Indiana University Athletics
Quoted: Fall Camp Edition - Curt Cignetti
7/30/2025 1:00:00 PM | Football
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. ––––– As fall practice opened for the Indiana Football program, head coach Curt Cignetti addressed the media to give an update on the program's first day of fall camp on Wednesday (July 30) inside Memorial Stadium.
Below is the full transcript of the press conference, while video of the full media session can be found on the right sidebar at IUHoosiers.com.
Curt Cignetti | Head Coach
Opening Statement
CC: Practice one in the books. It was hot, and it was humid, but I thought the older guys, experienced guys, pushed through it well. The team, in general, did push through it well.
We got our work done. Took a business-like approach. Haven't watched the tape yet. We'll do that after this press conference with the staff, but it's good to be back and good to get going.
On if having a veteran coaching staff and roster eliminates some uncertainty going into the season…
CC: I think the staff, we know what to expect from one another. The experienced guys that we have a long history with, the same. To bring in experienced guys from other programs is good. We just have assimilate them into our way of doing things, which we began doing last January.
You know, you're as good as you are today. Your résumé, your body of work in the past is sort of an indicator, a predictor of what the team is capable of doing, or the staff, but you got to put the work in. You got to find the edge every day.
It's that kind of business where the margin for error is very slim, and that's what makes it such a great game and such a great profession. It's challenging.
On the difference in having 105 players on the roster this season…
CC: Truthfully, I've always been a small roster guy. I don't think we've ever had 110 guys on our roster, and most years we've been at or below 105. So really, it's business as usual.
I don't like a huge support staff, coaching staff. I don't like a real big team, 130 guys. I want everybody in the organization on the football team to have a role and be the right kind of people because everybody affects somebody else positively or negatively. For us it's business as usual, and the size of our roster is really no different than it's been most years. Probably a little bigger. There are a number of years I've been in the 90s.
On Kahlil Benson and Drew Evans being out in the spring and how they look now…
CC: Yeah, well, until I watch the tape, I can't really say. We're also practicing without pads, so give us three or four days, but it's good to have both those guys back.
They've played successful physical. Gives us more depth. I'm very high on the potential of our offensive line, and Bob Bostad does a good job of coaching those guys. A tough, old-school guy. I think we've got a chance to be good.
On the differences and challenges from year one to year two for a program…
CC: Well, to me every year you've got to start over regardless of how long your tenure has been or what your record was the previous year. You always start at ground zero and build it from the foundation up.
The expectation level, you know, on the outside, some of the noise, is a little different, but I think one of the things we really got to do a great job of is staying focused on the things that affect positive development individually and collectively and kind of block all the other stuff out.
It's a great game. It's entertainment. I think taking a business-like approach, checking your ego at the door when you enter the building, being totally focused, being where your feet are, controlling the controllables is the key to the drill.
Like I've said before, the season is a marathon. It's not a sprint. You've got to be able to handle success, failure, overcome obstacles, and you have to do that during the game too, good game, bad game. You have to be able to compartmentalize, rip off the rearview mirror, and play the next play. To me it's more of the same than different.
On how the team has to prepare in order to be ready for game one in the short time frame…
CC: I think we have to have a great sense of urgency, have great focus, and maximize our opportunities across the board and really develop these guys, identify roles, who can do what, build depth, promote competition and then get ready to play the opener against Old Dominion, a Sun Belt team that we're familiar with from JMU.
I addressed Old Dominion in the team meeting, the first team meeting, because these Sun Belt teams are very capable. They have a history of knocking off P4, or in the past they were called FBS teams. We beat Virginia. Marshall beat Notre Dame. App State beat A&M. Louisiana beat Mississippi State and on and on and on. They're good teams. When you play them early in the year when they're healthy and they're at full strength, they're especially dangerous.
Throw in the first game, certainly the first game what's changed, what's different from last year. So we have to be ready to go, but we will be.
On his message to the fanbase pertaining to the early games…
CC: Well, I just addressed Old Dominion. I'm not worried about anybody else. My focus is on camp, developing this football team, but we are 20 practices away from the opener, which creates a sense of urgency to get a lot done in a short amount of time with an eye on ODU. I really don't have an eye on anybody else.
I mean, we did our opponent scout in the spring in the offseason. I expect us to sell out. I know one of those games is a Friday night game. It gets a little tougher to get to the stadium for some people on a Friday night, but we create a lot of excitement around here, and I expect us to have great crowds.
The focus right now is getting in the room with the coaches, watching practice tape, evaluating who did what, how we did, putting tomorrow's practice together, installation, and having a great practice tomorrow, all leading toward running out of the tunnel for the first game.
On the strength of the receiving core and returning pieces…
CC: I think they've got to, number one, commit and have the discipline to achieve their goals and understand that you can't rest on your laurels. That just doesn't happen on its own.
I always talk about that margin for error, the difference between winning and losing, and how small it is. Every day you've got to relentlessly pursue the edge, what gives you the edge, and discipline, commitment, and work ethic, purposeful preparation creates an edge. That's what we need from those guys and all the other key guys that they're going to be playing a lot of football for us.
