Indiana football is 18-2 since Curt Cignetti took over at the helm of the program. In his first offseason, he brought in 30 players from the transfer portal to revamp the Hoosiers, who went 3-9 in 2023.
Then, ahead of the 2025 season, Cignetti compiled a 24-player portal class, reloading to improve upon Indiana’s historic 11-2 season in 2024.
However, Cignetti’s prior portal hauls occurred with two windows: the first in December and another in late April after spring practice concluded. Now, he’s tasked with new portal parameters.
The NCAA Division I Administrative Committee approved two significant changes to the transfer portal Oct. 7. Beginning this winter, there is just one transfer portal window: from Jan. 2 to Jan. 16.
The alteration to the portal means the four teams remaining in the College Football Playoff Semifinals will be preparing for games when the portal opens. The two teams that reach the national championship will still be playing after it closes.
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said he “doesn’t quite understand” how teams still competing in the CFP are supposed to make decisions and sign upcoming players while preparing for their most important games of the season.
“It doesn’t make any sense to me,” Day said Sept. 9.
Last offseason, the winter portal was open from Dec. 9-28. Then, after spring practice, it reopened from April 16-25. Cignetti said he doesn’t understand the timing of the new lone portal window in relation to the recruiting calendar.
The first week of December is a dead period, according to the Football Bowl Subdivision recruiting calendar released before the portal changes. Coaching staffs aren’t allowed to make in-person recruiting contacts or evaluations either on or off campus. They’re also prohibited from hosting official and unofficial visits.
Then, from Dec. 8-21, it’s a quiet period. Staff can make in-person recruiting contacts with recruits, but only on the coaches’ current campus. Off-campus, in-person recruiting contacts or evaluations are prohibited.
Another dead period ensues until the end of the year.
“All these players are making decisions pretty much the end of November what they're doing,” Cignetti said.
And with the elimination of the “valuable” spring window, Cignetti can no longer assess holes on his roster during spring practice and fill them with transfers afterwards. After Cignetti’s first spring at the helm of the Hoosiers, he added key cogs like cornerback D’Angelo Ponds and defensive linemen Tyrique Tucker and CJ West.
Following spring camp earlier this year, Cignetti added defensive linemen Kellan Wyatt and Stephen Daley, along with receiver Jonathan Brady.
The Hoosiers currently have 29 players — ones such as receiver Elijah Sarratt and linebacker Aiden Fisher — in their final season of eligibility, coupled with NFL draft-eligible players like quarterback Fernando Mendoza and Ponds.
“That's my thing right now, you just don't get off the portal in one year, two years,” Cignetti said at his press conference Monday. “There's going to be portal needs this year.”
Cignetti said it “doesn’t make sense” when the spring semester begins early to mid-January at most schools (Jan. 9 at Indiana) and players will have to enroll at their new schools.
He also doesn’t think the portal window should’ve been modified because of complaints from a handful of coaches, like Southern Methodist University’s Rhett Lashlee and Penn State’s former head coach James Franklin. Then-Nittany Lions backup quarterback Beau Pribula entered the portal during CFP preparation.
Coaches like the University of Texas’ Steve Sarkisian said the new window is the best placement for the betterment of the sport. The University of Oklahoma’s Brent Venables feels there’s no “perfect place” for the period to be.
Several coaches have varying opinions on the portal. One thing is clear about Cignetti’s: he’s “not a big fan.”
“The rules, the way they are right now,” Cignetti said, “I hope we take a good, hard look at what we're doing.”
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames and jamesdm@iu.edu) and Conor Banks (@Conorbanks06 and conbanks@iu.edu) and columnist Quinn Richards (@Quinn_richa and qmrichar@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana football season.
