Deacon King Sees New Indiana Staff as “Energized and Ready to Turn the Program Around” After Junior Day Visit

Written by: Nate Comp (@NathanComp1)

The Indiana Hoosiers football program hosted several ‘Junior Days’ this past January and Hoosier Huddle caught up with Deacon King, a safety prospect out of Westfield, Indiana in the class of 2026. Curt Cignetti will continue to emphasize in-state recruiting, as he discussed during his National Signing Day press conference.

“It’s huge,” said Cignetti. “I mean, I don’t care if you’re the head coach at Indiana, Texas, or Idaho, you’ve got to do a great job in your state. We want to dominate our state as best we can.”

As a talented player in the state of Indiana, Deacon King quickly caught the attention of Cignetti and his staff. A two-sport athlete specializing in track and football, King primarily plays the safety position in football and finished his sophomore season last year totaling 77 tackles, an interception, and 3 forced fumbles while playing against some of the state’s best competition. His interception helped seal a sectional title against Noblesville.

And after a weekend in Bloomington, the interest appears to be mutual.

“The experience was cool, the highlight for me was the photoshoot wearing the Indiana uniform,” said King. “I really liked the new staff…they seem to be energized and ready to turn the program around.”

He is still getting familiar with the new Indiana staff but loves the culture of winning that Cignetti and his crew bring to the Hoosiers.

“I was surprised to hear that Coach Cig has an 80% winning percentage!” continued King. “That’s exciting to me!”

King began to get interest at the D-I level during last football season, receiving offers from Western Michigan, Central Michigan, and Purdue. His recruiting journey is still in its early days, but interest in him is expected to continue to grow moving forward if he continues to play like he has.

“I’m a sophomore so my recruiting journey is really just beginning…I’m excited to see what the future holds.”