First Day Flow was ‘Good’ As Indiana Football Opens Fall Camp

Indiana Football head coach Curt Cignetti sat down with the press after their first day of training camp. This was the first day that Cignetti had his entire team together. He praised the importance of these camp days to truly turn this football team into a unit that can compete.

Indiana football made headlines by adding Stephen Daley back to the roster from last season. He was the Big Ten leader in TFL’s last season, but wasn’t drafted after an injury after the Big Ten Championship game. Cignetti was asked about the process of adding Daley.

“I think that it’s a potential opportunity to get better. Nobody really has a crystal ball and knows what the future holds,” Cignetti said.

Cignetti made it clear that he doesn’t care about the court process that allowed it to happen, but he just wants to bring in the players who can help him win.

“If it works out for him long term, I think it’s a great thing because here’s a guy…” Cignetti said. “That played at Kent State and then came to us last fall. It really took him three to four games before he started to get the hang of it, wasn’t playing a key role, then became the most dominant defensive lineman in Big Ten, led the Big Ten with TFLs at 19, suffers the injury, so ends up not getting drafted.”

Cignetti knows that Daley can really help this defensive line that already seems to be the strength of the defense. Daley got better every game they played, and so Cignetti is excited for the future with him.

Daley was able to compete in drills in today’s practice, but is still limited coming off of his injury.

Charlie Becker was IU’s leading receiver in the back half of the season. Cignetti was asked about what he is seeing in Becker today.

“Yeah, he’s playing with more confidence and belief,” Cignetti said. “I thought he had a pretty good camp last year. Maybe the biggest change is how we look at him. He was just a guy, and he had an opportunity. He was a special teams demon for us in ’24, and early in the year, when he got in the games, he took advantage of his opportunities.”

He sees this practice as an overall success because the team was able to limit its errors. He noticed that the centers didn’t make snapping errors. Overall, the practice had a good flow to it, and Cignetti was pleased.

Becker took full control after the Sarrat injury last season. This year, he will be seen as more of a wide receiver for the Hoosiers. He has X-factor speed and catching radius, but this year is taking the next step in confidence and leadership.

Cignetti was also asked about how he deems a good practice.

“I kind of look at the first practice as just the flow,” Cignetti said. “Did we have any major organizational snafus? Was the ball on the ground a lot? A lot of times early in camp, spring ball, working new centers, center snaps can be an issue, six, eight balls on the ground. We didn’t have that today. The flow was good. The competition was good.”