Curt Cignetti on Indiana’s Historic Title Run, Heisman Fernando Mendoza and What’s Next

What is the longest period of time you've gone not thinking about football?

05 minutes.

What is the afterlife of a 16-0 season?

What, what is the?

A lot of requests.

A lot of people tugging on your time.

Business as usual in the building.

I think we've done a pretty good job of that, uh, retained most of our staff.

I think the returners have done a nice job of, uh, clicking back into, you know, the process, so to speak, and the new guys sort of assimilating.

I've got a lot of work to do in the fall because we did have a lot of guys out in the spring and, uh, so for the continuity and, uh, getting them going.

Uh, but, uh, it seems like there's always, uh, somebody that wants a little piece of your time.

Yeah.

I'm a football guy and I I love watching tape and uh always looking for an edge, uh, staying on top of the trends, uh, something that could maybe fit, uh, next year's team, uh, based on, uh, you know, your projection of who will be where, um, and you know, so there's a lot of, uh, requests, commercial things, speaking things that come with money, you know, you say yes to one and You opened the door and uh so it was it was pretty much a hard no except for the Indianapolis 500 which is uh uh you know an in-state event, a national event, a big part of this uh state's uh fabric and culture.

And then, uh, you know, our friends in the media that we feel real good about like yourself, there we go.

And how was the White House?

It was good.

Yeah, it was a lot of fun.

A little bit of waiting, but, uh, young Kurt Signetti ever figured he'd end up in the White House?

I'm not sure I ever thought that far in advance.

The general reaction, like everybody on the that I've talked to is like, how did they do it?

I don't think that there's like a super secret sauce, is there really?

There's no, no, the, the, the secret sauce is, uh, alignment from the top, from the president to the AD down to the football building, people on your staff and, uh, in that locker room and, uh, development and, uh, getting everybody to think alike and, uh.

Play the way you wanna play consistency, uh, the longer I'm in this business, day in day out, consistency, uh, meetings, practice, it means so much, and that's what this team, uh, had more so probably than any team I've ever been around was just the way they prepared Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, put it on the field Saturday, uh, had the right mindset Friday, understood and respected the challenge coming up, could come back after, after a win on Monday and be humble and hungry and start preparing again.

Uh, you know, that's critically important.

Uh, it helps to have a quarterback that plays great football when the game's on the line and can bounce back from a negative play.

Uh, and, uh, a lot of veterans have played winning football, but, you know, when you got good players that are smart and high character, uh, you know, they, they can form a special bond, uh, where the, you know, the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts, and I think that's what you saw here.

Yeah, that's.

I mean, and that was organic and came up.

I mean, obviously the guys you brought from JMU that brought the culture and then the way people bought into it, um, then how do you roll that over now?

Yeah, well, you know, now the guys that have been in the program for a couple of years, uh, maybe that were, um.

On the Indiana team the year before I came and stayed or uh we recruited that year perhaps uh you know they're they're kind of like the JMU guys now you know they understand uh the expectation level, the standard, uh, the process, how we go about doing things, uh, and , uh, the new guys kind of assimilate in and, uh, so far so good, but, uh, you know, I think you find out so much about your football team in season, you know, how they handle, uh, success , uh, challenges, adversity, setbacks.

How they respond to critical situations during the game , uh, adversity during the week, and, uh, so that's why they play the games at this time a year ago.

Um, I think you were optimistic about Fernando, but not.

100% sure he was gonna be the Heisman Trophy winner, number 1 pick.

How do you feel about not just your quarterback but everything going forward at this point, starting with the quarterback because he, he's such a critical guy.

I think all those quarterbacks, and I even think back to the JMU ones, the one-year guys, about at the same place coming out of spring, you could group them all together.

Uh, there were improvements.

There were some tough early days, uh, you know , there's concerns, uh, and then they have a great summer, great, uh, they're a different guy in fall camp.

They build off their early season success.

And they do great things.

And so I, I would say that Josh is very much where Fernando or Curtis Rourke was.

Uh, they're all a little bit different, uh, but, uh, in terms of their developmental curve and process, uh, the same spot.

How is Hoover different?

What's his strengths?

Yeah, I think Josh is, uh, innately really understands how to play quarterback.

I think he's a super smart guy.

Uh, position comes very natural to him.

