Introducing Chandler Whitmer & Fernando Mendoza
Indiana is seeing foundational changes at the QB position, so what do the new QB coach and anticipated starting QB offer the Hoosiers?
Welcome to Bite-Sized Bison: QB edition. We’ll be diving into Indiana’s offseason efforts at QB momentarily, but first, a transfer portal update:
The Winter Transfer Portal Window closed Dec. 28, but the portal efforts are far from over. The deadline was put in place for players to enter their names into the portal; however the deadline extends based on condition, so players on College Football Playoff rosters (or bowl rosters) have five more days to submit their names once their seasons end. Graduate transfers can submit all the way until the end of the Spring Transfer Portal Window, which closes in late-April.
The key pieces to much of this are 1.) finding a home before Spring Camps begin so transfers can compete for roles on each team, and 2.) determining deadlines for schools to take transfers for the spring semester. This means during the first week of the 2025 calendar, transfers will be visiting campuses quickly before they need to submit papers for spring-semester enrollment (Indiana’s undergraduate spring semester begins Jan. 13) in order to compete in Spring Camps. Transfers can visit throughout most of January, but enrollment deadlines will pass and prevent them from competing for spots on rosters if they wait too long.
The current winter period is the most fruitful for productive transfers, so Indiana will likely be prioritizing DB and OL this month, at the least. However, that doesn’t mean the spring portal window is fruitless, even though a majority will have missed out on spots in their respective Spring Camps. D’Angelo Ponds, CJ West, and Tyrique Tucker were all signed during the spring last season. Situations are always unique.
Some dates to consider in the coming months:
Jan. 1-5: Quiet Period for transfers – Transfers can visit campuses
Jan. 6 - Feb. 1: Contact Period – Coaches and transfers/recruits can visit each other in-person
Jan. 12: Quiet Period; Jan. 13-15: Dead Period; Jan. 25: Last of postseason portal-entry extensions (for National Championship rosters); Feb. 2: Quiet Period
Feb. 3 - March 2: Dead Period – No in-person recruitment
March 3 - April 14: Quiet Period – Transfers/recruits can visit campuses (usually for Spring Camps/Spring Games)
April 15 - May 24: Contact Period – Coaches and transfers/recruits can visit each other in-person
April 16-25: Spring Transfer Portal Window – Players can enter names into portal
Below is the current Indiana 2025 Scholarship Chart, as well as an anticipated 2025 Depth Chart.
Now let’s talk some QBs…
Curt Cignetti hires new QBs coach Chandler Whitmer
New Indiana QBs coach Chandler Whitmer has skyrocketed through the coaching ranks at 33 years old, as he now succeeds Tino Sunseri (who used the same position as a stepping stone toward a Big Ten OC job at UCLA).
This has been Whitmer’s path through the coaching ranks following his playing career at Illinois, Butler (Kan.) Community College, and Connecticut:
2018: Yale, graduate assistant
2019: Ohio State, graduate assistant
2020: Clemson, graduate assistant
2021-23: Los Angeles Chargers, offensive quality control (QBs)
2024: Atlanta Falcons, passing game specialist
Speaking from personal experience, Whitmer was at Ohio State as a graduate assistant for one season in 2019, when I was covering the Buckeyes for Eleven Warriors. Through just a couple interactions I had with him and simply watching him during practices and coaching/recruiting events, it was clear there was a bright coaching future ahead for Whitmer, along with his other young peers in the building. I’ve repeatedly alluded to the culture at Ohio State, dictated by the coaches’ standards, and how it differed from Indiana’s in recent history, but bringing in Whitmer as QBs coach is yet another sign that the standard continues to rise inside the walls of Memorial Stadium.
