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BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football players knew that coach Curt Cignetti was unhappy with their effort at Thursday's practice long before they got back to the locker room.
Cignetti paused the proceedings to let them know that they weren’t meeting the standard he expects for his program. He joked that he delivered an “x-rated” message to get that point across to the group on the practice fields outside Mellencamp Pavilion.
The Hoosiers’ 10th practice of the spring was an outlier — Cignetti was happy with the steady progression his team in recent weeks — but he’s loathe to waste a single opportunity.
More: Roman Hemby glimpsed IU football's historic season from the opposing sideline. It made him want to be a Hoosier.
“It’s a race to improve as much as you can,” Cignetti said. “...Today we squandered an opportunity to improve as much as possible. We were inconsistent in too many areas, probably not mentally prepared to have a successful practice.”
Cignetti structures his practices to be shorter (usually lasting less than two hours) than most teams across the country with a focus on game-like situations and reps. He expects players to be locked in from the moment they step on the field as he explained in colorful terms last season.
"It's balls to the wall all the time, because you're getting better or getting worse, never staying the same," Cignetti said in October.
It didn’t take long for him to sense that wasn’t the case on Thursday.
“We just didn’t have enough juice out there,” Cignetti said. “There were too many coaches yelling to get going because guys weren’t. Up to today, I think the practices, they’re never perfect, but the effort and energy has been good.”
More: Indiana football WR E.J. Williams Jr. didn't want to leave 'powerhouse program' in the making
Cignetti reserves his highest praise for the players with consistent practice habits.
“Good players want to be coached, great players you can’t give them enough, you can’t give them enough they want more," he said on Thursday. "Inconsistent players want to be coached on their terms. Today we had too many inconsistent players, they didn’t come out prepared, ready to improve and live up to the standard that we’ve set for each individual.”
Indiana only has a handful of practices left in camp including a pair of scrimmages. The Hoosiers will have a scrimmage on Saturday that’s closed to the public and their annual spring game is next Thursday under the lights at Memorial Stadium.
The spring game will be the first time they go live during the offseason. Cignetti said he will use the same format — one full half of offense versus defense — they used last year.
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti unhappy with lackluster effort at practice
Continue reading...
Cignetti paused the proceedings to let them know that they weren’t meeting the standard he expects for his program. He joked that he delivered an “x-rated” message to get that point across to the group on the practice fields outside Mellencamp Pavilion.
The Hoosiers’ 10th practice of the spring was an outlier — Cignetti was happy with the steady progression his team in recent weeks — but he’s loathe to waste a single opportunity.
More: Roman Hemby glimpsed IU football's historic season from the opposing sideline. It made him want to be a Hoosier.
“It’s a race to improve as much as you can,” Cignetti said. “...Today we squandered an opportunity to improve as much as possible. We were inconsistent in too many areas, probably not mentally prepared to have a successful practice.”
Cignetti structures his practices to be shorter (usually lasting less than two hours) than most teams across the country with a focus on game-like situations and reps. He expects players to be locked in from the moment they step on the field as he explained in colorful terms last season.
"It's balls to the wall all the time, because you're getting better or getting worse, never staying the same," Cignetti said in October.
It didn’t take long for him to sense that wasn’t the case on Thursday.
“We just didn’t have enough juice out there,” Cignetti said. “There were too many coaches yelling to get going because guys weren’t. Up to today, I think the practices, they’re never perfect, but the effort and energy has been good.”
More: Indiana football WR E.J. Williams Jr. didn't want to leave 'powerhouse program' in the making
Cignetti reserves his highest praise for the players with consistent practice habits.
“Good players want to be coached, great players you can’t give them enough, you can’t give them enough they want more," he said on Thursday. "Inconsistent players want to be coached on their terms. Today we had too many inconsistent players, they didn’t come out prepared, ready to improve and live up to the standard that we’ve set for each individual.”
Indiana only has a handful of practices left in camp including a pair of scrimmages. The Hoosiers will have a scrimmage on Saturday that’s closed to the public and their annual spring game is next Thursday under the lights at Memorial Stadium.
The spring game will be the first time they go live during the offseason. Cignetti said he will use the same format — one full half of offense versus defense — they used last year.
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti unhappy with lackluster effort at practice
Continue reading...
