Roman Hemby’s journey from John Carroll to National Champion
Former MIAA star was a key piece of Indiana’s amazing title journey
The story of the 2025 Indiana Hoosiers’ national championship team is one of the greatest in sports history.
From head coach Curt Cignetti to Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza, to players up and down the roster, the 2025 Hoosiers are a collection of undervalued and overlooked football talents who banded together to do the unthinkable.
Among the key figures in Indiana’s 16-0 season, which culminated in a 27-21 win over Miami, Monday night, in the College Football Playoff Championship Game, was running back Roman Hemby, a product of John Carroll School and the MIAA.
Hemby, the team’s starting tailback this fall, after transferring from the University of Maryland for his final season of eligibility, rushed 19 times for 60 yards in the championship game and also added a pair of receptions.
Hemby graduated from John Carroll in 2021 after rushing for more than 1,500 yards and 18 touchdowns in two varsity seasons at John Carroll. His high school career was cut short, however, because the COVID-19 pandemic which limited his senior year to just one game, which certainly impacted his recruiting prospects.
Following graduation, Hemby made his way to the University of Maryland and appeared in three games, in 2021, scoring a pair of touchdowns before taking a redshirt season. In 2022, he took over as the Terps starting tailback and gained 1,287 total yards, as a redshirt freshman, and posted the second most rushing touchdowns (10) by a freshman in Maryland history.
He would go on to play in 56 games at Maryland, graduating with a communications degree, and becoming a two-time All-Big Ten honorable mention pick.
With a year of eligibility remaining, Hemby made the bold move to accept an invitation from Cignetti to join the Hoosiers. Hemby did not just go along for the ride, he was a key member of the Hoosiers’ offense. He carried the ball 230 times for 1,120 yards and scored seven touchdowns. In addition, he had 17 receptions for 165 yards, while earning 1st Team-All Big 10 honors.