No. 5 Indiana’s Big Ten opener against Northwestern took an early hit Friday night when starting running back Turbo Richard left the game in the first half and was helped to the locker room.
Richard had nine carries for 68 yards before exiting. That included a 33-yard run that helped set up Indiana’s first scoring drive of the night.
The Hoosiers led 5-0 midway through the second quarter after a field goal on the series that ended with Richard’s departure. Trainers evaluated him on the sideline and in the injury tent. He put no weight on his right foot as he was assisted off.
No official diagnosis or return timetable was announced during the game.
FOX Sports reporter Bruce Feldman posted that the situation was concerning for Indiana.
“Concerning for the Hoosiers: Indiana starting RB Turbo Richard helped back to the locker room. Hoosiers are already down RB Khobie Martin who got injured in the opener.”
Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde described the play as a hip-drop tackle near the boundary.
“Northwestern hip-drop tackle on RB Turbo Richard on the boundary resulted in an injury. We’ll see how severe. But Richard is one Indiana cannot easily afford to lose.”
Replays showed Richard being driven out of bounds on Indiana’s sideline. No penalty flag was thrown.
Richard entered the night as Indiana’s leading rusher. Through three games he had 41 carries for 315 yards and four touchdowns, averaging 7.7 yards per attempt.
Those nine carries against Northwestern raised his season total to 383 yards.
The Hoosiers were already short-handed in the backfield. Martin broke bones in his forearm on the second play of the season-opening 52-16 win over North Texas and has not played since. Coach Curt Cignetti said Martin is expected to miss time until around midseason.
That left Richard and Lee Beebe Jr. as the main options Friday. Beebe had six carries for 24 yards at the moment Richard went out. His workload increased immediately after.
Indiana listed only three remaining scholarship running backs available behind the starters: Beebe, redshirt freshman Sean Cuono and freshman Jayreon Campbell. Cuono and Campbell have limited snaps this season.
Richard transferred to Indiana in January after two seasons at Boston College. He appeared in 19 games with 11 starts for the Eagles, rushing for 1,027 yards and 11 touchdowns.
In 2025 he started 11 games, ran for 749 yards and nine scores on 145 carries, and added 30 receptions. He posted three 100-yard rushing games and four multi-touchdown performances that year.
The 5-foot-9, 207-pound junior from Charlotte, North Carolina, quickly became the featured back in Bloomington. He scored twice in the opener against North Texas, added 108 yards against Howard and ran for 149 yards and a touchdown in a 38-0 win over Western Kentucky.
Indiana opened 3-0 and ranked among the nation’s top rushing teams before Friday, averaging 221 yards per game on the ground.
Cignetti addressed running back depth earlier in the week.
“In the back of my mind I’ve thought all this stuff through, yes,” he said. “We have a definite one and two. They’re playing well.”
The next medical update on Richard will determine how thin that group becomes for the rest of Big Ten play. Indiana entered the season viewing the running-back room as a strength. Two early injuries have already tested that plan.
