Highlights from Coach Cig’s “Inside Indiana Football” Debut

Written by Ben Gillard

“Fast. Physical. Relentless.” This was the phrase that Head Coach Curt Cignetti repeated several times during his inaugural appearance on “Inside Indiana Football” with “Voice of the Hoosiers” Don Fischer. This brief but impactful message is apt to describe both Cignetti’s coaching style as well as his first sit-down with Fisch. Due to the brutal heatwave in Bloomington this week, (temperatures have consistently been above 90 degrees), the Hoosiers have been practicing at night, and Cignetti had to cut his interview short to get ready for practice. 

For Cignetti, this is the first time in his 40-year career that he has had to move practice from the afternoon to the evening. He has seen this as a positive change, however, ensuring that his players will be fresh and ready to play against FIU in the season opener on Saturday.

Looking ahead to the FIU game, Coach Cignetti highlighted that the Panthers have also completely overhauled their roster with transfers and said that defensively, the Hoosiers will have to contain FIU QB Keyone Jenkins and his talented WR room to come out on top on Saturday. Ultimately, Cignetti is excited to see how the team responds to both the success and failure on Saturday, saying, “You want to play fast, physical, and relentless, but you’ve also gotta be smart, disciplined, and poised.”

When asked about starters and position battles heading into the opener, we got a vintage Curt Cignetti quote. Coach Cig stated that it all comes down to performance in practice, saying, “You play like you practice. You want to play good, you practice good. You can’t be horsesh*t in practice and expect to play on Saturday.”

With that, Coach Cignetti left for practice, and Indiana AD Scott Dolson took his place for the rest of the show.

When asked about Cignetti, Dolson said that he organizes practice like no other coach he has ever seen. A Cignetti practice is around 50 to 90 minutes, with no down time. “The players get in, do their work, and get out,” Dolson remarked. Dolson commented that he has heard from several players, including Mike Katic, that they really enjoy this style of practice because the players “know exactly what to expect.” He ended by highlighting the need for consistency among coaches, saying that the most successful programs have consistency, and that is what he has seen from Cignetti.