Curt Cignetti Gives Insight Into Recruiting On Radio Show

The transfer portal has changed the dynamic of roster building and the timeline of recruiting.

Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti walks on the field prior to the game at Memorial Stadium. / Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – During the Inside Indiana Football radio show on Thursday, Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti gave some insight into where Indiana stands on recruiting.

Right now, Indiana can host recruits, but there is no face-to-face contact away from the stadium. Cignetti explained the process to host Don Fischer on the show.

“It's an evaluation period, so you can call them, but you can't have face to face contact,” Cignetti explained.

Assistant coaches can attend games but can’t talk to players directly.

“In the old days, coaches used to go out maybe half the week, maybe most of the week (recruiting). Over time, things have changed as technology (has) improved. You know, there's so many different ways to get face to face with a person that's 10 hours away that you don't have to get on an airplane to do that,” Cignetti said.

Cignetti said he wants assistant coaches around the team as much as possible. He’s a big believer in any technological tool that can keep coaches near the current team while searching for future Hoosiers.

Where recruiting has changed significantly is with the transfer portal. The rules work a bit differently for the portal and high school recruits. Players can declare that they intend to enter the portal, but most don’t officially go in until Dec. 9. Only those who graduate in December can go in early.

“It’s too soon for that for me now,” said Cignetti, who defers to his recruiting department at this time of year.

Cignetti explained that the assistant athletic director for player personnel – Matt Wilson – heads up recruiting. There are departments for high school and college scouting. Indiana’s video crews get involved to create tape for coaches to consider when appropriate.

“My focus is what's going on with the season. We got another bye week coming up here in a couple weeks,” Cignetti said. “We'll gradually start moving into things a little bit.”

Cignetti said he likes a rule change that makes December a quiet period for high school recruiting. That used to be a prime period for recruiting before the portal existed.

“The new thing about December now is you won't be out on the road recruiting anymore. That's now in a quiet period. You can have guys on campus, we can have all the portal guys on campus, high school signees on campus, but we can't go out and recruit until January,” Cignetti said.

“I think it's a pretty good rule, because you're trying to balance this portal (recruiting and) high school recruiting within season, bowl games, playoffs,” Cignetti continued. “Now, now there's playoffs, 12-team playoffs, and it's unfair for the schools that have been in these bowl games and playoffs to have to juggle what's going on in recruiting. So I think that helps some.”

One highly touted recruit that could be at Memorial Stadium on Saturday is five-star quarterback Julian “JuJu” Lewis. The Georgia star has committed to Southern California, but he has kept his recruitment open prior to the signing date. There are conflicting reports whether he’ll be in Bloomington for Saturday’s Noon ET kickoff against Nebraska.

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