Curt Cignetti Huber’s Winery Q&A

Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti received the honor of pace car driver at the Indy 500 last Sunday. He opened up about that experience and his mindset for the upcoming football season in his Huber’s Winery Q&A.

The Indy 500 pace car driver has to drive at speeds up to 170 MPH, and Cignetti spoke on the thrill that he received when driving that car.

“It was a thrill. It’s something that I had the whole family there. It’s something we’ll remember forever. For me personally, it really was a rush… Then, you know, kind of like an hour or two before the race, you know, a couple of my uh teachers told me, ‘Well, no, we want you to gun it and go a little faster.’ So, I had to rev up the focus a little bit there. We hit 170 on that last straightaway.”

Cignetti partook in a true Indiana tradition, which made him more acclimated with the Hoosier population. If he wasn’t a Hoosier after last year, he certainly is now. It is becoming increasingly clear that Cig is living his dream, although he still has more gas in the tank.

Cig was asked about the strategy for summer training before camp.

“Well, the summer program, I’m pretty hands-off. I put that in the strength and conditioning staff’s hands… They’ll get some seven-on-seven and drill work in, but we’ll have a lot of work to do in camp once uh train camp starts.”

Indiana’s lifting and conditioning keeps plowing through the summer, but the real tinkering won’t happen until the Hoosiers start camp. Indiana will continue to build on last season, but also find a way to escape the shadow of last season. Cignetti proved that he knows what he is doing in these past few seasons, so there shouldn’t be worry amongst the Hoosier faithful.

Cignetti was also asked about the changes going on in the college football landscape. Cig was very vague and brief when answering these questions, as he understands that these situations are out of his control. He instead will continue to control the controllables.

“Truthfully, it’s outside my control,” Cignetti said.

The Indiana football season is growing closer, and Hoosier Huddle has you covered. The staff and I will be helping to familiarize you with the current roster as we count down to kickoff.