Cignetti Encouraged by Progress in Indiana Secondary Heading into Western Kentucky

Indiana football’s defense made a major jump from Week 1 to Week 2, according to coach Curt Cignetti.

The Hoosiers pitched a shutout Saturday, held Howard from crossing midfield and forced eight three-and-outs and a four-and-out. Indiana also tallied 12 tackles for loss, five sacks and a defensive touchdown on a deflected pass.

Cignetti said Monday that the improvement stretched across all three levels of the defense, including a secondary that continues to settle in early in the season.

“Thought defense took a major step forward, flew around, swarmed the ball, dominated the line of scrimmage,” Cignetti said. “Got the shutout, scored the touchdown. Didn’t let the opponent cross the 50.”

Indiana had allowed early scores in its opener against North Texas before taking control late. Against Howard, Cignetti said the Hoosiers gave up a naked bootleg and an RPO early but settled in once the Bison offense became more one-dimensional.

“Once the game became a box game, we stuffed the run, harassed the quarterback,” Cignetti said. “I think the defense in general, the D-line, the linebackers, and the DBs all took a major step forward.”

For the defensive backs, Cignetti specifically pointed to Jaylen Bell and Ryland Gandy, two players he believes have made progress through Indiana’s first two games.

Bell has been one of the steadier players in the group, Cignetti said. He praised Bell’s performance against North Texas and said he has been “pretty consistent” to open the year.

Gandy has had some mistakes, Cignetti said, but has improved over the last two weeks. Cignetti pointed to Gandy’s experience as a reason for confidence moving forward.

“I thought they both took steps forward the last two weeks,” Cignetti said. “I thought Jaylen Bell has been pretty consistent. Thought he played well against North Texas.

“Ryland had a couple mistakes, but he’s certainly improved and played a lot of football. I have a lot of confidence in both of them.”

The secondary could also get a boost this week. Cignetti listed Jamari Sharpe and A.J. Harris as day to day Monday, though he said Indiana is optimistic about Sharpe. He later added that the Hoosiers expect Sharpe to return.

“Sometimes the best ability is availability,” Cignetti said. “So we do expect Sharpe back. We’re ready to roll.”

That would give Indiana another option in the defensive backfield heading into its final non-conference game before Big Ten play.

Western Kentucky enters Saturday’s matchup after a difficult start to the season, including a loss at Georgia. Still, Cignetti said the Hilltoppers have a returning quarterback and receivers who showed an ability to separate early in the Georgia game.

“They’ve struggled obviously in their first two games,” Cignetti said. “The goal is to continue to make ’em struggle defensively.”

The matchup offers another chance for Bell, Gandy and the rest of Indiana’s secondary to build on Saturday’s performance. With Big Ten play approaching, Cignetti said the Hoosiers are still focused on tightening up the details and figuring out what they do best.

“It’s still this week more about us and tightening some things up,” Cignetti said. “In some ways we’re learning still about what we can do best before we go to Big Ten play.”