For the longest time, the Indiana Hoosiers football program has been about finding hidden gems in recruiting and developing them into competitive Power Five-level football players. This philosophy has borne some fruit in recent years, with some of former coach Tom Allen’s greatest successes coming from recruits that were not necessarily five-star talents. Michael Penix Jr, for example, led some of Indiana’s most memorable wins in recent history before his decision to transfer to Washington. Players like Micah McFadden, Whop Philyor, Raheem Layne, and Jamar Johnson are playing professionally in either the NFL or other leagues. Even players still at the college level, or about to leave it, such as Aaron Casey, Jaylin Lucas, and Mike Katic were initially brought in by the Hoosiers and can see a path to professional success.
But times have changed in Bloomington. Curt Cignetti is in charge of the Hoosiers now. Sure, he’ll still take players who fit his scheme and philosophy regardless of recruiting rankings–he himself has said he doesn’t place too much value in such things–but this is a man who was Nick Saban’s director of recruiting at Alabama for three years. Cignetti is a man who has never had a losing season, a man who’s built winning, postseason caliber programs at Elon and James Madison.
A Man with Ambition
Looking ahead to what the Hoosiers have planned for recruiting visits, it’s clear that Cignetti sees Indiana as being able to compete with anyone in the country for top-tier talent. Julian Lewis, the top QB in the 2025 class by some recruiting services’ standards, is scheduling an official visit to Bloomington. Yes, a kid who’s been committed to USC, coveted by the likes of Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, and Texas, among others, has the Hoosiers on his radar. Granted, he has known quarterback coach Tino Sunseri since Lewis was young, but still, that he’s considering once-lowly IU of all schools? That’s a victory in and of itself.
It doesn’t end there. Cignetti and the Hoosiers are hosting a who’s who of significantly-ranked prospects for 2025 and beyond in the coming weeks. Some of the names are astounding. Eugene Hilton Jr, son of Indianapolis Colts legend TY Hilton and a fine receiver in his own right, wasn’t even glancing IU’s way before Cignetti and his staff got to town. Landon Brooks, a 6’7″ edge rusher with a 7’2″ wingspan from Delta High School in Muncie who’s been sought after by the likes of Missouri–a New Year’s Six team–among many, also added Indiana to his list because of the new staff. Michael Taylor, a four-star running back from Ohio who’s coveted by the University of Kentucky as the latest in their long line of NFL running backs, is taking a visit as well.
Hoosiers are Changing the Perception
These are just the names of those who have actually put their names down for official visits. There will be others, players like Lewis that fans of the Hoosiers have never even dreamed of before. Cignetti has a plan. It’s worked everywhere he’s gone before. And now he sees a way to make it translate to the Big Ten. That means going toe-to-toe not just with MAC and Sun Belt schools for players, but with Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State as well. Previous coaches have done some good things with what they were given to work with, but it didn’t take the program as consistently far as Cignetti wants to and believes it can go.
It used to just be basketball in which Hoosier faithful would tune in to ESPN or some internet live stream and watch as a player did the hat shuffle before announcing the school of their choice. Not that that will change any time soon, but what will change is that fans will be doing the same thing for football players. Cignetti takes a back seat to no one, and that means recruiting as well. He wants to change the culture of football in Bloomington, and doing that takes special players. Game changers. The guys you see on Sundays. Those are the players that will soon be making their way to Memorial Stadium to show the world what they can do.
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