2025 IU football position preview: Running back

With the 2025 football season kicking off next month, Inside the Hall is providing a position-by-position preview of the roster. Up next: Running back.

Previously: Quarterback

Indiana football has had its fair share of stand-out running backs in the past 40 years. However, the depth of the running back room in 2024, spearheaded by Justice Ellison and Ty Son Lawton, allowed the run game to have a dominant season.

Transfers from Wake Forest and James Madison, respectively, Ellison and Lawton found the endzone 22 times last season, which was seven more rushing touchdowns than the Hoosiers had in 2023. With the departure of both backs, Indiana went back into the portal, searching for the same production from its backs in year two of the Curt Cignetti era.

Even before its first-round loss in the College Football Playoff, Indiana received a commitment from UAB transfer Lee Beebe Jr., then added Maryland transfer Roman Hemby less than a week after the season ended.

Beebe Jr. and Hemby combined for 13 rushing touchdowns last season for their respective teams, but will likely have to split reps behind Kaelon Black, the lone returning member of last year’s three-headed backfield.

As seen last year, Cignetti and offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan will once again use a committee approach at the position.

The projected depth chart
Starter: Kaelon Black (R-Sr.)
Backups: Roman Hemby (R-Sr., Maryland), Lee Beebe Jr. (R-Jr., UAB)
Depth: Khobie Martin (R-Fr.), Sean Cuono (Fr.)

Starter – Kaelon Black

In his first season after transferring from James Madison, Black found himself third on the depth chart. However, the Virginia Beach, Virginia, native appeared in all 13 games of Indiana’s historic season last year, collecting 251 yards on 46 carries and scoring two touchdowns.

Over his 40-game college career, Black has totaled 2,126 all-purpose yards — the most among the three running backs on Indiana’s two-deep depth chart.

During Indiana’s April spring game, Black ran with the first team, offering a potential glimpse of where the redshirt senior stands heading into his final collegiate season. He rushed for 72 yards on eight carries in the intrasquad scrimmage, possibly cementing himself as the week one starter.

Backups – Roman Hemby, Lee Beebe Jr.

Indiana fans are already familiar with the talent Hemby brings. The Edgewood, Maryland, native rushed for 117 yards on 10 carries, including a 75-yard touchdown, in the Terrapins’ week five matchup with the Hoosiers last season.

While he was productive on the ground, Hemby made a name for himself in the passing game, hauling in 40 catches for 273 yards and a touchdown out of the backfield.

Like Hemby, Beebe Jr. has pass-catching experience. But the UAB transfer also uses his 5-foot-10, 220-pound frame to his advantage. He rushed for 885 yards on 166 carries and scoring seven touchdowns last season for the Blazers.

Beebe Jr. spent the spring focused on pass blocking, a possible indicator of the redshirt junior’s role in the 2025 season.

Depth – Khoebin Martin, Sean Cuono

Martin only appeared in two games last season, rushing for a combined 73 yards in Indiana’s blowout victories against Western Illinois and Charlotte. With the addition of Beebe Jr. and Hemby, the Fishers, Indiana, native will likely have the same role as last season, but could see some action in the Hoosiers’ non-conference games at the beginning of the year.

A top-100 recruit in the state of Florida, freshman running back Cuono rushed for over 3,300 yards during his high school career at Clearwater Central Catholic High School. Though it is unlikely that he sees meaningful game action, there is potential for Cuono to make his collegiate debut in the non-conference portion of the season.

Outlook

Indiana retooled its running back room, pairing a returning veteran in Black with proven additions like Beebe Jr. and Hemby.

The December portal pickups addressed a key need from last season: a pass-catching back. With this revamped group, Indiana is positioned to thrive both on the ground and through the air.

Although the official depth chart has yet to be released, all three backs are expected to split time, giving the Hoosier offense the consistent advantage of a fresh runner against a worn-down defense.

(Photo credit: IU Athletics)

Category: Football

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