Uh, you know, he's got a quick release, um, and, uh, now Fernando's 4 inches taller and, uh, 25 pounds heavier, and, uh, you know, that's the biggest difference right there, and, uh, but, uh, you got a guy that understands how to play quarterback and he's had a lot of good days.

You've got Carter Smith, your Hardy, your Isaiah Jones.

What's the important thing they're gonna bring to your locker room and.

Oh well, you look at those guys and you bring their names up because they're the guys that are back that played winning and productive football and uh you look and say, OK, that's where your leadership begins.

Uh, you know, Carter Smith, who wasn't out there for spring ball, he hurt his shoulder in the Miami game, uh, but Isaiah Jones, Tyreek Tucker, you know, those are guys that you're looking, uh, to be leaders, and then there's, uh, there's always the portal guys that we don't try to put them in those positions in the spring, but they emerge now, having gone through spring and summer into fall camp as leaders, and, and then there's some younger guys too like Landino and Becker and.

Uh, yeah, there's, so, uh, but we got a good core group of guys, there's no doubt.

You know what was just struck me as the season went along is the guys that when they got their shot, you know, Becker, Landino and, you know, making plays, uh, what did that say, I guess, about the, the readiness to, to play for guys when they got there man, said a lot like Char Charlie Becker, uh, his freshman year was 24 and really excelled in special prayer, best special teams player.

And, uh, you know, he had a nice camp and, uh, he, he, he, he had dropped a few balls in camp.

He went through the whole season, didn't drop a ball.

And when Surrat got hurt with his hamstring and, and we stuck Charlie in there, he, I think he was our leading receiver every game but one or two.

He was our go to guy.

We couldn't take him off the field.

It was great to see him, and Landino the same way stepping up and making plays inside.

Like that was championship level, like showing quality depth , you know, and guys like, hey, it's my opportunity.

I'm gonna actually do this.

Yeah.

You mentioned not dropping balls.

You guys, your error rate was so low last year.

Turnover, penalties, dropped passes, those kind of things.

How did that happen and how do you continue that?

Most of our teams have been top 10 in the country in turnover ratio and top 10 in the country infused amount of penalties.

You know, we preach it.

Uh, you still got to go out there and do it.

And, you know, I think you gotta remember before you can win the game, you can't lose the game.

Uh, you know, and how do you lose the game?

Uh, well, turnovers number one, those equal points, uh, egregious missed assignments on both sides of the ball, pre-snap penalties, uh, disasters in the kicking game, uh, that kind of thing.

So we wanna play one play at a time, 6 seconds a player play got a life and history of its own, game on the line, nothing, nothing.

Fast physical relentless but smart, disciplined, poised.

I added that one about 3 or 4 years ago and, uh, and what these guys did last year, they took that the message, uh, you know , not affected by success or failure and never satisfied till you're in a locker room.

They took that message and put it between the white lines better than any team I've ever had.

And, uh, and thus they got that result, and we led the country in turnover ratio and if you include the blocked punts, shoot it, we may have led by 5 or 6 and, uh, so, um.

You know, a lot of it starts with quarterback positions.

Got to protect that ball, and, uh, Fernando did a great job of that.

And, um, you know, the better you can run the ball, uh, the less pressure you put on the quarterback, uh, he's able to do that because even, uh, though he won the Heisman Trophy last season, we're still 60% run.

Now, there were some games we were so far out that all we did was run the ball last quarter and a half.

So, uh, game online, you know, uh, competitive situations, we're probably in that 50/50 area.

I'm gonna guess that you enjoyed being able to pound it on some people at the end of games.

Yeah, that's a fun feeling.

When you kind of sense that they're about ready to wave the white flag and you can just keep that ball between the tackles and it keeps going north and south and the scoreboard keeps changing in your favor, that's, that's a great feeling.

For those of us on the outside, for me it was the Illinois game and I was here for that, and I was like, holy crap, these guys are dominant .

Did you feel it before then, or was that game a signal for you too?

Yeah, I think that that game there, uh, told everybody something, including us.

Um, now it was a game that we were looking at, uh, for a while because, you know, we saw the way the schedule lined up.

Uh, but you still gotta show up ready to go against Old Dominion and, and all the other ones, uh, and, uh, Pawns made the big play early in the game, blocked the punt, and that was a catalyst that got us going.

