Cignetti Gives Indiana Football Injury Update on Aiden Fisher, Elijah Sarratt

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana football enters Week 11 with injury questions surrounding two of its program cornerstones, and coach Curt Cignetti has only partial answers.

The Hoosiers played the entirety of their 55-10 road victory over Maryland on Nov. 1 at SECU Stadium without All-American linebacker Aiden Fisher, who's battling an apparent left knee injury. Senior receiver Elijah Sarratt, a preseason All-American pick, played only nine snaps before leaving the victory due to a hamstring injury.

Cignetti said Indiana departed College Park, Maryland, without any "significant" injuries, and the Hoosiers will know more on their injured players as the week progresses and kickoff grows closer for their noon Saturday matchup with Penn State (3-5, 0-5 Big Ten) at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania.

But Cignetti feels he has a strong read on Fisher's status while Sarratt remains to be determined.

"Aiden Fisher we thought made really good progress toward the end of last week," Cignetti said in his press conference Monday. "Wasn't quite ready to go. Very optimistic on him.

"Elijah, we'll know more day-to-day. He's been dealing with something the last two weeks but has been able to play. Had a little tweak of something else early in the game, and we got him out for precautionary reasons."

Cignetti added the Hoosiers will be without left guard Drew Evans, who did not play against Maryland due to an undisclosed injury. Senior Zen Michalski replaced Evans and drew postgame praise from quarterback Fernando Mendoza.

"I think he did a fantastic job," Mendoza said. "I think you just plug him in, especially with the leadership we have under (offensive line) coach (Bob) Bostad."

Indiana's depth impressed across the board in College Park. When Sarratt went down, sophomore receiver Charlie Becker saw extended action. Becker recorded the longest play of his college career Saturday, turning an eight-yard completion into a 52-yard gain after running free in open space.

Cignetti touted Becker's ascent Monday.

"Charlie Becker has done a good job," Cignetti said. "He's taken advantage of his opportunities and saw more playing time on Saturday. Also a real key guy on our special teams."

Fisher's absence prompted redshirt junior linebacker Isaiah Jones into an every-down role. Jones, primarily the third linebacker in the Hoosiers' "trio" packages, is a quality alternative option — he leads the team with 11.5 tackles for loss and is tied for the team lead with five sacks.

As a result of Jones' promotion, redshirt junior Kaiden Turner saw playing time in three-linebacker sets against Maryland and the week before versus UCLA. Turner made his first career interception at Maryland but suffered an injury and didn't return. Redshirt junior Jeff Utzinger entered in his place.

Though the Hoosiers hoped to avoid the injury bug, their recent spell of health-related misfortune has highlighted their depth.

"We've had some guys step in, step up, and that's what you've got to have," Cignetti said postgame. "And sometimes you never really know about a guy until he gets an opportunity. And that's really true, because when a guy gets an opportunity, he can become a little bit of a different kind of guy.

"Because the two's get limited reps in practice, and I'm sure it's not fun. But we're going to need more people to step up, because we don't have an off week for a couple more weeks yet."

After the Hoosiers face Penn State, they return home for senior day against Wisconsin on Nov. 15 at Memorial Stadium. Indiana gets its final bye week thereafter, allotting the team an additional week of rest before playing Purdue in the regular season finale.

Indiana has proven its mettle as a College Football Playoff championship contender. Health may be among the most pertinent factors in deciding whether it finishes the mission.

And at least entering Happy Valley, the Hoosiers appear trending in the right direction with Fisher and Sarratt.