On the other hand, this is still Whitmer’s first stop as the primary QBs coach. In every position he’s served, he’s always been at least one spot removed from direct responsibility. So while he’s certainly contributed in developing QBs like Justin Fields (Ohio State, 2019), Trevor Lawrence (Clemson, 2020), Justin Herbert (LA Chargers, 2021-23), and Mike Penix (Atlanta Falcons, 2024), his work with Fernando Mendoza at Indiana in 2025 will be the meat of his resume to this point. That’s not to diminish the roles of grad assistants or quality control coaches – that experience will serve him well, undoubtedly, and they are significant to coaching staffs in many ways particular to each staff – it’s more that he himself has been developed as a coach by coordinators and QBs coaches he’s worked closely with, such as:
Ryan Day in his first season as Ohio State’s head coach in 2019 working along with Whitmer, Mike Yurcich, and Corey Dennis to scout QBs
Mike Yurcich, the OC at Ohio State in 2019 and also at Texas and Penn State from 2020-23; got his coaching start at St. Francis in Fort Wayne and served as GA at Indiana in 2003-04
Tony Elliott, the OC overseeing Whitmer at Clemson in 2020; the 2017 Broyles Award winner; OC for both of Clemson’s CFP titles in 2016 and 2018; and just finished his third season as Virginia’s HC
Brandon Streeter, Trevor Lawrence’s QBs coach also overseeing Whitmer at Clemson; current offensive analyst at Georgia
Joe Lombardi, the OC for the LA Chargers overseeing Whitmer in 2021-22; currently the OC for the Denver Broncos during Bo Nix’s impressive rookie season; also the QBs coach for the New Orleans Saints when Indiana alumnus Tracy Porter intercepted Peyton Manning to ice the Super Bowl against the Colts
Shane Day, the QBs coach and passing game coordinator overseeing Whitmer with the LA Chargers in 2021-22; also Whitmer’s QBs coach at Connecticut from 2012-13; significantly responsible for Justin Hebert’s development in the NFL and was hired back by Jim Harbaugh in 2024 because of it
Zac Robinson, the OC overseeing Whitmer with the Atlanta Falcons in 2024; was Sean McVay’s QBs coach and passing game coordinator with the LA Rams from 2022-23
As is the case for most coaches, particularly young coaches, Whitmer has needed a connection along the way, and his strongest connection so far has been Shane Day, who is perceived as one of the best QB gurus in football. Whitmer left high school as a four-star QB recruit in 2010, signing with his home-state Illinois Fighting Illini. Due to a logjam of young QBs, he decided to transfer to a JUCO program in Kansas (read his quotes to ESPN on why he left, very impressive), and after one year at the JUCO level, Shane Day – who is from Kansas – helped in recruiting Whitmer to Connecticut, where Day had just assumed the QB coaching role (2012). That 2012 UConn team beat Maryland, Pitt, and Louisville during a 5-7 season, and Shane Day was hired away after 2013 by Sean McVay to Washington (Commanders, now) before Whitmer graduated from UConn in 2014. They reunited with the LA Changers in 2021, as Joe Lombardi (OC) and Shane Day (QBs) – with the help of Whitmer in quality control – shaped Justin Herbert into the QB we know today. Shane Day was let go when Brandon Staley was fired in LA, but Jim Harbaugh hired him back to coach Herbert again when Harbaugh assumed the head coaching job in LA for 2024.
Whitmer finished his playing career in 2014 ranked fourth all-time in passing yards at Connecticut before eventually being hired by Yale as a GA in 2018.
Hiring for this QBs position was always going to be difficult for Indiana. The structure maintained by the staff is fairly uncommon, with OC Mike Shanahan coaching WRs rather than QBs. Hiring to replace Sunseri meant seeking out QBs coaches who didn’t already have OC titles (and therefore, OC salaries). Given these parameters, filling the role that Sunseri played within this coaching system certainly required some consultation, which Curt Cignetti alluded to in Indiana’s press release announcing Whitmer’s hiring, as he said, “Chandler came very highly recommended.” The network Cignetti could tap into when replacing assistants like Sunseri is an unsung attribute that makes Cignetti so valuable as a head coach in 2024.
These types of hires have been a cornerstone on which Cignetti has founded his coaching success. Whitmer is another young coach within a system Cignetti has been managing with Shanahan for a decade. If all goes well with Whitmer at Indiana, one can assume, given his coaching resume, that he would likely be in Bloomington for multiple seasons too.
Plus, Whitmer already has a win at Indiana, as the staff was assuredly able to use his unofficial hiring as a piece in its pursuit of No. 2 transfer QB Fernando Mendoza, who chose Indiana over Georgia and others. Let’s dig into that signing…
Fernando Mendoza signs with Indiana
Former Cal QB Fernando Mendoza has signed with Indiana as On3’s No. 2 transfer QB. With the graduation of Kurtis Rourke and the transfer of Tayven Jackson, Mendoza is essentially guaranteed the starting job in Bloomington for 2025, and he has another year of eligibility following next season, if he chooses to use it. His brother, Alberto, is a redshirt freshman at Indiana as well.
