After saving the IU football roster from what he calls a “crisis situation” in December, new head coach Curt Cignetti hit the road in January to start building the high school class of 2025.
While Cignetti said at his introductory press conference he’ll recruit anywhere in the country, it should come as no surprise he’s focused in the Midwest. And like any college football coach, Cignetti places special significance on recruiting in the program’s home state.
“We want to dominate our state best we can,” Cignetti said Wednesday. “I made every effort to get out there and into the key schools in January, meet people, talk with prospects.
“Okay, after your state, now it’s the border states, those two- to four-hour pockets where there’s population — Cincinnati, Dayton, Chicago, St. Louis, Nashville, Louisville, Detroit.”
Recruiting close to Bloomington is about more than just proximity. In the transfer portal era, Cignetti has learned players close to home with an appreciation for the conference are more likely to stay put.
“In this day and age with the transfer portal, guys that grew up watching Big Ten football are more apt to stay in the program four or five years than people that didn’t have the bond with the Big Ten,” he said.
Thus far Cignetti has added two players in the class of 2025, one from Illinois and one from Indiana.
HELLO, MY NAME IS CURT, AND THIS IS THE NEW INDIANA
The coach who has never had a losing season is taking over the program with the most losses in Division I history.
Cignetti was asked Wednesday what obstacles he has faced as he establishes recruiting roots.
It starts with the perception of IU football created by decades of losing.
“We got to change the way people think about Indiana,” Cignetti said. “We’ve been adamant that, look, we’re going to win and we’re going to win this year and we’re going to change the brand and the expectation level and the way people see Indiana football.
“We’ve had three junior days. Usually I start out by saying, Look, anything you know about Indiana football, any perception you have, you need to erase the tape because here’s what it’s going to look like.”
Cignetti knows the only way to truly change hearts and minds is to deliver results on Saturdays in the fall.
And he knows if he’s successful, all of IU Athletics will benefit.
“We’ve got to do it on the field,” he said. “When you’re successful on the field, then you start to change the way the public, the state, the Big Ten and the country think about Indiana football. You start putting more people in the stands, selling out games, then it’s hard to get tickets. That’s what we’re going to do.
“You got to be good in football because that’s where the revenue comes from, man, football. There’s no reason we can’t be successful here. We’re going to be successful here. It’s one day at a time. It’s a process right now. It’s always a process.”
A FEW KEY PLAYERS TO MISS SPRING PRACTICE
As is the case with every team, Indiana has players who will not be full participants in spring practice following post-season surgeries.
Cignetti said Wednesday the list of players sitting out the spring include:
- James Carpenter, DL
- Jailin Walker, LB
- Lanell Carr, DL
- Venson Sneed, DL
- Nick Kidwell, OL
The Hoosiers start spring practice on March 21 and conclude with a public spring game on April 18.
MORE ROSTER CHANGES EXPECTED
Soon after spring practice concludes, a second transfer portal window opens May 1-15. This is a period when players often transfer after getting a sense for where they stand on the depth chart. And for schools that suffer injuries during the spring, they can explore opportunities to fill gaps.
Going into the spring, Indiana doesn’t have a lot of open spots.
“I think offensively on paper we look like we’re in pretty good shape right now,” Cignetti said of his roster needs. “Defensively, maybe some depth (needs) in some areas. (We’ll) evaluate the back end, do we have what we need going into the fall.”
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