‘Good energy and competition’ highlight start of spring practice as Indiana football sees ‘step forward’ in offseason development

Spring practice is the backbone of any college football team’s offseason and for Indiana football, it’s a massive month-long haul to make sure this program gets off to the good — and the right — start it needs in order to reach the goals and aspirations it has under first-year head coach Curt Cignetti.

Last week started the second part of the offseason. After a few months with the strength and development team, players finally arrived on the practice field ready to compete. Not only to prove to a new head coach that they were ready to contribute, but also that they were ready to make a big impact.

That’s what Curt Cignetti and the rest of the Indiana football staff are looking for after the first few days of camp.

“Today was our first padded practice, and once we went to the team periods I thought there was good energy and competition,” Cignetti said on Tuesday. “I think we probably took a little step forward, although when we put the tape on, we’ll see enough mistakes to cost you every game you’re going to play. But that’s where we are in our first spring in day three and we’re throwing a lot at these guys.”

While ‘good energy and competition’ is bred from the competitive nature Cignetti and his staff bring to meetings and on the field, it’s controlled in a way where everything is structured and process-oriented.

It’s what has allowed Cignetti to produce winning seasons in all 13 years he’s been a head coach.

“I commend everybody on their effort up to this point. I think the whole team is trying really hard … I’m not disappointed in anybody, let me put it that way,” Cignetti said. ” … Football is football and you get what you demand. We’ve got a lot of smart guys on this team that really want to be good and are willing to pay the price. What we’re asking them to do in terms of effort and how we practice, is not rocket science. These guys want to be good, and I’m pleased with their effort up to this point.

“We want to get the team through spring (healthy) so we can get the reps. So we can improve. So we can put our offense, defense and special teams (systems) in, and guys can develop and get better. Then we can assess who the players are. How best to utilize them, possibly utilize them, and what the needs are coming out of spring practice.”

Assessment is the key for spring ball over the course of the next three weeks.

Indiana brings in nearly 30 players who were not in an Indiana football uniform last year. Whether from the FCS, FBS, high-major, low-major or even high school levels, there are still a lot of unknowns about this roster.

While they all have the personal makeup of what Cignetti wants from his players, at the end of the day it’s about production.

“For the Indiana guys, the guys from Troy, the guys from ODU, the guys from Texas Tech, Wake Forest, North Carolina, it’s all new. So there’s an adjustment period and they’re thinking a lot,” Cignetti said. “But the last half of spring you’ll see improvement in execution, and then you’ll see a big jump in fall camp.”