Cignetti Spring Practice Debut Brings the Football Heat
Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Spring disguised as winter arrives at Memorial Stadium. A morning wind adds unwanted bite to 30-degree temperature. Shadows stretched across the field, blocking sunlight from providing warmth.
Heat comes from football players pushing a spring-opening pace.
The first Indiana spring practice under new coach Curt Cignetti finds him near the sidelines, white play-chart in one hand, eyes focused on players and coaches gathering for drills.
Cignetti eyes his watch, then the field. He folds his arms across his red-jacket-covered chest.
“Let’s go! What are we wasting time for?” he shouts.
Cignetti has no use for wasted time. He’s here after successful runs at James Madison, Elon University and Indiana University of Pennsylvania (a combined 119-35 record with zero losing seasons) to turn the Hoosiers into instant winners, and every second matters. They will use 13 of the allotted 15 spring practices to install offensive, defensive, and special teams systems designed to thrive against elite competition.
“We want to develop players and find out who can do what,” he says.
Practice begins without pads (Cignetti jokingly calls it “pajamas”) in a two-hour session steeled in efficiency, organization, and effectiveness. Passes are thrown; plays are run; feedback is delivered. Coaches teach, seeking to build familiarity, consistency, and timing.
The spring game is set for Thursday, April 18. The season opener against Florida International is Saturday, Aug. 31. Western Illinois follows the next Saturday before a new Big Ten era arrives with a Sept. 14 trip to UCLA, formerly of the now-gone Pac-12.
That is for later. For now, Cignetti paces, watches, and plans. Prospects center on a no-guarantee approach.
“Everything is earned, not given, and no one has a job,” he says. “There is no entitlement, nor can there ever be.”
Earning includes possible position changes as coaches seek to utilize their best players. Cignetti says he’s switched some backup offensive players to defense during his 41 years of coaching, and they wound up with “pretty length NFL careers.”
On this day, veteran cornerback Nic Toomer plays strong safety, which doesn’t mean he will when the season starts. Still, it’s good to have options.
“You want to put your best team on the field,” Cignetti says.
Spring priorities start with keeping everyone healthy.
“We don’t want to have any significant injuries,” Cignetti says, “especially to guys we think can make major contributions.”
Installation and teaching are nonstop.
“We have a certain way we practice, a certain way we play, (that focus on) the things that we emphasize that we think are important in being successful,” Cignetti says. “Practice should emulate the game a little bit.”
Leadership is evolving. On this first day, former James Madison running back Kaelon Black speaks to the team and provides “juice.”
“We want that type of guy to grab everyone’s attention,” Cignetti says.
Quarterback is a top priority given the position’s importance. Tayven Jackson and Broc Lowry return. Kurtis Rourke and Tyler Cherry have been added.
Jackson, a redshirt sophomore and former Tennessee transfer, started five IU games last season, throwing for 914 yards, two touchdowns, and five interceptions. He completed 61 percent of his passes.
Rourke, a redshirt senior transfer from Ohio University, was second-team All-Mid-American Conference last season after throwing for 2,207 yards and 11 touchdowns. In 36 games and 33 starts, he threw for 8,479 yards and 61 touchdowns. He also rushed for 1,240 yards and 11 TDs.
Cherry, a true freshman out of state-of-Indiana powerhouse Center Grove, is a four-star prospect and Indiana Mr. Football. He helped the Trojans win a Class 6A state title as a junior. In two seasons as a starter, he threw for 5,461 yards and 56 touchdowns while completing 68.5 percent of his passes.
On this day, Rourke plays with the first unit, Jackson the second and Cherry the third, but that likely will rotate throughout the spring.
There’s impressive receiver depth with returning veterans and transfer additions.
“That room has a lot of older guys that have made plays in games,” Cignetti says. “I am excited about their potential to help us win.”
The roster is a mix of former Hoosiers, James Madison transfers and transfers from other colleges. The transfer portal almost ensures some players will leave after spring practice, and new ones will arrive.
“We will make progress this spring and push it forward and keep working every day to improve as a team and improve the roster,” Cignetti says. “We will see where we are at the end of spring in this wild world of college football. And we'll see what the roster looks like in August.
“You have to be light on your feet around here, to be a Power 5 school or any kind of FBS program or any kind of college football coach now a days, because it is crazy.”
For now, it is calm with a sense something exciting is coming.
“Coming out of spring, it used to be recruiting and development,” Cignetti says. “Now, it’s recruiting, developing, and retention. We’ll see who is on the bus and who is off the bus. We’ll put together the best roster we can for August."