Newly hired Indiana football head coach Curt Cignetti seems to have his full staff in order — less than a week from being announced as the new coach for the Hoosiers.
In total, he brings with him to Bloomington seven members of his James Madison staff.
Cignetti only retained one member of the previous Indiana football staff — offensive line coach Bob Bostad.
An official announcement will likely be made in the near future.
Below is a look at his 10-man expected staff plus the strength and conditioning coach:
Offense
Mike Shanahan (OC / WR – James Madison)
Tino Sunseri (Co-OC / QB – James Madison)
John Miller (RB – James Madison)
Grant Cain (TE / Special Teams – James Madison)
Bob Bostad (OL – Indiana)
Shanahan and Sunseri have been tremendous alongside Cignetti. Since 2021, the last three quarterbacks of Cole Johnson, Todd Centeio and Jordan McCloud have combined for 10,816 yards, 119 touchdowns and just 18 interceptions.
McCloud was named the Player of the Year in the Sun Belt. He totaled 3,413 passing yards this year with 32 passing touchdowns and just nine interceptions. He added 311 yards on the ground with eight additional scores. He had a 68.9 percent completion rate and 167.9 quarterback rating.
Defense
Bryant Haines (DC / LB – James Madison)
Buddha Williams (DE – Colorado State)
Pat Kuntz (DT – James Madison)
Rod Ojong (CB – Charlotte)
Ola Adams (DB – Penn State Analyst / Denver Broncos)
Defensive coordinator Bryant Haines was named a Broyles Semifinalist — given to the top assistant coach in the country.
Jalen Green had 59 total tackles, 21 tackles for loss, 15.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and one touchdown. He was named a Chuck Bednarik Award Semifinalist, the first in JMU history. He won the Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year award.
Special Teams / Strength Staff
Grant Cain (TE / Special Teams – James Madison)
Derek Owens (Strength / Conditioning – James Madison)
Last year, the first year at the FBS level, James Madison ranked top 15 in 12 different categories. That included second in rushing defense (79.5 yards), tackles for loss per game (8.6) and first downs allowed per contest (13.8). They ranked fourth in sacks per game (3.5), fifth in total defense (289.5 yards), sixth in third down defense (.284) and time of possession (33:44). Additionally, seventh in both yards per completion (14.5) and fumble recoveries (13), 13th in scoring offense (37.0 points) and 14th in both takeaways (24) and pick-sixes (2).
Overall, three Offensive Player of the Year honors and two Defensive Player of the Year honors have happened at the conference level under Cignetti.
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