The Hoosiers’ head coach described how success on the field translates to success on the recruiting trail.
Indiana football has been hitting the recruiting trail hard in the wake of a massively successful debut season for head coach Curt Cignetti in 2024 that saw the Hoosiers run all the way to the College Football Playoff.
You strike when the iron is hot, and Indiana football has never been hotter than it is right now. During an appearance on Always College Football, Greg McElroy’s college football podcast, Cignetti was asked how last season’s success shaped the perception of Indiana as a program from a recruiting standpoint.
He got straight to the point:
“I think without that success you don’t land a Fernando Mendoza or Pat Coogan or some of the other guys we were able to get,” Cignetti said.
“Without that success, you don’t land a Fernando Mendoza.”@IndianaFootball HC Curt Cignetti talks about how success on the field has led to success in recruiting #iufb pic.twitter.com/v25PvUvP5z
— Always College Football (@AlwaysCFB) May 8, 2025
Cignetti noted that last year’s group was put together based on promises and a vision, with the success of 2024 giving the staff proof of concept to recruit off of as well.