Spring Game Showcases Progress Made, More Work To Do
Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Spring football returned to Memorial Stadium Thursday night and this much was evident from Curt Cignetti’s first game moment as Indiana’s head football coach:
Little things matter. They always have. They always will.
Hold that thought.
Cignetti brought back the spring game, which hadn’t been played since 2019. Game rules were altered to limit injuries and revelation. Like a normal game, a touchdown was worth six points, a field goal three, a safety two, and an extra point one. For a twist, a turnover gained was worth four points and a defensive stop three.
Spectators got a glimpse of what’s coming, but not in-depth insight. Two 15-minute quarters offered clues to the kind of offense and defense IU will run under Cignetti, but no resolution.
That’s for the fall and for games that count.
Thursday night was part of the process to get to that point.
“I think there's a healthy competition heading into summer and fall camp,” Cignetti says. “Competition is a great thing. We need more competition at all positions.
“That was one of our issues this spring. We have some guys that played some football in the past that didn't have the kind of competition we'd like to see to motivate them to go out every day, every play, focused in, best effort, improving.”
For this game, Cignetti was on the field watching from behind the offense, taking notes after every play.
In the end, the offense beat the defense 34-25. The offense scored five touchdowns. The defense had seven stops plus an interception.
“The great thing was nobody got hurt,” Cignetti said. “We made a lot of progress. We got in a lot of valuable work, but we have a long way to go and a short time to get there. The players understand that.
“It’s about mindset. How we think. Playing more physical and cleaner. Tackling better. Throwing and catching.”
The final touchdown was scored by Drew Shouse, an 8-year-old from Westport, Indiana, who joined the Hoosiers through Team Impact, an organization that partners children with chronic illness with college teams. Drew had multiple heart surgeries before the age of 2.
Returning quarterback Tayven Jackson directed touchdown drives on his first two attempts. After a slow start, quarterback Kurtis Rourke, a former Mid-American Conference Offensive Player of the Year at Ohio, produced touchdowns on three drives, including the game winner.
His third drive had a shaky start. Cornerback Kobee Minor almost intercepted a Rourke pass -- yes, Cignetti noticed -- before the quarterback connected with Miles Price for a first down in a scoring drive that ended with a running back Ty Son Lawton touchdown run.
Rourke led the winning scoring drive that ended with a touchdown pass to Andison Coby with 45 seconds left.
Freshman quarterback Tyler Cherry also had an opportunity, but couldn’t produce any points.
Along the way there were big-play receptions from Coby and tight end James Bomba, a touchdown catch by receiver Donaven McCulley on a Jackson throw, and a running Justice Ellison TD run.
There also were impressive runs by receiver Miles Cross and running back Kaelon Black, and an interception by defensive back Terry Jones Jr. on a Jackson pass.
“We came a long way from the beginning of the spring,” Rourke said. “We’ve been able to get things going and come together as an offense.”
Added linebacker Aiden Fisher: “The biggest thing this spring was showing growth, and to play more as a unit than individuals.”
Lawton, Black and Ellison led a solid running game.
“That group definitely caught my eye,” Cignetti said. “Our running back room is faster, more dynamic, good at pass protection, good at catching the ball out of the backfield, can break tackles. We have more speed and athleticism back there. All three of those guys just love football. They're football nuts. Tough guys.”
So is center Mike Katic, who is at the heart of an attack directed by offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan and co-offensive coordinator Tino Sunseri. What he’s seen so far excites him.
“There are a lot of new faces,” Katic said. “It was like that last year and the year before. It’s building relationships with guys; it’s learning everything I can about the guys in the offensive line room and the new guys in the offensive room.
“I’m excited to see how this new offense gels with all the new faces. Learning guys’ strengths and weaknesses and helping them any way I can.”
As for the new coaches, Katic added that, “It’s all about getting to work. They’re no B.S. guys. Get in, do your job, get out.”
Potential defensive standouts include a pair of James Madison transfers in Fisher (113 tackles in two seasons) and defensive end Mikail Kamara (17.5 tackles for loss last season).
Fisher made a big impact Thursday night.
“I think (defensive coordinator) Bryant Haines sleeps a lot better at night with him,” Cignetti said. “He's like a quarterback of the defense. Knows it inside out, really studies, really respected by his teammates too, helps get others lined up. He’s making progress. He’s a good football player.”
Then there’s returning veteran Jacob Mangum-Farrar, who played linebacker last season, but has moved to a hybrid defensive end/linebacker position called “stud.” He sees a lot of big-play potential in the new defense under defensive coordinator Bryan Haines.
“We have a lot of simulated blitz packages.” Mangum-Farrar said. “We’re able to do a lot of disguises. It’s a really creative defense. At my position being in the two-point or three-point stance, I have the freedom to change it up.”
He added that the new staff focuses on “knowing how to work.”
“We’re getting quality over quantity. We might not get eight reps at a time, but while we’re out there, we’re working.”
Accountability is a priority.
“Some plays last year, and in some practices, and it was on the players,” Mangum-Farrar said, “we didn’t hold ourselves to a high enough standard. The coaches are holding us to that standard.”
With spring practice over, coaches will work the transfer portal. Some players will leave. Others will be added. As Cignetti said, “I want the best players I can get. I’m not looking for any third teamers.”
To understand why Cignetti, who has never had a losing season as a college head coach, can deliver win-now results in a program that has so often struggled, consider an earlier spring practice moment.
A cold rain had forced the Hoosiers into the Mellencamp Pavilion. A touchdown pass was thrown and the offense celebrated, those on the field playing, those on the sideline watching.
Such celebrations are typical in practices around the country, certainly in previous years at IU. It ties into team chemistry and team bonding. Teammates praise a job was well done.
But Cignetti saw the bigger picture, the little-things-matter aspect that separates winning teams from those that done. A teaching moment had arrived, and he took full advantage.
Cignetti stopped practice and called all the players into a huddle where he delivered a stern lecture that you never -- ever -- run onto the field. In a game, it would be a penalty, an unnecessary mistake that could lead to defeat.
An outsider might focus on the fact that this was not a game and there was no penalty or defeat concern, but that misses the point, which is Cignetti demands the Hoosiers to play winning football all the time, every play, which means there are no lapses, no drops in focus and effort -- ever.
In this case, celebrate on the sidelines, not on the field.
Little things matter. They always have. They always will.