Curt Cignetti Counts On Defensive Line To Corral FIU QB Keyone Jenkins

Indiana coach hopes his defenders can keep sophomore quarterback in-check.

Todd Golden | Aug 26, 2024

Indiana's Mikail Kamara (6) works against Indiana's Trey Wedig (75) during the Indiana football spring game at Memorial Stadaium on Thursday, April 18, 2024. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

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Indiana Hoosiers

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The buzz around Florida International’s football team during the off-season has little to do with anything that happens between the lines.

On Aug. 6, Florida International announced that popular Miami-born Cuban-American rapper Pitbull had bought the naming rights to their stadium. The former Riccardo Silva Stadium was renamed Pitbull Stadium.

FIU got some headlines out of it for a few days, but it’s doubtful that Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti had Pitbull’s “Timber” on his mind when his thoughts turned to the Panthers.

During his pre-game press conference on Monday at Memorial Stadium, Cignetti spoke glowingly of FIU’s football team.

“It'll be a challenge. We’ll have to play well,” Cignetti said after he was complimentary of every unit FIU puts on the field.

Nearly all coaches speak platitudes about their opponent during the week of the game, even though in this case? FIU finished 4-8 last season, hasn’t beaten a Power Four Conference foe (Miami) since 2019, hasn’t had a winning season since 2018, and is ranked last among all FBS schools in the Pro Football Focus power rankings.

Sep 16, 2023; East Hartford, Connecticut, USA; FIU Golden Panthers quarterback Keyone Jenkins (1) throws a pass against the UConn Huskies at Rentschler Field at Pratt & Whitney Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports / David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

One specific player that has Cignetti concerned is FIU quarterback Keyone Jenkins.

His numbers aren’t going to jump out at you. Jenkins, who is 6-foot and 195 pounds, passed for 2,414 yards in 2023 with 11 touchdown passes and 11 interceptions in 11 games in 2023.

However, Jenkins put those numbers up as a freshman signal-caller. The leap from freshman to sophomore is usually a positive one, so Jenkins is a factor worth Cignetti’s concern.

“He's an extremely capable passer, but when he gets out of the pocket he does a really nice job of extending plays,” Cignetti said.

Jenkins had six games where he rushed for positive yardage in 2023, including a peak 33-yard performance against North Texas. He rushed for six touchdowns.

Obviously, the cure for that is pressure on the pocket. Indiana has a reconstructed defensive line, though one with plenty of promise.

Defensive end Mikail Kamara and defensive tackles James Carpenter and CJ West are likely starters who transferred in. Kamara and Carpenter followed Cignetti from James Madison, where both rarely left the field. Carpenter played the most snaps of any defensive tackle in FBS in 2023 with 803. Kamara played the 10th-most snaps of any defensive end, with 722. West played at Kent State in 2023.

Cignetti retained Lanell Carr Jr., who will play the “stud” position, a pass-rushing role. Also on-board are Jacob Mangum-Farrar and Venson Sneed Jr., both Indiana players in 2023.

“Even though he's a really good athlete that can tuck it and run and gain a lot of yards, he's going to look to throw first and does a nice job of finding people when he extends plays,” Cignetti said.

If Indiana cannot muster the kind of pressure Cignetti seeks, Jenkins could be productive.

In his only game against a Power Four conference school in 2023, Jenkins completed 21 of 36 passes for 265 yards and two touchdown passes in a 36-21 FIU loss at Arkansas on Nov. 18, 2023.

Even Jenkins’ one apparent flaw in that contest, an interception returned for a touchdown by the Razorbacks, wasn’t his fault.

It occurred on a screen pass where the intended receiver bobbled an accurate throw. The bobble gave defensive back Al Walcott the chance to swipe it and take it 33 yards down the sideline for a touchdown.

Jenkins, a three-star quarterback from Miami, has Cignetti’s attention.

“We’ve got to win up front. You know, our defensive line? We’ve got to put pressure on him, keeping in the pocket, and not give him much time. We got to get to him. We need a game from our D-line,” Cignetti said.

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