BLOOMINGTON: After just two months under Curt Cignetti’s tutelage, Indiana supporters already know that their new football coach isn’t one to hold back.
The same is being taught to recruits.
By the end of the January portal window, IU’s 2024 class was essentially closed, thus for the course of the last several weeks, the school focused mostly on the 2025 and 2026 classes. In addition to hosting many junior-day activities and accepting pledges from two offensive linemen, Cignetti and his staff seem to have made their point.
Cignetti informed the reporters during a no-signing signing-day check-in on Wednesday that “we’ve had three junior days.” “Look, anything you know about Indiana football, any perception you have, you need to erase the tape because this is how it’s going to look,” is usually how I begin.
Cignetti claims concrete proof that new hires are embracing his philosophy.
The work he and his team completed in 2024 comes first. The Hoosiers, in particular, were able to acquire a noteworthy number of acquisitions or retentions through the transfer site. During that process, positions including wide receiver, running back, offensive line, linebacker, and safety saw significant improvements. Cignetti stated on Wednesday that he believes IU’s offensive line is currently “in pretty good shape.”
Secondly, the early 2025 start. The offensive lineman Evan Parker of Carmel, who announced his commitment to the University of Indiana on Monday, said he “probably could’ve waited and got more offers” to our man Kyle Neddenriep.
Parker went on, “But IU checks all the boxes in my mind.” Everything I saw absolutely impressed me. It was better than any programme I had ever seen.
It seemed deliberate that, only days after receiving a commitment from one of the state’s largest and most talented programmes, Cignetti stressed the time she had spent in recent weeks interacting with them.
“You have to do an excellent job in your state, regardless of whether you’re the head coach at Indiana, Texas, or Idaho,” Cignetti declared. “We want to rule our state as much as possible. In January, I made a concerted effort to network, visit important institutions, and speak with potential students.
Additionally, there have been brief periods of positive press that Cignetti and his team garnered from their preliminary work on the path.
like retaining Donaven McCulley in Bloomington even after the previous season piqued blue-blood interest in the gateway. Or sending USC-committed Carrolton, Georgia, signal caller Julian Lewis, a blue-chip 2025 quarterback, to campus for one of those major recruiting weekends; Lewis counts the Hoosiers among a set of schools that also includes Georgia, Alabama, Auburn, and Michigan.
Cignetti is aware that the most valuable asset is still outcomes. However, he also understands that perception influences outcomes, and there’s no reason he can’t work to enhance both at the same time.