Uh, they did have some unfortunate injuries in the secondary, which, you know, they were a little short-handed on defense, and, but we played extremely well, and, uh, it was one of those games that you just alluded to.

I thought coming into the season, you would be better than you were the year before, but that solidified it like not just better, but.

Possible national championship.

Better.

Yeah, it was a big statement.

Yeah, but then you had to follow it up.

You go to Iowa, you go to Oregon, and how did you, I guess, see the team?

Those are hard, hard places.

I mean, I knew Iowa was really good, and, and I had seen the development and the improvement the quarterback had made, uh, from the first game to the last game, uh, leading up to our game, and, um.

And then you go there and it's just so loud and the day before the game, uh, on a Thursday practice pawn, uh, pawns tweaked, uh, something and couldn't play and, uh, all of a sudden you're, you're changing some things on defense and, uh, it was just a dogfight and it became symbolic sort of, of the Mendoza way, uh, where you know there was a.

Maybe a bad an interception, uh, late in the game and, uh, then we get the ball back and he drives us down for the winning touchdown, uh, and that's a great win, which a lot of people didn't realize it was a great win and, uh, that game and the following game against Oregon, there's a also a 25 2nd drive at the end of the half for 3 points, which is huge, huge.

You go to Oregon who's probably playing as well as anybody in the country at the time.

And uh we, the moment wasn't too big.

We were confident, uh, but we, it was a mountain we had to climb, uh, and, uh, it was back and forth game and you know we made the plays at the end and our defense was outstanding in the second half and again at the end of the half, Brendan Frankie kicks 258 yard field goals in a row.

One, they blow the whistle right before it and comes back and drills it again and those were big points before the half.

So, uh, those are two big road wins.

And then obviously the Penn State game, uh, and that was Fernando and the receivers I thought were just unbelievable that last never seen anything quite like that in my whole career where, where they had dominated the three previous series, had all the momentum, 107,000 going crazy, got the ball 1 minute 40, no timeouts, take a sack on first down, and have done nothing the previous three drives except turn it over and get the quarterback hit.

And then all of a sudden it's like those 11 guys in the huddle just morphed into something else and it was magic and they were just, uh, Fernando was on point and those guys were making the plays and, uh, Cooper, the catch at the end was just incredible, unbelievable, unbelievable.

You come out of that and I think at that point there were two camps it seemed like it was like this team's something special.

It's like, oh, they barely beat Penn State.

They're not that good.

Ohio State will get them in the Big 10 championship game.

And then I mean just kept proving it week after week.

after that, yeah, when I walked across the field after the Penn State game to shake Terry's hand, it hit me that this, this could be a team of destiny, and I don't think that way normally.

I don't think that way, period.

Uh, and then, uh, you know, we took care of Purdue, and, uh, the Ohio State game was, you know.

We felt like we belong and we just needed to put it between the white lines and uh it was a dogfight back and forth and, uh, you know, we made one more play and they did yeah and then the playoff, there were, there's a segment of Indiana fans that probably could have died and gone to heaven just off of winning the Big 10 championship in Indianapolis, but then clearly that was not the goal and there was more steps to climb, but you guys were completely ready for it, yeah, and, uh.

You know, we had a long layoff.

I thought we did a good job getting ready to play a football game and, uh, made some key plays in the first half and, uh, carried that momentum, uh, into the second half, scoring the first drive of the second half, and then, uh, it was all us after that.

And, uh, so, um, you know, against a storied program, yeah, yeah, no, that was a statement.

Yeah, that was a statement.

The other Oregon game was a complete beatdown.

The championship game was a dogfight.

It was a hell of a game.

Yeah, you know, they were hitting Mendoza.

Um, they had got playmakers.

Did you ever feel stressed in that game?

Well, you know, we went in with a 10-0 lead, but I didn't sense we were playing that great.

Um, we had shut them down defensively, but the last drive, they, they, they moved the ball and they elected to kind of take the foot off the gas and kick the field goal there at the end of the half and, uh, and hit the crossbar.

And then, um, you know, we come out in the second half and Uh, the 3rd quarter, I don't think we completed a pass.

We barely even got a pass off.

Uh, we took some sacks.

Uh, they squirted the long run.

