With momentum gaining on the recruiting trail, Curt Cignetti flipping narrative around Indiana football: ‘Why shouldn’t we be in that position’

When Curt Cignetti came to Bloomington he made it known locally and nationally that he was going to change the narrative around Indiana football. Not only on the field with its play, but also on the recruiting trail.

He showed the latter almost immediately when he flipped the entire Indiana roster. When he took over the Indiana job, half of his roster was in the transfer portal. So, needless to say — he needed to win the recruiting trail so he could put together a team for the spring.

“The biggest thing was we flipped the roster right off the bat. My first day on the job we had 10 guys in the transfer portal. Starters on offense and half the defense,” Cignetti said at last week’s fundraising event at Huber’s Winery. ” … we were able to bring 22 transfers in in December. All those guys were two, three year starters, all from winning programs. Quite a few from JMU which wasn’t the plan when I took the job, it just happened … we’re not there yet, nobody in the country is there yet. Everyone is dealing with a lot of new faces in this day and age in college football.”

But, how would the early momentum continue as the ‘new coach’ message wore off. Well for starters, it still hasn’t worn off. In fact, Cignetti’s momentum on the recruiting trail is at its highest since he took over the program in December.

Trending: How good has the NIL support been for Indiana football? ‘A lot more’ than promised says Curt Cignetti.

It hit its peak the final weekend of May when Indiana hosted numerous high-profile recruits — none bigger than top-10 prospect Julian Lewis. While Lewis headlined the group and came away impressed with the staff, he wasn’t the only prospect on the visit to see the vision of the ‘new Indiana’. It’s a slogan that all of the newest commits and prospects are using to describe the Curt Cignetti era in Bloomington.

“The “New Indiana”… Best thing about it is we didn’t come up with it,” IU quarterbacks coach Tino Sunseri wrote on social media. “The players did, that’s when you know it’s a special feeling.”

So, how did Curt Cignetti get Indiana football in this position?

“Why shouldn’t we be in that position?” Cignetti said. “We’re a state school, and the Big Ten and SEC are calling all the shots in college football. With the proper commitment (from the administration), any team really in the Big Ten, especially that has a state name, should — can be successful.”

This is a message that Cignetti has emphasized since day one.

“Wherever they are, we’ll find them,” Cignetti said at his introductory press conference back in December. “If we think they’re a good fit and a good match, then we’ll get them on campus.”

Indiana currently has the No. 26 overall recruiting class in the country. While it’s early, it’s clear that IU’s current 11-man recruiting class is talented. In the past decade, Indiana football has just one class finish inside the top 30. Here is a look at the last five classes.

2024 – 65th

2023 – 68th

2022 – 25th

2021 – 55th

2020 – 58th

Even though on the field results hold all of the weight, it’s difficult to overlook all of the national attention that Curt Cignetti has brought to Indiana without playing a single game.

While IU is landing some of these high-profile targets, it needs to continue. And, Cignetti knows it.

“People look at our track record (at JMU), what we’ve done in the past. We’ve got some strong recruiting ties out there, so you still gotta get ‘em,” Cignetti said. “It doesn’t count when they just visit, you gotta get ‘em.

” … I like where we are to start the summer and have a lot of confidence in our football team.”

SEE ALSO: ‘Something’s got to give and it wasn’t going to be me’: Curt Cignetti has won at every stop. He doesn’t expect that to change with Indiana football

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