On Rolijah Hardy and how Cignetti and his staff found him as a late add last year…
CC: Coach (Bryant) Haines found him, evaluated him. I believe we brought him in for a late spring or early summer visit.
After the Northwestern game, which was in the middle of the season, he became the third linebacker in our trio package, which we use against two tight ends, 12 personnel. He's got a great future.
On what Jamari Sharpe has shown this offseason to put himself in position to potentially start…
CC: I think he's grown up a lot and improved as a football player. He has a couple of guys breathing down his neck that have a chance to be good players too, so we've got good competition at that field corner spot.
On how his life has changed in Indiana from a year ago…
CC: Yeah, well, we did go through that phase. You know, gas at 5:00 a.m., and two or three selfies at 5:00 a.m. People waiting for you outside the office when you leave.
So that's all part of being successful, I understand. I grew up in this business and been in it a long time. But you don't meet expectations, and you don't do as well as you would like, things can turn real fast the other way.
I think what's changed the most besides the familiarity with all the people in town -- and it's a great town, great college town -- is everything in my house works now. We bought a house from a guy named Tom Martin, who was friends of Bobby Knight, and it had a lot of toys in it. It took my wife about a year to get everything to work. Not that he neglected it because he didn't.
So, we have a lot of new faces on the football team too. That's changed, but I think that's most people across the country now.
On what intrigued him about Pat Coogan and the center position as a whole…
CC: Yeah, well, you know, Pat started at Notre Dame, a great program. Played a lot of football for them. Was an older guy, was looking for a home. He had a girlfriend that went to school here. We were looking for a center. Mike Katic had graduated. It was a perfect fit. Sure, glad we got him, and I think he's going to be a great leader for us.
I think the center position, like most of the other positions on the football team, have evolved quite a bit as technology has improved and the game has become more sophisticated. I think offense, defense, special teams are more complex than they used to be, but the learning tools and the teaching tools available to the student-athletes have improved also, so their ability to learn faster, quicker, and more has changed as the game has changed.
On avoiding complacency day in and day out…
CC: Well, right now we're looking for consistency in performance. A lot of the older guys have been to it. Some of the guys went through last season, and some of the older guys that are projected to start joined us in January and had a taste of it in the spring. So, they're still learning too.
But what you're looking for is consistency in performance individually and collectively day in, day out. You want to stay on that kind of a trajectory and keep improving, every play, every drill, every day. When you get 11 guys doing their job the way you want them to do it and teach our brand of ball, there's really no limits on what you can accomplish.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
Below is the full transcript of the press conference, while video of the full media session can be found on the right sidebar at IUHoosiers.com.
Curt Cignetti | Head Coach
Opening Statement
CC: Practice one in the books. It was hot, and it was humid, but I thought the older guys, experienced guys, pushed through it well. The team, in general, did push through it well.
We got our work done. Took a business-like approach. Haven't watched the tape yet. We'll do that after this press conference with the staff, but it's good to be back and good to get going.
On if having a veteran coaching staff and roster eliminates some uncertainty going into the season…
CC: I think the staff, we know what to expect from one another. The experienced guys that we have a long history with, the same. To bring in experienced guys from other programs is good. We just have assimilate them into our way of doing things, which we began doing last January.
You know, you're as good as you are today. Your résumé, your body of work in the past is sort of an indicator, a predictor of what the team is capable of doing, or the staff, but you got to put the work in. You got to find the edge every day.
It's that kind of business where the margin for error is very slim, and that's what makes it such a great game and such a great profession. It's challenging.
On the difference in having 105 players on the roster this season…
CC: Truthfully, I've always been a small roster guy. I don't think we've ever had 110 guys on our roster, and most years we've been at or below 105. So really, it's business as usual.
I don't like a huge support staff, coaching staff. I don't like a real big team, 130 guys. I want everybody in the organization on the football team to have a role and be the right kind of people because everybody affects somebody else positively or negatively. For us it's business as usual, and the size of our roster is really no different than it's been most years. Probably a little bigger. There are a number of years I've been in the 90s.
On Kahlil Benson and Drew Evans being out in the spring and how they look now…
CC: Yeah, well, until I watch the tape, I can't really say. We're also practicing without pads, so give us three or four days, but it's good to have both those guys back.
They've played successful physical. Gives us more depth. I'm very high on the potential of our offensive line, and Bob Bostad does a good job of coaching those guys. A tough, old-school guy. I think we've got a chance to be good.
On the differences and challenges from year one to year two for a program…
CC: Well, to me every year you've got to start over regardless of how long your tenure has been or what your record was the previous year. You always start at ground zero and build it from the foundation up.
The expectation level, you know, on the outside, some of the noise, is a little different, but I think one of the things we really got to do a great job of is staying focused on the things that affect positive development individually and collectively and kind of block all the other stuff out.