Uh, we blocked the punt.

Kamara blocks the, we don't even have the punt block called.

It's we have a return called, and, uh, that was huge, obviously, uh, and then we went for it on 4th down a couple times and converted and, uh, held on at the end.

The quarterback draw call, of course, the, you know, probably the most famous player in Indiana history at this point, but.

You said afterwards that you guys discussed the blocking scheme of that for 45 minutes.

What was, what was the deliberations there?

Was that just personnel or it really wasn't, uh, too sophisticated.

Uh, you know, when you're in my business, um, if you want to have a great line coach, you probably got a great stubborn line coach.

Boston, yeah.

So we just had to change the way we were turning the center, but it took a while.

And then finally it took the head coach.

I want it .

Uh, and, but at the end of the day, um, it was blocked great and it was a great run by Fernando, and, uh, it was a great ball to Becker on the 4th down before that, uh, to keep the drive alive and, uh, but it gave us a 2 score lead and, uh, so, uh, that, that helped a lot, yeah, we're gonna play to win.

I didn't feel good kicking a field goal going up 6.

I felt like they were moving the ball, uh, and we needed to try to distance ourselves and if we didn't make it.

They're deep down in our territory.

Uh, our fans are down there and, uh, now defense, you gotta hold them.

Win the game, history is made, and I remember you said afterwards that it wouldn't be too long before you'd be back looking at film because that's what you like to do.

How long was it?

Well, you got a day to travel the next day and then you're back in the office, uh, the day after that, back to work because when you play through January 19th, you're behind.

You're behind in recruiting.

You're behind everywhere in your offseason program.

Uh, and at one point we had, uh, almost 3 different teams here as we were preparing for playoff games.

We had our incoming freshmen, 21 guys, we had 17 transfers, and we had our team, and we kept them all separate, yeah, and so a lot of work to do, uh, not much time to catch your breath, and, uh, that's why I've slept in a few days in May till about 7:30, catching up.

What is the longest period of time you've gone from the end of the last season till now not thinking about football?

Pooh 5 minutes.

Maybe 10, really, even the same bar, it's like you're on vacation, you're sticking your toes in the sand, but they're still kind of running in your mind.

Yeah, I might make it a day.

Maybe, maybe not.

I might watch a show on TV at home and make it to an hour show.

Yeah, that's about it, yeah.

So you brought in a very talented bunch of newcomers.

Is there any concern they're gonna think, I'm going to a national championship program, I'm a big deal.

Well, we stomped that out pretty quick, but I think our players, our returners do a nice job too, and, uh, they see kind of the standard in the way we do things, and, uh, we, you know, we bring them in here because we think they're the right kind of people, and, uh, so I like where we're at there, uh, right now.

We just had a few too many of them not available for spring ball, so I, I feel like we have a lot of work to do in fall camp, uh, with this football team, but everybody does, and, uh, so, um.

I'm optimistic heading into the fall.

No gold cleats.

Yeah, I mean, what the heck?

Come on.

Please.

A little bit of staff turnover, but you kept both coordinators.

I'm wondering like why.

Several teams didn't just say, I don't care what the number is, we're gonna go get Brian Haynes or Shanahan.

Yeah, maybe that did happen and people just don't know, um, and you know, I think we've been together a long time.

I hired both those guys at D2 level for less than $10,000 and their job situation and salaries have really improved quite a bit, as has our notoriety and our success in this profession.

I'm sure they both have career goals and, uh, they're not gonna be with me forever and I'm not gonna coach forever.

Uh, and, but it goes beyond Mike and Bryant, who I value greatly.

Grant Kane, our special teams coordinator since 19, John Miller, our running back coach since 20, and Pat Koontz, our D-line coach, and then the new guys I hired here are tremendous assistants, uh, and, and it really helps.

How about you?

Did the NFL inquire at all?

Um, I, I made it clear that I'm kind of a college football guy.

I saw some of that out there and we kind of put that out there and, you know, um, so, uh.

It's just the way I kind of do things and maybe a unicorn, uh, a little bit like that, but, uh, after kind of year one, you know, we made the statement that this is where we wanted to be and had had to do it again year two, and, uh, you know, Pam, uh, our president Whitten is, she loves football and Scott Dolson's a great AD and we love, uh, the setting and the people and, uh, so let's go.

