbacks. The forward stakes are a sleeper Heisman run and a Playoff push, gated by the one flaw that has followed him: he's turnover-prone, with 13 interceptions in 2025. If Cignetti's structure tightens his decisions the way it sharpened Mendoza's, Hoover has the arm and the volume to be one of the most productive quarterbacks in the country. The talent was never the question; the giveaways are.
His career
Nobody recruited him. He earned the honors anyway.
Hoover is a high-volume pocket passer who pushes the ball and lives with the consequences. Our play-by-play likes the production -- a 92nd-percentile touchdown rate, an 88th-percentile EPA per dropback, a 76th-percentile explosive-pass rate at a real depth of target (13.8 yards) -- the profile of an aggressive thrower who hunts chunk plays. The accuracy is solid (73rd-percentile completion), but the honest mark is the one that's followed him: a 27th-percentile interception avoidance, i.e. a fairly high pick rate, the cost of all that ambition. He's a true gunslinger -- the kind of arm that piles up yards and touchdowns and, on the wrong night, hands a game away. In a system built to discipline that exact profile, the upside is a star.
Written by our staff.
Career arc
Badges
Coaching lineage · 2022–2026
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Tom Allen → Curt Cignetti. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
Where He Ended Up · Transfer
Transferred to Indiana
Season context · Team result + system
Where this profile ranks vs the QB cohort
Box-score percentiles
Elite: yards / att (100th percentile). Strength: interceptions (92nd percentile). Concern: pass yards (0th percentile).
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.
Splits
Per-game splits
Through 2 games: 188 YDS/g, 4.0 TD/g, 13.8 YPA, 0.0 INT/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Curt Cignetti
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Player standing · 2026
Our Heisman model has him in the top five; no finalist honor is on the books yet.
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2026
W 55–0
vs Howard
145 yds · 4 TD · 0 INT · QBR 75.5 · 18 rush yds (6 car)
Dominant 55-point win at home against Howard.
With T. Richard — 108 rush yds (11 car) · 1 TD · N. Marsh — 2 rec · 71 yds · 1 TD
Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|
The plays that mattered most
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
| Wk | Opp | CMP/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | YPA | QBR | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 52-16vs North Texas | 13/16 | 231 | 4 | 0 | 14.4 | — | Season-high 231 yds |
| Wk 2 | W 55-0vs Howard | 6/11 | 145 | 4 | 0 | 13.2 | 75.5 | 4 TD passes |
| Total | 19/27 | 376 | 8 | 0 | 13.8 | 75.5 |
Play style
Hoover is a high-volume pocket passer who pushes the ball and lives with the consequences. Our play-by-play likes the production -- a 92nd-percentile touchdown rate, an 88th-percentile EPA per dropback, a 76th-percentile explosive-pass rate at a real depth of target (13.8 yards) -- the profile of an aggressive thrower who hunts chunk plays. The accuracy is solid (73rd-percentile completion), but the honest mark is the one that's followed him: a 27th-percentile interception avoidance, i.e. a fairly high pick rate, the cost of all that ambition. He's a true gunslinger -- the kind of arm that piles up yards and touchdowns and, on the wrong night, hands a game away. In a system built to discipline that exact profile, the upside is a star.
Our classifier reads him the same way: operates within the system without forcing anything.
Player DNA
Balanced passer who operates within the system, without one standout number carrying the profile.
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Josh Hoover’s 2024 season.
Matches Josh on
Differs from Josh on
Through 4 college seasons, his career arc tracks closest to Bailey Zappe’s path through Western Kentucky.
Matches Bailey on
As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Kevin Jennings's senior season at SMU (2025).
Matches Kevin on
Differs from Kevin on
Player DNA
Heisman futures · sportsbook market
#10 in market ▼ from #4 · 6 books
Heisman Trajectory · 2026
Peaked at #3 — top-tier Heisman contention all season.
Career Notes & Records Appeared in 35 career games with 31 starts over four collegiate seasons at TCU (2022-25) … Two-time team captain at TCU … Named honorable mention Big 12 in 2024 … Tabbed honorable mention Offensive Freshman of the Year in 2023 … Owns 16 career 300-yard passing games … Throw...