It's a great game. It's entertainment. I think taking a business-like approach, checking your ego at the door when you enter the building, being totally focused, being where your feet are, controlling the controllables is the key to the drill.
Like I've said before, the season is a marathon. It's not a sprint. You've got to be able to handle success, failure, overcome obstacles, and you have to do that during the game too, good game, bad game. You have to be able to compartmentalize, rip off the rearview mirror, and play the next play. To me it's more of the same than different.
On how the team has to prepare in order to be ready for game one in the short time frame…
CC: I think we have to have a great sense of urgency, have great focus, and maximize our opportunities across the board and really develop these guys, identify roles, who can do what, build depth, promote competition and then get ready to play the opener against Old Dominion, a Sun Belt team that we're familiar with from JMU.
I addressed Old Dominion in the team meeting, the first team meeting, because these Sun Belt teams are very capable. They have a history of knocking off P4, or in the past they were called FBS teams. We beat Virginia. Marshall beat Notre Dame. App State beat A&M. Louisiana beat Mississippi State and on and on and on. They're good teams. When you play them early in the year when they're healthy and they're at full strength, they're especially dangerous.
Throw in the first game, certainly the first game what's changed, what's different from last year. So we have to be ready to go, but we will be.
On his message to the fanbase pertaining to the early games…
CC: Well, I just addressed Old Dominion. I'm not worried about anybody else. My focus is on camp, developing this football team, but we are 20 practices away from the opener, which creates a sense of urgency to get a lot done in a short amount of time with an eye on ODU. I really don't have an eye on anybody else.
I mean, we did our opponent scout in the spring in the offseason. I expect us to sell out. I know one of those games is a Friday night game. It gets a little tougher to get to the stadium for some people on a Friday night, but we create a lot of excitement around here, and I expect us to have great crowds.
The focus right now is getting in the room with the coaches, watching practice tape, evaluating who did what, how we did, putting tomorrow's practice together, installation, and having a great practice tomorrow, all leading toward running out of the tunnel for the first game.
On the strength of the receiving core and returning pieces…
CC: I think they've got to, number one, commit and have the discipline to achieve their goals and understand that you can't rest on your laurels. That just doesn't happen on its own.
I always talk about that margin for error, the difference between winning and losing, and how small it is. Every day you've got to relentlessly pursue the edge, what gives you the edge, and discipline, commitment, and work ethic, purposeful preparation creates an edge. That's what we need from those guys and all the other key guys that they're going to be playing a lot of football for us.
On Rolijah Hardy and how Cignetti and his staff found him as a late add last year…
CC: Coach (Bryant) Haines found him, evaluated him. I believe we brought him in for a late spring or early summer visit.
After the Northwestern game, which was in the middle of the season, he became the third linebacker in our trio package, which we use against two tight ends, 12 personnel. He's got a great future.
On what Jamari Sharpe has shown this offseason to put himself in position to potentially start…
CC: I think he's grown up a lot and improved as a football player. He has a couple of guys breathing down his neck that have a chance to be good players too, so we've got good competition at that field corner spot.
On how his life has changed in Indiana from a year ago…
CC: Yeah, well, we did go through that phase. You know, gas at 5:00 a.m., and two or three selfies at 5:00 a.m. People waiting for you outside the office when you leave.
So that's all part of being successful, I understand. I grew up in this business and been in it a long time. But you don't meet expectations, and you don't do as well as you would like, things can turn real fast the other way.
I think what's changed the most besides the familiarity with all the people in town -- and it's a great town, great college town -- is everything in my house works now. We bought a house from a guy named Tom Martin, who was friends of Bobby Knight, and it had a lot of toys in it. It took my wife about a year to get everything to work. Not that he neglected it because he didn't.
So, we have a lot of new faces on the football team too. That's changed, but I think that's most people across the country now.
On what intrigued him about Pat Coogan and the center position as a whole…
CC: Yeah, well, you know, Pat started at Notre Dame, a great program. Played a lot of football for them. Was an older guy, was looking for a home. He had a girlfriend that went to school here. We were looking for a center. Mike Katic had graduated. It was a perfect fit. Sure, glad we got him, and I think he's going to be a great leader for us.
I think the center position, like most of the other positions on the football team, have evolved quite a bit as technology has improved and the game has become more sophisticated. I think offense, defense, special teams are more complex than they used to be, but the learning tools and the teaching tools available to the student-athletes have improved also, so their ability to learn faster, quicker, and more has changed as the game has changed.
On avoiding complacency day in and day out…
CC: Well, right now we're looking for consistency in performance. A lot of the older guys have been to it. Some of the guys went through last season, and some of the older guys that are projected to start joined us in January and had a taste of it in the spring. So, they're still learning too.
But what you're looking for is consistency in performance individually and collectively day in, day out. You want to stay on that kind of a trajectory and keep improving, every play, every drill, every day. When you get 11 guys doing their job the way you want them to do it and teach our brand of ball, there's really no limits on what you can accomplish.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
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