Indiana football lined up to punt against then-No. 2 Ohio State tied at 7.
It was Nov. 23, 2024, and the Hoosiers, then ranked No. 5, were hanging with the Buckeyes inside Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.
But when James Evans stood at the Indiana 15-yard line, he couldn’t corral the snap. Instead of launching the punt to then-Buckeyes sophomore defensive back Caleb Downs, awaiting at the Ohio State 25-yard line, the then-senior punter was forced to fall on the ball.
The Buckeyes were set up just 6 yards from the endzone, eventually scoring to take a 14-7 lead into halftime.
When Evans strolled onto the field for his next punt early in the third quarter, he caught the snap and boomed the ball downfield. Except this time, the Hoosiers’ punt coverage team failed to tackle Downs, who ran into the end zone for a 79-yard return touchdown.
The two plays swung momentum in the contest. Indiana never recovered.
Indiana ranked No. 105 nationally in ESPN’s special teams efficiency rating at the end of 2024. But through seven games this season, the Hoosiers’ rating is 12th in the country.
Redshirt junior quarterback Fernando Mendoza guides the Hoosiers’ high-flying offense. Senior linebacker Aiden Fisher leads Indiana’s dominant defense. [Cignetti’s offensive and defensive coordinators — Mike Shanahan and Bryant Haines — have become household names.
But special teams’ performance is what turns good teams into great ones.
Cignetti first added special teams coordinator Cain to his staff in 2019 at James Madison University.
When Cignetti left James Madison for Indiana in December 2023, Cain followed. He’s now in his seventh season under the second-year Hoosiers head coach.
Cain had extensive experience coaching defense from 2003 to when he arrived at James Madison. But in his first season with the Dukes, Cain began coaching tight ends while coordinating the special teams unit.
“Well, I’m always pleased with Grant Cain,” Cignetti said, laughing, on a radio show ahead of Indiana’s 63-10 victory over Illinois in September. “That’s why we’ve been together so long. Grant might be able to think of a time or two where we weren’t so pleased, but I doubt that.”
***
Senior special teams analyst Ryan McInerney is in his 12th season on the Hoosiers’ staff after arriving in 2014.
He began his coaching career as a varsity defensive and offensive line coach in 2008 at Southeast High School in Cherokee, Kansas, before making stops at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, Connecticut State University and Texas Christian University.
After Cain makes a film cut up for the staff to assess, McInerney watches it with the specialists and continues his work with punters and kickers.
During Indiana’s contests, three cameras watch the punters and kickers, Cain said, because of the “violent” nature of the leg swings. Without a coach dissecting the video, Cain said, the specialists won’t progress.
That’s what McInerney does for punters Mitch McCarthy and Quinn Warren, kickoff specialist Brendan Franke and kicker Nico Radicic.
Although McInerny guides the players through the film, each already watches tape.
“They’ve been kicking long enough they are really dedicated to their craft,” Cain said, “so they’re constantly looking to improve and tweak their technique.”
Much of what the specialists do throughout the week is technique work: dry runs, Cain said, such as mental work, stretching and body recovery. He even compared it to baseball pitchers, who don’t pitch daily.
When the players step onto the practice field, they have a coach next to them — nearly one for each player.
“There’s eyes on everybody at all times, which equates to accountability,” Cain said, “and we’re able to just hold these guys accountable every single thing they do and also celebrate their small victories every day in practice so they know they’re being watched and pushed and coached and taught exactly what to do.”
And that’s worked. The Hoosiers’ specialists haven’t had a punt or kick blocked this season. They also haven’t allowed their opponent to notch lengthy returns.
Franke has boomed 50 kickoffs downfield this season, converting 46 for touchbacks. He even drilled a 58-yard field goal at the end of the first half against then-No. 3 Oregon on Oct. 11, which gave the Hoosiers a 3-point lead at halftime.
“I thought Franke's field goal was really big, just like last week against Iowa,” Cignetti said after the 30-20 win. “That end of the half score gave us momentum going into the locker room.”
***
Mark Langston is in his second season at Indiana, a part of Cignetti’s first transfer portal class as the Hoosiers’ head coach. The seventh-year senior long snapper arrives at Memorial Stadium with a cup of coffee in his hand and a bag of footballs daily, Cain said.
The 6-foot, 220-pound Langston is the first one on the field and the last one off, Cain said.
“He’s always looking for ways to get better,” Cain said. “He’s going to camps over the summer. He’s training with NFL long snappers.”
But so are the other specialists. Cain said the mentality gets “contagious.”
In practice, Langston is graded on everything he does. On a short snap, which Cain defined as 8 yards, the coaches want the laces in a specific spot each time. If they aren’t, Langston gets dinged.
And it’s not always his fault, Cain said. Sometimes it’s the holder’s.
McCarthy missed a pair of nonconference games this season due to injury, but he’s the Hoosiers’ primary holder — someone Radicic relies on and should trust. He does.
Radicic, a redshirt sophomore, is 19 for 20 on field goals in his collegiate career. His lone miss came on a 46-yard attempt in the snow against Purdue last season. He’s yet to miss an extra point, converting all 111 tries — a streak Radicic said he takes pride in.
“Every kick I'm out there is the same kick, mentally,” he said during spring practice. “If it's a 55 or an extra point, I take it the same way.”
For the Hoosiers to advance further in the CFP this season, each part of their special teams can’t succumb to self-imposed limitations. The ones that hurt Indiana in big games last season.
They haven’t through seven games this year. Indiana is undefeated just over halfway through its second season under Cignetti, who signed an eight-year contract Oct. 16. worth an average of $11.6 million annually.
“It’s a lot of special people and they come with their special problems,” Cain said, laughing, “but they’re great kids and, like I said, they’re all dedicated to their craft.”
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.
