‘It always hits’: Curt Cignetti wasn’t happy with practice midweek and made sure IU football knew about it

Confidence and emotions are typically high after a win so it’s no surprise that IU football went into this week with a slightly different mindset than before. Everything that had been preached throughout the offseason came to fruition — a week one win. But, ask anyone inside the locker room and their response would’ve been the same — they weren’t satisfied with just a win. And, the coaches were nowhere near satisfied with how they played.

So when practice wasn’t up to the standard that Curt Cignetti set from day one since arriving in Bloomington, he made sure the team knew about it.

“I thought every day built on the last. Tuesday wasn’t a great day,” Cignetti said following IU’s Friday night win. “I talked to the team afterwards about it. I don’t talk to the team after every practice. Most of them I do. I had some things to say, and I had a captive audience. They applied it the next day, and we had a really good day the day before the game. We went out in shoulder pads and helmets and practiced the day before the game. 

“Then they were charged up in the locker room before the game and came out and played pretty well.”

His messaging got across in a major, major way. Not only did Indiana win, it dominated. And that could even be an understatement. It was a 77-3 decimation of Western Illinois which resulted in the most points in a single game in IU football history, as well as the most yards — topping 700.

Curt Cignetti’s main message when he took over the Indiana job was regarding complacency and the danger that comes with that.

He didn’t want just one win to impact the mind and thought process of his guys.

“Basically just talking about complacency,” Indiana defensive lineman Mikail Kamara said about Cignetti’s message. “I think we knew this opponent wasn’t the best opponent so we got kinda laxed, especially coming off of a win. But we turned it around on Wednesday … and we showed up today (Friday).”

“Just keep going. Pick it up,” Added IU wide receiver Elijah Sarratt. “We had a slow practice, so make sure we come out the next day ready to work.”

Both Kamara and Sarratt came with Cignetti from James Madison, so they know and understand when Cignetti is trying to get his point across.

It isn’t always noticeable to others, but as leaders of the team — and with numerous new faces playing together for the first time — they make sure they understand what is expected.

From day one, the expectation around this new era of IU football has been to change the culture around the program. Games like Friday certainly have a way of shifting some of the narrative. But, it’s also against an opponent that never had a shot.

Either way, Cignetti has goals that he expects to reach and expectations that he expects to meet. So, he’s going to make sure the point always hits home with his team.

And, it does.

“Sometimes he talks it through, sometimes he raises his voice,” Kamara said. ” … when he’s trying to send the message, it always hits.”

The next challenge — the first Big Ten game and road game. A trip out west to UCLA.

SEE ALSO: IU football didn’t just win on Friday, It dominated — as it should. Now, it’s using it as a ‘confidence boost’ heading into first real test

Make sure to follow Hoosier Illustrated, part of the Full Ride Network, on Twitter @Indiana_FRN, Facebook and YouTube to stay up to date on all of the news, updates and coverage of Indiana University athletics. You can also listen to the Talking’ Bout the Hoosiers podcast on Spotify.

Looking for a place to get more Indiana content? Hoosier Illustrated has partnered with Tom Brady’s company ‘Autograph’ to streamline our coverage, so you can continue to do what you do best – follow IU sports. Use the CODE: Indianafr to get started today. For more info, you can start here.