BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Almost everything is new when it comes to the Indiana football program. New head coach Curt Cignetti said today after the Hoosiers' first spring practice Thursday that he just learned how to get from his office to the Memorial Stadium turf the fastest.
Indiana will hold 13 spring practices, culminating in the spring game at Memorial Stadium on April 18 at 8 p.m. ET, followed by 22 or 23 fall practices. The Hoosiers' actual game begins Aug. 31 against Florida International at Memorial Stadium, but that time will be announced at a later date.
Until then, Cininetti is focused on building the pillars of the program this spring, and that starts with fostering competition at every position. Indiana University acquired quarterback Curtis Rourke from Ohio State this offseason. He has a huge lead over redshirt sophomore Taven Jackson and true freshman Tyler Cherry in terms of his experience and production. Rourke took over the first team duties on Thursday, followed by Jackson with the second team and Cherry with the third team. But Cignetti won't just hand Roark the starting job.
“Everything is earned, not given,” Cininetti said. “And no one has a job.”
With no wins or losses, Cignetti will measure success in the spring by keeping his team healthy and implementing Indiana's offense, defense and special teams.
Cininetti also strives to imitate the game, develop his players and teach them how to practice the way he wants, which requires understanding who is capable of what. Indiana wasn't wearing full pads on Thursday, which Cininetti called just “pajamas,” but he was pretty happy with how the first spring practice, which lasted about 1 hour and 55 minutes, went.
Indiana lost starting defensive tackle Phillip Bridi to the transfer portal on Monday, an unexpected move from Coach Cininetti's perspective. Indiana is also dealing with injuries to right guard Nick Kidwell, defensive lineman James Carpenter, linebacker Jaylin Walker, and defensive ends Ranel Carr and Benson Snead, who missed spring practice. The defense is a little weak against the opponent.
Cininetti said Indiana still has enough strength in both teams to reach a three-team depth on Thursday, but also tried some new things. Nick Toomer, who played cornerback for the Hoosiers last season, took reps at strong safety. Indiana lost starting safeties Phillip Dunham and Louis Moore to the transfer portal, but returns several starting cornerbacks.
The transfer portal will reopen from April 16th to April 30th, which means Cininetti will focus on further additions, roster retention and development.
”[Blidi] “He did what he did,” Cignetti said. “That's all I'm going to say about it and we're going to keep it to our members only.”
“You have to be nimble these days to be a Power 5, FBS or college football coach. It's crazy.”
Part of the spring will be spent meeting new members. Roster turnover is common for any program, as players can transfer without staying for a year. But it's particularly prevalent in programs like Indiana, where coaching changes are occurring. Indiana fired Tom Allen after a 3-9 season in 2023, replaced the entire coaching staff except offensive line coach Bob Bostad, and hired Cignetti.
Of the 110 players on Indiana University's spring roster (including walk-ons), 51 have played at another university at some point in their careers. 24 players left Indiana for the transfer portal following the 2023 season This offseason alone, Cininetti added 22 players from the transfer portal and called up a 17-man freshman class. , only seven freshmen left high school to enroll early for spring practice.
Indiana University lost all five of its captains from last season, creating a bit of a leadership vacuum. It was running back transfer Kaylon Black from James Madison who filled that leadership role Thursday, but Cignetti expects those roles to evolve as the spring progresses.
”[Black] “We only spoke once last year and we drank a lot,” Cininetti said. “We want to draw everyone's attention to that guy.”
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