Coach Q&A: Curt Cignetti provides spring practice updates for Indiana

Indiana football head coach Curt Cignetti spoke with reporters on Thursday, April 10, to provide updates on spring practice for the Hoosiers.

Below is the full Q&A, as well as a partial transcript of the conversation—once it becomes available.

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Curt Cignetti | Head Coach

Opening Statement…

CC: Practice ten in the books. It’s a race to improve as much as you can and, up to today, I think the effort and the improvement is on track. I think today we squandered an opportunity to improve as much as possible. We were inconsistent in too many areas. Probably not mentally prepared to come out and do what it takes to have a successful practice and improve as much as possible.

It was too much inconsistency across the board at all positions; whether it was a lack of detail, focus, or preparation, which leads to a breakdown in execution. Good players want to be coached. Great players, you can’t coach them enough, you can’t give them enough, they want more [coaching]. Inconsistent players want coached on their terms. And today we had too many inconsistent players. We didn’t come out prepared, ready to improve and live up to the standard that we’ve set for each individual, the team, offense, defense, special teams.

I am sure I will go in and look at the tape and it is never as good and never as bad, but that is where we are today. I am really not worried about what it looks like four months from now. My focus is on what were we today, right. What were we today and what did we put on tape.

Questions.

On his takeaways from the first scrimmage last weekend…

CC: I thought it was a typical first scrimmage: good competition, too many penalties, sacks, turnovers. About like every first scrimmage I have ever been around. I want to see it be cleaner on Saturday in all three phases. Cut down on the missed assignments, getting eleven guys to do what they are supposed to do consistently, play-in and play-out, at a high level and finish plays. Playing winning football.

On what was missing at practice today…

CC: We just didn’t have enough juice out there today. Too many coaches yelling to get going because guys weren’t [ready to practice]. I am not saying every guy, but [a good number]. Up to today, I think the practices have been; they are never perfect, but effort and energy has been good.

On the running back room…

CC: I think all of the new guys are improving every day with every rep. It is really hard to tell until you tackle. I see them being more decisive in the run game, catching the ball out of the backfield, doing the right thing in pass protection. I think Khobe Martin is coming along fine, and he has got a future.

On thoughts on hosting a spring game…

CC: We play a half, basically, is what we do. Offense versus defense. That’s it, we’re done. It’s not really a game; in my mind it is a glorified practice. It’s a third opportunity to get your guys out there in game-like conditions. It’s also going to be the only time we tackle this spring. That’s how I look at it.

Action speak louder than words, the fact that we are going to go through with it. That’s what I believe. I don’t really have an opinion about other people cancelling their spring games. It’s not on TV, it’s just another practice.

On how they simulate tackling without doing as much in practice…

CC: We do a tackling circuit before practice and guys coach the fundamentals of tackling and we thud. The last three or four years we haven’t tackled every scrimmage, and the last three years we have tackles in the spring game. The last couple, we didn’t tackle at all in the fall and still led the country in run defense and second in the country in least amount of yards. Good players can tackle. Ankle stiff, knee and hip stiff athletes have a hard time tackling.