Indiana faced an unexpected battle test against Northwestern last week but ultimately came out on top. As they prepare for Rutgers, the offensive unit that carried the 29-23 win over the Wildcats is facing depth issues. Curt Cignetti may be short of running backs for the Hoosiers’ Week 5 game. However, a freshman linebacker who played the position in high school could be the solution.
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As reported by Mike Schumann of The Daily Hoosier, Indiana’s top 4 running backs featured on the availability report released on October 1. Indiana will play without DB Carson Williams, WR LeBron Bond, DL Daniel Ndukwe, and RB Khobie Martin. The status of DB AJ Harris, RB Sean Cuono, and RB Lee Beebe Jr. is questionable, while RB Turbo Richard and LB Rolijah Hardy are probable players for the Scarlet Knights matchup.
Schumann asked Cignetti about a contingency plan at RB last week. Although the Indiana head coach didn’t divulge any information, Schumann himself came up with a name: LB Henry Ohlinger, who was a star RB in high school.
Ohlinger is a 6-foot-1, 226-pound freshman from Grandview Heights High School in Ohio, a four-star recruit who played on both sides of the ball. As a junior, he ran for 1,582 yards and 27 touchdowns, with seven 100-yard games; as a sophomore, he rushed for 1,322 yards and 16 scores.
The freshman linebacker briefly made an appearance against North Texas last month, a game the Hoosiers won 52-16. His inclusion on offense may seem far-fetched, considering he didn’t practice on that side of the ball yet at Bloomington. However, RB injuries have made it a possible scenario.
Indiana RB Khobie Martin currently has a broken arm and is out until around midseason, while Turbo Richard suffered an ankle injury in the Northwestern game. Sean Cuono’s injury hasn’t been specified, and Lee Beebe wasn’t on the Wednesday report, but something came up on Thursday that put him on the questionable list. Out of Indiana’s five scholarship running backs, first-year Jayreon Campbell is the only one who is not on the injured list.
In the running back unit, Beebe carried 24 times for 203 yards against Northwestern after Richard went down. He has accumulated 398 yards and three touchdowns on 71 carries, while Richard has 383 yards and four touchdowns. Those two backs drive a ground game that averages 233.5 yards a game, which ranks third in the Big Ten.
Richard had 68 yards on nine carries before suffering the injury against Northwestern. And while Cignetti has kept the depth plans private, he did express that he is confident in Richard’s return soon.
“We got good news on Turbo (Richard) and he will be day to day,” Cignetti said. “I’m optimistic he can play Saturday.”
Now, if Richard or Bebee is limited, Indiana can lean on Cuono, a redshirt freshman with little game experience, and Campbell. If both are limited, Ohlinger could be asked to learn the running back duties during game week, which Cignetti has said he is willing to do when needed.
“Yeah, in the back of my mind I’ve thought all this stuff through,” Cignetti said, according to Mike Schumann of The Daily Hoosier.
Even if Ohlinger is shifted to the offense, it wouldn’t hurt the linebacker room much. Isaiah Jones starts at middle linebacker and Hardy at weak-side linebacker. Kaiden Turner and Jeff Utzinger are next in rotation, with Jacob Savage, Amari Kamara, PJ Nelson, Kaden McConnell, Clayton Allen, and Ja’Dyn Williams behind them.
Ohlinger has been able to rack up one tackle in four games. If Hardy gets injured, the rotation could move up with Turner and Utzinger carrying more of the load, bringing back Ohlinger in the linebacker room.
What Cignetti wants to see at Rutgers
The injuries aren’t the only thing on Cignetti’s mind this week. Though Indiana beat Northwestern 29-23, Cignetti wasn’t impressed as the Hoosiers dropped a spot in the poll.
“Negative is we didn’t play well. We were very inconsistent,” Cignetti said. “We’re not going to go very far playing the way we played Saturday night.”
Though Cignetti sees it as a business trip, he also knows Rutgers has plenty of veteran players who have played in tough matchups before. Rutgers enters at 1-3 and has allowed 166.8 rushing yards per game for the last four games, while the Hoosiers lead the Big Ten by allowing just 65.8 rushing yards per game.
Rutgers also has some significant offensive threats. Running back Antwan Raymond has 438 rushing yards and four touchdowns this season, while wide receiver KJ Duff has 29 catches for 550 yards and seven touchdowns. Duff was, in fact, named to the preseason AP second-team All-America team. Cignetti has also praised the Rutgers offense, specifically Duff and Raymond.
“KJ Duff is a premier receiver and their other receivers are developing,” Cignetti said. “They’ve got a good running back in Antwan Raymond. Kirk Ciarrocca, their offensive coordinator, does a nice job with that offense. Greg Schiano is obviously a great coach. He coached in the NFL.”
Nevertheless, Cignetti has lost only one regular-season road game since becoming Indiana’s head coach, a November 2024 loss at Ohio State. What do you think will happen next?