Just days ahead of its first College Football Playoff appearance, Indiana football landed a pair of specialists out of the transfer portal Sunday.
Brendan Franke, a senior kickoff specialist out of Texas State University, announced his commitment to the Hoosiers with his post on X. Mitch McCarthy, a junior punter from the University of Central Florida, announced his pledge to Indiana via an Instagram post.
Franke spent two seasons at Nebraska and one season at Georgia Southern University before transferring to Texas State ahead of the 2024 season.
In Franke’s two seasons at Nebraska in 2021 and 2022, he notched 74 touchbacks on 116 kickoffs. He played in just four games at Georgia Southern before playing in all of Texas State’s 12 games, finishing with 64 touchbacks on 78 kickoffs this season.
With Indiana redshirt senior kickoff specialist Derek McCormick in the midst of his final collegiate season, Franke and freshman Quinn Warren will likely compete for the starting job next season. Franke has one season of eligibility remaining.
Over McCarthy’s three seasons at UCF, he punted 115 times for 4,948 total yards. The Melbourne, Australia, native averaged 43.5 yards per punt in his final season in Orlando, Florida.
Despite just finishing his junior season, McCarthy is 27 years old. He was selected seventh in the Australia Rules Football draft in 2016 and then began training at ProKick Australia in November 2021 as he pursued a punting career.
With Indiana senior punter James Evans exhausting his eligibility at the conclusion of the Hoosiers’ College Football Playoff run, McCarthy will presumably be the starter next season as he has just one season of eligibility left.
Follow reporters Daniel Flick (@ByDanielFlick) and Dalton James (@DaltonMJames) and columnist Jhett Garrett (@jhettgarrett) for updates throughout the Indiana football season.