During his redshirt sophomore 2024 season, Mendoza finished with 3,004 yards (28th in FBS; 38 yards behind Rourke) on a 77.5% adjusted completion rate (22nd), with 16 passing TDs and 6 INTs. He also added 334 rushing yards on 52 attempts (sacks removed), 73% of which came via scrambles. In the end, Mendoza shouldered far more of an offensive load than expected in 2024, many times being the only effective weapon as he led the Bears in rushing for two of their victories, during a season that saw star RB Jadyn Ott mysteriously become ineffective. Cal only had one game with a rusher over 100 yards after its lead back (Ott) posted 1,300+ rushing yards in 2023. They needed to scratch and claw for any offensive success – 83rd in success rate – and usually it depended on Mendoza making plays. Five of Cal’s six regular season losses – Florida State, Miami, Pitt, NC State, and Syracuse – were still within one score (3.4-point average margin of defeat).
This explains why Mendoza was so emotional after Cal notched its sixth win in a thrilling game against Stanford. Later, before its bowl game, Cal announced the potential firing of OC Mike Bloesch.
What is perhaps the defining statistical characteristic of Mendoza’s season is that he was as productive as he was under the pressure he endured. He was the 4th-most sacked QB in the country in 2024, succumbing to opposing defenses 40 times (a three-way tie led the nation, with 41). His offensive tackles ranked 3rd and 12th among all ACC OLs in allowed QB pressures. Yet, overall, he remained relatively efficient, as shown in the chart below.
According to Pro Football Focus, Mendoza did not grade well when under pressure; however, not all pressure is created equally. Mendoza felt the pressure indicated above and also ranked 13th in dropbacks without a blitz, meaning teams gained pressure without sending more than four defenders in pass rush. This explains why his pressure-to-sack ratio was 3rd among P4 QBs and why his pressure felt was in one of the highest (if not the highest) tiers. Against blitzes, he tied for the most sacks nationally but graded 15th among P4 QBs and was one of four to not throw an INT. Getting Mendoza behind a Big Ten OL should pay off for him.
Now, take a look at the chart below, regarding how often teams ran and passed out of RPO in 2024.
Source: Parker Fleming of College Football Insiders
I’ll write more about this chart in the future, but it does a very effective job conveying offensive styles. Indiana is at the intersection of three different styles as they relate to RPOs, and so are several other solid offenses (Ohio State, Notre Dame, Penn State Arizona State, Alabama). Indiana sits within the cluster labeled “Run Heavy, Fewer RPO/PA” (yellow) but is also very close to “Run Heavy, RPO/PA Heavy” (green) and “Pass Heavy, RPO/PA Heavy” (red).
I wouldn’t be surprised if Mike Shanahan and Co. would like to move upward on this chart and feature RPO more often in 2025. They may even possibly want to move slightly left, as Indiana finished 88th in pass attempts during the 2024 season (though the additions of Roman Hemby and Lee Beebe suggest otherwise). Regardless, Fernando Mendoza opens up both possibilities. See where Cal is positioned on the chart (“Pass Heavy, RPO/PA Heavy”). The Golden Bears ran a Spread RPO offense, similar to what Indiana would often run in 2024, but Kurtis Rourke had limitations in mobility that Mendoza does not have, and Mendoza will be embedded into an offense that should have a legitimate rushing attack. Indiana might not ask Mendoza to run often, as RPO offenses can certainly be run without too much running from the QB, but it likely will ask it of him more often than it did from Rourke.
When Cal passed the ball, it was actually fairly average. The chart below plots the distributions of EPA per pass play for the FBS, Cal, and Indiana.
Obviously, Indiana was far more effective in the passing game, but Cal found a fairly significant amount of positive passing plays, as shown by the yellow curve exceeding both FBS and Indiana from 0 to about 0.6 EPA. Cal didn’t have the explosion that Indiana had (seen in the second hump in the red curve), but the area where yellow exceeds black on the positive side is notable, given how poor its protection was. What hurt Cal’s passing analytics was the yellow that exceeds both black and red on the negative side, likely due to the sacks surrendered by Cal. With a passing offense that threw the 21st-most times nationally, you’d like to see more production than Cal produced in 2024, but you’d also like to protect your QB better too.
This is all to say that the addition of Mendoza suggests where Indiana’s offense is headed (more RPO; maybe slightly more passing?) and that Mendoza can, in fact, effectively run an RPO offense. It was not simply a matter of finding the best available QB and signing him, as we’ve seen historically with Indiana. He actually fits what Shanahan wants to do, and there’s data and tape to show it.
Thanks for the update. Thorough as usual. As a proponent of Sun Tzu’s “”Art of War”, I am an advocate of refining and adjusting to match your personnel. I like qb who’s a running threat to take pressure off the OL. Hopefully IU can fill the remaining OL slots with someone other than stop gaps.
What are the chances the coaching staff likes the development of the internal replacements? I am wondering if the lack of OL transfers is for that reason or unsuccessful recruiting.