They have committed to you and you're Your, your, your salary from JMU to now has gone up a fair amount, a little bit.

Any, any, uh, big purchases if one splurge, anything you treated yourself to?

Well, we did, uh, fly private to, uh, Saint Bart's, uh, yeah, I got a little bit of that in my contract, but you still got to pay taxes on it.

And, uh, no, we haven't bought a second house or anything.

We've had a lot more conversations with our financial guy setting up all kinds of different trusts and what have you, uh, so to create some generational wealth.

Um, you know, if I can hang on for a while, uh, but, uh, but that's never been what makes me tick.

You, You gotta have enough of it, right?

But it's never been about the money.

Yeah, I remember the last time I was up here, um, you, you were like, yeah, you had med school to pay for, right, for your daughter, I think, but, uh.

Uh, do you still have the recliner?

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, that's never leaving.

Yeah, the TV room got new furniture, but the recliner is still there.

I mean, there's no way you could take the recliner out of that room right now at this point, right?

You just couldn't.

No, you couldn't.

Yeah, it would be, it would be wrong.

Yeah, it'd be like bad karma.

It would be.

What's the recognition factor now for you?

Pretty high, yeah.

I thought so.

Pretty high.

Can you go?

Uh, is there a restaurant in town here or anything you can go to and no, last summer.

When the students were gone for lunch we could kind of slide into a back door of a place and we'll see you, we'll see.

You have a lot of old school attributes, but this is a very new era.

How have you kind of adjusted?

You know, I think as I've progressed ahead, I think this is year 16.

Uh, you know, during practice I'm probably a little mellower, yeah, than early on quite a bit, uh, and you know I, I let the coaches do their job.

I kind of coach the coaches in the morning if, if they need it or some points in the staff meeting, uh, the message, uh, you know, today, what's important, and I still am very involved offensively, uh, in season in the meetings.

You know, I think our players kind of, uh, like the way we do it and, uh, you know, we're short practice outfit and, uh, we really try to keep them fresh and healthy and, and they respect that we don't waste our time.

Or practice is longer at the beginning of the season and get shorter as things go along.

Spring ball, fall camp, August camp, 1 hour 40, 150 in season.

Monday, 25 minute walk.

Friday, 25 minute walk .

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, helmets, shoulder pads probably average about 1 hour 37 .

Got it down to the 37.

It's not 35, it's not 40.

It could be depending if you got a repeat a usually if anything it's less than what is.

Says on the schedule, yeah, yeah, I like to keep it moving.

Yeah.

Is that just you, you found out that that efficiency works best, or yeah, you try to make it as game-like as possible because the games, uh, aside from the commercials happen fast.

I mean, the plays run and boom, you're on the next one.

You gotta compartmentalize and be ready to do your job and put the last play behind you, uh, so on and so forth.

Get 11 guys doing their job.

So you try to make practice at that tempo and, uh , and the quicker you move things along too.

Uh, the less time for the guys to kind of like, you know, you gotta keep them focused in, and, uh, so yeah, I like, I'm kind of an impatient guy but also kind of an efficient guy too, and, uh, so I like to keep things moving, right?

How does your impatience manifest itself away from the football field?

I don't like to wait in line for things or driving traffic or I don't know.

I think my wife probably is at the point now where she knows how to manage me and.

Yeah, I do get that talk every once in a while .

I have a hard time sitting at a restaurant.

Yeah, like to sit at a restaurant for an hour.

I'm not, I'm highly incapable of that.

That's pushing it.

Well, sitting for an interview for 30 minutes is probably pushing it, so I'll wrap up.

I know your, your family had a little bit of fun with you and like whether or not you were ever happy, uh, that sort of thing.

Did, did they break you down where you, they, they, they got you to admit you were happy at the end of the season, right?

Oh, they know I'm happy because they see me smiling after the game, you know, on the bus and back at the hotel, what have you, back at home.

Uh, I get that more from my mother.

Yeah, she's 83 years old living in Pittsburgh, and, uh, I will always get the message from her to smile.

Remember to smile.

Yeah, well, I'm sure you've had a lot to smile about here recently, so a few things.

Yeah, congratulations on everything.

Thanks for the time.

Thank you.

All right, yeah.