The guy simply knows how to identify players that are gonna fit the culture. He has the right philosophy and going after guys that have played and have minutes under their belts.
I remember prior to the incredible 2024 season when all the pundits said he couldn’t win in the Big Ten with G5 players, he follows this up by bringing in transfers like Daley, and Wyatt, who were just as good as the guys from the previous year. We bring in a guy better than CJ West. A guy who was waiting his turn.
I knew Tyrique Tucker looked like he was primed to be really good last year.
Cig turns around again in a short time because he’s playing the longest season in however many decades…and he goes out and land this bunch? If feels like he just has this incredible knack for replacing guys with either equals or upgrades. This class feels the same in many spots. I don’t think anybody is ever going to top Fernando. Best IU QB ever with Antwan Randle-EL close behind. Hoover won’t do that but he isn’t a slouch either.
I was actually very leery of the ‘25 portal haul. I thought it eouldn’t replace the 2024 team. But….I’ll be damned! He finds a tight end with a Polish name, who happens to be black, not used a whole lot at Wisconsin and he ends up better than the guy he was replacing, Carpenter.
I expect more of the same this year.
@big-red-cb-v-2-0 His evaluation is elite and he will not deviate from his standard.
Cig is the best.
I'm high on Hoover. What a live arm, and he can make those throws on the move. That mobility while still able to launch it quickly and on target is a bit new. Even though Fernando was a very good runner, its a different type of ability. I am worried if he gets dinged... No obvious 'next man up' as far as high end ability.
I don't know what makes Cigs evaluations so good. But he is the best. I think it also shows that despite the often negative portrayals of football players, there are plenty of high character young men out there, because Cig seems to have little trouble getting guys who fit.
I'm high on Hoover. What a live arm, and he can make those throws on the move. That mobility while still able to launch it quickly and on target is a bit new. Even though Fernando was a very good runner, its a different type of ability. I am worried if he gets dinged... No obvious 'next man up' as far as high end ability.
I don't know what makes Cigs evaluations so good. But he is the best. I think it also shows that despite the often negative portrayals of football players, there are plenty of high character young men out there, because Cig seems to have little trouble getting guys who fit.
It's his attention to detail. He has mentioned looking at player's hip flexibility or something to that effect and probably other traits no one really thinks about.
@big-red-cb-v-2-0 He's a smart guy. In addition to talent he recognized that a 24 year old 2star with a track record of success playing at a G5 is probably better than an 18/19 year old 4 star.
@bar-down Please make an exhaustive list of all the 24 year-olds who played a key role on the team last year. If you can’t, I’m not sure why you would choose to play into that narrative…
@jj_mcclure AI
The 2026 Indiana University football team is characterized by its high average age, with many starters around 22–23 years old, placing them among the oldest in college football. The roster relies heavily on 5th and 6th-year players, with reports indicating no offensive players under 21 and a significant number of players in the 22–25 age range
During the 2025-2026 college football season, Indiana was widely noted for having one of the oldest and most experienced rosters in college football, with reports indicating an average age of 23, which was driven by extensive use of the transfer portal to acquire 45+ players with four or more years of experience, including many 22-25 year olds
I'm not sure why you would choose to take offense by that "narrative"....
@jj_mcclure AI
The 2026 Indiana University football team is characterized by its high average age, with many starters around 22–23 years old, placing them among the oldest in college football. The roster relies heavily on 5th and 6th-year players, with reports indicating no offensive players under 21 and a significant number of players in the 22–25 age range
During the 2025-2026 college football season, Indiana was widely noted for having one of the oldest and most experienced rosters in college football, with reports indicating an average age of 23, which was driven by extensive use of the transfer portal to acquire 45+ players with four or more years of experience, including many 22-25 year olds
I'm not sure why you would choose to take offense by that "narrative"....
Did you realize the average age of starters for Miami was higher than the average age for Indiana starters? We are also bringing back many players that were major contributors. It wasn't just a bunch of old seniors like others want you to believe.
The average age of all teams was higher last year because some players had free covid years on top of medical redshirts and regular redshirts and more leeway with granting extra years. Pretending IU only won because of some nonexistent advantage in age is not reality
@iugradman Exactly. As noted in my post, Cig should be lauded for the strategy. Why some are citing one other school like Miami or are getting offended by it like @hurryinghoosiers is silly. It's a wise tactic. In fact other NCAA sports are considering enacting age limits to mitigate the advantage. Taking offense to recruiting players who have been around is tantamount to taking offense to the amount of money a program spends. If it's within the rules a coach would be stupid not to do it. Cig is a smart cookie. @hurryinghoosiers not so much.
@bar-down So who were the 24 year-olds who were major contributors on the team? I don’t think you can even name one. I definitely can’t. The “narrative” I’m talking about is the one pushed by anti-IU members of the media, like Rob Parker, that IU only won because they had older players than everyone else. That deserves pushback because it’s bullshit. If you want to embrace it, fine, but you should understand the implications…
Its because the numbers in your quote were widely used, and inflated and often wrong.@iugradman Exactly. As noted in my post, Cig should be lauded for the strategy. Why some are citing one other school like Miami or are getting offended by it like @hurryinghoosiers is silly. It's a wise tactic. In fact other NCAA sports are considering enacting age limits to mitigate the advantage. Taking offense to recruiting players who have been around is tantamount to taking offense to the amount of money a program spends. If it's within the rules a coach would be stupid not to do it. Cig is a smart cookie. @hurryinghoosiers not so much.
So now they have removed ,oldest, and now say other claims like - one of the oldest - Which could mean, top ten? The original debunked claims were attempting to make the point that is was some big age gap from crazy new rules adding years, (Heard a network pundit saying we had grown men playing against college kids...)when it was shown some teams, aka Miami, were as old or older.
No starters under 21? Ever? Maybe... But a 21 year old is a red shirt sophomore. Seems like we had some ass-kicking red shirt sophomores. And how old was freshman Mario Landino as a freshman in 2024? He was 21 already? He didnt even redshirt. Was he held back four grades to be 23, you know our starters age?
Nobody is complaining about Cig using a smart strategy. They are still raw about the horseshit claims OF the ages. - Their average age of starters is 23, 24, 26 years old! - (Yes apparently the idiot didnt know what average means) that went on a major entertainment and sports network, and not a soul called that dunce out on it at the time. They just started repeating it.
So someone calculated Miamis age, and it was either a little older or younger and suddenly the narrative ceased. Wonder why.
Anyway yeah, Cig wasnt dumb, he took affordable veterans out of need. Who would have been playing elsewhere , at exactly the same age...
Which could mean, top ten?
There are 135 plus D1 FBS teams. If we're in the top ten for age that likely reflects a strategy, again, to which Cig should be commended, as should Miami.
They are still raw about the horseshit claims OF the ages
Why? The players were eligible. What's there to be "raw" about? Be grateful we have a coach who thinks.
@jj_mcclure What are the implications? We used eligible players. That's it. We had an experienced team and it paid dividends.