Curt Cignetti walked to the podium in Indiana football’s team room Monday morning, carrying a blue Gatorade while sporting his usual red pullover with the zipper down to his chest.
As Indiana football’s first-year head coach scanned the room underneath the stands of Memorial Stadium, he grabbed hold of the wooden stand in front of him and began.
“It’s game week,” Cignetti said. “The game is finally here.”
Nearly nine months after leaving his perch as James Madison University’s head football coach to take over the reins in Bloomington, much has changed.
The Hoosiers’ roster has been rebuilt, with 30 incoming transfers joining 17 freshman recruits and an almost entirely new coaching staff to give Indiana a fresh slate. The “LEO” signs that hung around the team’s weight room — placed by fired head coach Tom Allen who preached the “Love Each Other” mindset — are no longer present. Practices are faster and more intense.
But for all the new, some old remains. Cignetti’s daily routine is one of them.
Cignetti said he woke up at 4 a.m. Monday before entering his office at 5 a.m. The Hoosiers hold in-season practices later in the day, and Cignetti won’t leave the field until after 8 p.m. In December, Cignetti said he didn’t see Bloomington in the light of day during his first three weeks on the job.
And at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Cignetti gets to see his baby take its first steps, as the Hoosiers host Florida International University inside Memorial Stadium.
Indiana’s schedule for the week includes a light practice Monday, first and second-down plus special teams work Tuesday, third-down drills Wednesday and red zone and goal-line situations Thursday.
But after months of installing schemes, plays and a winning-oriented mentality, Cignetti and the Hoosiers now have an opponent to prepare for.
Meet Florida International
Led by head coach Mike McIntyre, Florida International finished ninth in Conference USA last season, going 4-8 overall and 1-7 in conference play.
The Panthers’ offense averaged 20 points and nearly 320 yards per game last season. Sophomore quarterback Keyone Jenkins started 11 games for Florida International last season, earning a spot on the C-USA All-Freshman team. He completed 58.4 percent of his passes for 2,414 yards, 11 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while adding six scores on the ground.
Cignetti noted in Monday’s press conference Jenkins is an “extremely dangerous” dual-threat quarterback who not only throws the ball well but can extend plays with his feet. The Hoosiers anticipate needing a stout performance from their defensive line to generate pressure, limit Jenkins’ time to throw and keep him in the pocket.
“Even though he's a really good athlete that can tuck it and run and gain a lot of yards, he's going to look to throw first and does a nice job of finding people when he extends plays,” Cignetti said. “And we've got to win up front, our defensive line.”
The Panthers return two of their four leading receivers from last season in redshirt juniors Eric Rivers, who caught 32 passes for 370 yards and two touchdowns in 2023, and Dean Patterson, who totaled 28 receptions for 423 yards and a score. Rivers and Patterson headline what Cignetti labeled a “deep staple of receivers,” which also includes seniors Nazeviah Burris and Desna Washington.
At running back, Florida International returns its top rushers from a season ago, with redshirt juniors Shomari Lawrence and Kejon Owens leading the attack. Lawrence and Owens combined for 1,019 yards and nine touchdowns on 205 carries in 2023.
Defensively, Cignetti cited the Panthers’ experience in the secondary — all five of their starters have at least three years of college football under their belts. Florida International allowed nearly 32 points per game in 2023, with opponents averaging 436.7 yards per game. Opposing quarterbacks averaged 245.8 passing yards per game and finished the season with 26 touchdowns to just six interceptions.
Cignetti also touted the Panthers’ group of linebackers, headlined by senior Reggie Peterson, who collected 104 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks last year.
But in the new era of college football, where roster changes are aplenty, Cignetti anticipates a battle Saturday afternoon.
“It will be a challenge, and we'll have to play well,” Cignetti said.
What to Expect: Indiana
Many of Indiana’s starters who take the field Saturday will be doing so for the first time in Memorial Stadium — but certainly not the first time in their college careers, as Cignetti foreshadowed a veteran-heavy group hitting the gridiron.
“We've got a lot of seniors on this football team, so I wouldn't anticipate seeing many freshmen out there,” Cignetti said. “That doesn't mean you might not see one or two. But it's all based on who can help us be successful, who's ready to play winning football. And things change every week. Going into the first game, I don't see many freshmen having very significant roles in this game.”
The Hoosiers have held two intrasquad scrimmages during fall camp. Their offense started slowly in the first one, prompting senior quarterback and Ohio University transfer Kurtis Rourke to create a group chat with hopes of sparking the unit around him — and it worked.
“Being that there’s like 40-something transfers, we didn’t really know how to speak to each other,” senior running back Ty Son Lawton said. “After that first scrimmage, we made a group chat, sat down, had a meeting, spoke to it and got to know each other. I feel that was a step forward in our process and we had a great scrimmage No. 2. I feel like we keep doing that, we should be fine.”
Cignetti said he likes where Indiana’s offense stands entering the season, and he feels similar confidence with the defense and special teams. There does, however, remain much to improve upon entering Saturday.
“I want to see us play fast and physical and work out some of the mistakes we made in the first two scrimmages — penalties, missed signs, things of that nature — but also play smart, disciplined and poised,” Cignetti said. “So, there's a fine line there. But we do want to attack, be that kind of team and play well.”
Saturday marks the official start of Cignetti’s tenure as Indiana’s head coach. The Hoosiers have won just nine games over the past three years and haven’t reached bowl eligibility since 2020.
But Cignetti, after changing the roster, culture and identity of Indiana football, is ready to flip the script. And while he doesn’t view Saturday’s game as a tone-setter for his time in Bloomington, he’s optimistic about what the 2024 season has in store.
“Every week, chapter one of a 13-page book,” Cignetti said. “So, I'm excited to see us play. We do have a lot of work to do before we kick it off, and I'm confident in this team.”
Follow reporters Daniel Flick (@ByDanielFlick) and Dalton James (@DaltonMJames) and columnist Jhett Garrett (@jhettgarrett) for updates throughout the Indiana football season.
