By admin
Short Cignetti came to Indiana firearms.
He famously said, “I win, Google me.” He shouted that into a microphone Purdue sucked. He took the college football world by storm before he ever coached a game in Bloomington and made people believe in the ever-struggling Hoosiers.
Many were suspicious. Not anymore. Indiana in particular is committed to this recruiting class that is watching Indiana not only win some games and slowly turn the corner. The Hoosiers are undefeated, ranked thirteenth nationally and have defeated every opponent by double figures.
It’s the story of the year in college football.
“The most important factor is that he knows what he wants and he does it,” the three-star defensive end commit said Triston Abram as Michigan is in the process of turning hiim around.
“He coached with coach (Nick) Saban bee Alabama. Coach Saban worked under his coach father Frank Cignetti. Sr. It’s come full circle and when you talk about great, it doesn’t get much better than that.”
Cignetti’s proof is in winning.
The 63-year-old went 53-17 at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, 14-9 at Elon, 52-9 at James Madison and has now impressively won eight straight matches to start in Bloomington. He has never had a losing season as a head coach.
Many of Indiana’s businesses are fully aware of Cignetti’s history. More importantly, they see what he’s doing in Bloomington this season – not just winning, but winning convincingly – and they’re all behind it.
“I believe in it so much,” three-star defensive end Keishaun Calhoun said. “I can say that I knew it would happen from day 1. Coach Cig promised us this turnaround. He won’t give up easily.”
Three-star recipient Davion Chandler said, “Coach Cig’s confidence in his system to turn a program around has brought the program so far in one year. It’s not surprising to me at all that they’re doing what they’re doing because this is what coach Cig told me during the recruiting process and he didn’t question it.”
The Hoosiers are more than just a touchdown favorite State of Michigan this weekend. Indiana lost to the Spartans by three last year en route to a 3-9 season.
Much of Indiana’s success this season has come from the transfer portal, as Cignetti brought with him a slew of James Madison talent and others followed him from different schools.
But the prospects in the class of 2025 are promising for the future — something that hasn’t been said about Indiana football in a long time. Maybe someday.
“It’s phenomenal,” a three-star defensive tackle Kyler Garcia said. “I knew it was a challenge to turn around a program, but I never thought he would do it so quickly. I’ve certainly believed in it since June, but this here is sometimes just shocking that they did what I saw in it so quickly.
Columbia (Tenn.) Columbia Central three-star defensive tackle Jhrevische Hall to put it even more succinctly.
“He’s just real,” Hall said. “He wins.”
You don’t have to Google Cignetti anymore to find out.
Editor’s note: This article first appeared on Rivals.comthe leader in college football and basketball recruiting coverage. Be the first to know and follow your teams by signing up here.