NOTEBOOK: Switching Gears; Hitting New People; Playing to the Standard
By Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- How do you follow an unprecedented undefeated national championship season?
We’re about to find out. Sixth-ranked Indiana begins defense of its 16-0 title run with Saturday’s season opener against North Texas at Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium.
“I know our guys are tired of hitting each other,” head coach Curt Cignetti said during Monday’s press conference. “It's just nice to switch gears. Camp can get a little old near the end hitting each other. I know the guys are going to be excited to play. We want to play well.”
History suggests the Hoosiers will. Cignetti is 15-0 at home as IU’s head coach (27-2 overall) with an average victory margin of 38.1 points. Still, nothing is guaranteed.
“I want us to play to a standard, play in, play out, from the first play to the last play,” he said. “Focus on the things we emphasize. I want to feel good about our performance walking off the field.”
Cignetti still remembers last year’s season opener, when Old Dominion began the game with a 75-yard quarterback run for a touchdown and the Hoosiers didn’t score their first offensive touchdown until late in the second quarter. IU won 27-14, but admittedly was not impressive.
“We were inside the 10 six times and came away with 20 points,” Cignetti said, “which isn't very good. We had the ball first-and-one on the opening drive and couldn't get in the end zone.
“We won, which is what we wanted to get done, but I was thinking, there's a lot of work to get done.
“(On Saturday), there's going to be a lot of work to get done regardless, but I'd like to see us play a nice, clean game.”
Clean includes focusing on this season and not last year.
“Our whole thing has always been keeping the main thing the main thing, controlling the controllables,” Cignetti said. “It's all about preparing to the best of our ability and putting it between the white lines against the first opponent.
“That's why (Monday) is an important day; (Tuesday) is an important day. We'll focus on that. We’ve got to have the right mindset and respect for the challenge that's forthcoming. Play like we want to play, our brand of ball.”
IU has sold out every game. Cignetti’s message to the fans is clear: “Let's be loud and proud. Let's give them something to be loud about.
“(The crowd is) worth two touchdowns in my mind, no question about it.”
Tayven Jackson is back.
The former Hoosier quarterback, the brother of IU basketball great Trayce Jackson-Davis who also led Center Grove High School to multiple Indiana state championships, will return to Bloomington as the North Texas quarterback.
The 6-foot-4, 209-pound Jackson was the starter last season at UCF, leading the Golden Knights to a 5-7 record while throwing for 2,151 yards, 10 touchdowns, and eight interceptions.
In two years as a Hoosier, Jackson threw for 1,263 yards with six touchdowns and six interceptions. He started six games, including one during Cignetti’s first year in Bloomington.
Jackson replaced starter Kurtis Rourke for the second half against Nebraska after Rourke injured his thumb, then started the next week in a 31-17 win over Washington. Against Nebraska in a 56-7 win, Jackson was 7-for-8 for 91 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran twice for 21 yards.
Against Washington, Jackson was 11-for-19 for 124 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. He also ran for a TD.
“Tayven played really good football for us in '24,” Cignetti said. “He came in at halftime against Nebraska and played a great second half. He started the next week against Washington, a game that we won.
“He's very talented. He's got a live arm. He can run. He's a good athlete. He started a number of games last season (for Central Florida). He's a good player.”
For his college career, which started at Tennessee, Jackson has completed 62.8 percent of his passes for 16 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.
With linebacker Aiden Fisher now an NFL rookie, fifth-year linebacker Isaiah Jones has taken over green-dot status for the defense. He has a helmet radio to receive defensive calls from defensive coordinator Bryant Haines and relay them to the defense.
“We have a number of guys with good leadership qualities,” Cignetti says. “The more you have, the better it is.
“(Jones) is a natural leader. He’s the green-dot guy. He’s cut from a similar cloth as Aiden Fisher. He’s a smart and instinctive player. He’s a student of the game. He’s the quarterback of the defense. You look at him and (fellow veteran linebacker Rolijah) Hardy, those are two guys who have played a lot of football here and played really good football.”
Cignetti has been selective in how he approaches off-the-field opportunities. His State Farm commercial debuted this week. It followed an appearance as the pace car driver for last May’s Indianapolis 500.
“I thought the Indy 500 was good,” he said. “That's part of the fabric of state, and it’s national. State Farm has been around a long time.
“We turned down a lot. Those are the ones we chose.”
North Texas in major transition mode after going 12-2 last season, 7-1 in the American Conference. Highlights included victories over Washington State, Army, and Navy.
Head coach Eric Morris left for Oklahoma State. He was replaced by Neal Brown, who previously was the head coach at Troy and West Virginia. Brown worked at the University of Texas last season.
The Mean Green have added 50 transfers and 70 new players, plus a new coaching staff.
That makes preparation … unique.
“They have a system; they had a system at West Virginia, now there are some unknowns,” Cignetti said. “Things could change. We’ll see some things we haven't seen on tape.
“It is different now. I’ve never really played a game quite like this one where there are just so many new faces, players to coaches.”
Transfers include running back Jahiem White from West Virginia. He is on the preseason watch lists for the Doak Walker, Earl Campbell Tyler Rose, and Comeback Player of the Year awards.
In three seasons at West Virginia, White totaled 2,200 all-purpose yards, including 1,870 rushing yards with 14 touchdowns.
“Jahiem White was injured and missed some of last season, but he's really fast and elusive,” Cignetti said. “He's great in space.”
Another transfer, receiver James Tyre from Western Carolina, caught 68 passes for 832 yards and 11 touchdowns last season. He also averaged 10.1 yards per punt return.
Brown led Troy to upsets at LSU and at Nebraska in 2017. He has a 10-year head coaching record of 72-51 with seven bowl appearances and five bowl victories.
“Neal Brown is a good coach,” Cignetti said. “He’s accustomed to a setting like this.
“We got a scouting report on all of their transfers. On the offensive side of the ball, we watched a lot of Baylor tape. On the defensive side of the ball, a lot of West Virginia tape, some Texas maybe.”
Cignetti spent much of the offseason watching film for multiple reasons, including analyzing what other teams are doing to see what might fit the Hoosiers.
“There are always things you can pick up, whether it’s the red-zone area, goal line, third down, explosives, the pass game, run game, trick plays,” he said.
“Every year, it looks a little bit different. I’m still going through that stuff. You’re always trying to refine it and stay on top of it so if we need something, I’ve got it in my back pocket for that particular week to at least present it to the offensive staff and see if it has any value.”