4 Indiana Hoosiers who won’t be back after losing to Notre Dame in CFP and who will replace them

The Indiana Hoosiers were barely on the college football radar coming into the 2024 season, much less the College Football Playoff radar. Someone forgot to tell first-year head coach Curt Cignetti about that, though. The newcomer by way of James Madison put together the best season in Hoosiers history, punching an at-large ticket to the CFP after rolling to an 11-1 record with the only loss coming at Ohio State.

Unfortunately, the dream died abruptly once the Hoosiers arrived in the College Football Playoff. On Friday night as they traveled to South Bend to face Notre Dame, they had precisely no answers on either side of the ball for the Fighting Irish. Thus, Indiana made a quick exit from the 12-team bracket. Now, it's onto 2025.

While Indiana has not been a college football power, the immediate success of the Hoosiers under Coach Cig has energized the fanbase in a massive way. That energy ultimately turns into the question of what's next and, more pointedly, what Cignetti can do to keep churning out wins in Bloomington and perhaps elevate the program even higher in the Big Ten and beyond moving forward.

Doing so, however, will take some more handy work from Cignetti and his coaching staff. There are some key pieces from Indiana's run in the 2024 season to the Playoff that won't be returning to Bloomington for the 2025 campaign, and the Hoosiers will have to quickly and deftly find ways to replace them.

4. DB Shawn Asbury II

For the most part, we should see a good bit of the Indiana secondary remain intact going from the 2024 campaign into 2025. Safety, however, is a much bigger question mark than at cornerback where the Hoosiers should return every starter from this past season.

When it comes to the back end at safety, though, the only returning starter will be Amare Ferrell, which means that Shawn Asbury II, who finished third on the team in tackles and logged an interception and three pass defenses, will see his college career come to a close after transferring in from Old Dominion. This is a spot where we'll likely see Cignetti and the Hoosiers coaching staff have to get a bit creative in terms of filling the holes but they may have some options to do so.

Who will replace Shawn Asbury II at Indiana in 2025?

The expected return of Ferrell could be huge for Indiana. He's the most versatile defensive back on the roster, which gives the coaching staff the flexibility to move him around wherever he fits best but also wherever other players fit best as well. Finding those other players could be tricky, though.

Indiana has long-tenured Bryson Bonds available but he's never been in a starting role despite being with the Hoosiers since 2020. Meanwhile, Byron Baldwin is the highest-rated member of the incoming recruiting class but starting a freshman can always be a risky proposition. Thus, this feels like one of the spots that Cignetti will hit the hardest in the transfer portal this offseason. Given how that worked for the 2024 season, however, there's reason for fans to have faith in that.

3. RBs Justice Ellison and Ty Son Lawton

If you know anything about Cignetti-coached teams throughout his tenure, it's only fitting that we combine the running back duo of Justice Ellison and Ty Son Lawton into one collective that will be gone. That's not only true because both backs have exhausted all of their college eligibility but also because Indiana basically split carries down the middle between the two standout runners this season and will almost surely aim to do so in the rushing attack moving forward.

That won't be an easy task for Cignetti and his staff, though. For as efficient and dangerous as the Indiana passing game proved to be, Ellison and Lawton were the straws that stirred the drink for the offense. Ellison logged 148 carries in the regular season for 811 yards and 10 scores while Lawton was not far behind with 131 totes for 634 yards and 12 touchdowns. They also each hauled in 11 catches on the year.

As such, replacing the backfield duo will be of the utmost importance for the Hoosiers in the 2025 season.

Who will replace Justice Ellison and Ty Son Lawton at Indiana in 2025?

The good news for Cignetti is that he might not have to dive back into the portal necessarily to replace Ellison and Lawton. With the Hoosiers blowing so many teams out, we got a pretty good glimpse at the Indiana running back reserves, most notably Kaelon Black (46 carries for 251 yards and two touchdowns) and Elijah Green (29 carries for 201 yards and five scores).

We'll likely see the combo of Black and Green take over as the lead duo for Indiana's rushing attack with Khobie Martin and possibly even incoming freshman Sean Cuono getting looks in the preseason to potentially jump into a featured role as well.

2. LB Jailin Walker

Just looking at the stat sheet for Indiana, you can clearly see that Jailin Walker was an important player for the defense but it doesn't fully underscore just how important he was. The veteran who followed Cignetti from JMU to Bloomington was second on the Hoosiers in tackles and third on the defense in tackles for loss. But more importantly, he was the clear leader of this unit and the one who set the tone for a dominant group on that side of the ball.

The good news for Indiana is that, as of now, Walker appears to be the lone departure among the meaningful contributors for Indiana at linebacker this season. That's always subject to change in the transfer portal era but, with the team's leading tackler, Aiden Fisher, set to return and likely step into that leadership role held by Walker, it stands to reason the Cignetti might not have as difficult time replacing the linebacker as he will at other positions.

Who will replace Jailin Walker at Indiana in 2025?

In terms of being the general on the defense when it comes to replacing Walker, we already mentioned that Fisher is the clear option there. Having said that, it should very much be a next-man-up mentality for the depth at the position, which likely means that Isaiah Jones and Rolijah Hardy will step into much more sizable and meaningful roles on defense with Walker out of the equation.

Jones and Hardy both played in sub-package roles this season but showed immense potential when they did so and should continue having the linebacker group be a strength for the Hoosiers defense moving forward.

1. QB Kurtis Rourke

While the College Football Playoff loss was not the prettiest of moments for Kurtis Rourke, there's no question that Indiana wouldn't have been in the 12-team field if not for the Ohio transfer. Despite missing a game due to injury, the quarterback still threw for 2,827 yards with 27 touchdowns and only four interceptions during the regular season, completing a highly efficient 70.4% of his passes.

The veteran experience of Rourke was something Cignetti and Shanahan leaned on heavily throughout the 2024 season, so replacing him will be no small feat. But it's the reality they face with Rourke having exhausted all of his college eligibility, so how the Hoosiers elect to turn the page at the helm of the offense will have major ramification for how Indiana builds off of this dream season.

Who will replace Kurtis Rourke at Indiana in 2025?

The likeliest option to replace Rourke possibly isn't on the Indiana roster right now. While Tayven Jackson is expected to return for another year in the program, he lost the starting job to Brendan Sorsby in 2023 and then was the backup to Rourke in 2024. His familiarity could help him but, once again, it's most likely Indiana eyes the transfer portal again at quarterback.

Perhaps the best option connected to the Hoosiers is former Cal quarterback Fernando Mendoza. While there is no official word yet, it appears based on the latest buzz that Indiana is among the frontrunners. Mendoza has NFL potential and could be the smoothest transition from the highly experienced Rourke available to Cignetti.