'Exciting’ Recruiting Class Highlights Whirlwind Football 'Juggling Act'
Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The whirlwind that is December college football finds Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti and his staff in full-throttle, non-stop mode.
They just wrapped up a 21-high-school-player National Signing Day class. They’re heavily involved in college transfer portal evaluations and have resumed practice in preparation for the upcoming College Football Playoff.
It’s unprecedented activity as part of an unprecedented 11-1 season.
“It’s a juggling act,” Cignetti said during Wednesday’s signing day press conference. “The transfer portal is taking up a good bit of time right now. Then there’s practice preparation and then practice.”
He said he’s also starting to talk to returning players, especially those with NFL aspirations, about next season, but doesn’t want to get too involved in that in order to keep the focus on the playoff opportunity.
“I’ve had a couple of conversations with returners about next year, but not too many because I want our team to focus. We’re in season and the main thing has to be the main thing.”
IU is No. 9 in the latest playoff rankings. The final rankings and playoff pairings will come out Sunday after all the conference championship games are completed Saturday night. The Hoosiers will play an opening-round game on either Dec. 20 or 21 depending on the conference title-game results and subsequent pairings.
“You are looking at about a three-week turnaround,” Cignetti said. “This week, the players are going to get two days of (weight lifting), and we'll get three practices in. One will be more of a walk-through.
“Then next week we'll look more like a normal game week in terms of what we do on the field. It will be closer to a game week.”
It’s all about maximizing time spent on game preparations and transfer portal evaluations.
“Next week will be very similar to a game week,” Cignetti said. “It might not be exact, but we'll start preparation in earnest. We still have to balance the portal, the evaluation, and we'll probably have official visits coming in during December, as well.
“There will be preparation on the opponent, depending on who that is. Some of these teams we know already. Some we don't. So next week won't be quite like a game week, but it will be similar.”
As far as the incoming recruiting class, IU will bring in five defensive linemen, five defensive backs, two linebackers, three offensive linemen, three wide receivers, two tight ends, and one running back.
Seven of the players are from within a four-hour radius of Bloomington, and four are from the state of Indiana.
The highest-rated player is four-star Maryland safety Byron Baldwin, who chose the Hoosiers over Penn State, Tennessee, Florida, and Colorado.
Fourteen of the 21 signed players are set to enroll for the second semester; the others will arrive this summer.
“I like these guys,” Cignetti said. “They’re good players, good people, good character, good students. This game is all about recruiting and developing and then retention -- keeping the guys who eventually produce. We’re excited about them.”
IU didn’t sign a quarterback. The Hoosiers have three returning quarterbacks – redshirt sophomore backup Tayven Jackson, and true freshmen Tyler Cherry and Alberto Mendoza.
“We have two young quarterbacks we like,” Cignetti said, “so we didn’t feel a real need to sign a young quarterback this year.”
Cignetti added they will sign a quarterback out of the transfer portal.
IU’s historic season has positively impacted recruiting for high school talent as well as college transfers, Cignetti said.
“I think it's a reflection of team success, recruiting, and development. Guys want to be a part of a winning program. Obviously, winning here opens doors in the recruiting process and will continue to open doors as long as we continue to be successful, which we plan on being.
“In the high school part, guys have been committed a while. The last few days we've been in the office it's been more portal evaluation.”
In terms of what Cignetti seeks in a recruit, he said, “It's all about people... the coaches you hire, the players you recruit. There are a lot of good players out there. You're looking for people that are passionate about what they do, goal-oriented, know how to set goals and go about achieving them.
“Now, they're still young guys, and they're going to need to be developed and guided. Then it's the process, but as you get closer to the season, the key to the drill then becomes getting everybody to think alike and keep their eyes on the prize, focused on the bullseye, the intangibles as you get into the season.
“The winter conditioning program leads up to that. Spring football, summer conditioning, and fall camp.
“I like this class. I think these guys all have a chance. We're excited about them.”