5 Takeaways From Curt Cignetti's Week 2 Press Conference

The Indiana Hoosiers are coming off a convincing 52-16 win over North Texas last week in their season opener, and head coach Curt Cignetti had plenty to say about the Hoosiers' performance Saturday. Here are the five takeaways from Cignetti's week two press conference.

Injury Updates on Sharpe, Harris and Martin

The Hoosiers were bitten by the injury bug early on Saturday as they lost both starting cornerbacks in AJ Harris and Jamari Sharpe, by the time the first quarter ended. Both injuries did not seem serious and Cignetti said that they are both currently day-to-day.

"A.J. went down on play eight and Jamari Sharpe, last play of the first quarter. Jaylen Bell played extensively to the field and I thought did a nice job. And Ryland Gandy played on the bench." Cignetti said Monday.

If neither should be able to play, backups Ryland Gandy and Jaylen Bell already have experience filling in last week.

The news was not as good regarding running back Khobie Martin, who also left during the first quarter after attempting to pick up a blitzing linebacker. His injury is to his right arm.

"Khobie Martin will be out for a little bit. And expect him back sometime around midseason." Cignetti said. It is a blow that the Hoosiers are built to absorb, with running backs Turbo Richard and Lee Beebe Jr. ready to take on a bigger load. The Hoosiers can also spread out carries to second-year player Sean Cuono and first-year back Jayreon Campbell

Switcharoo on the Offensive Line

During Big Ten Media Days in July Cignetti said that they had moved third-year lineman Adedamola Ajani in to right guard and moved fifth-year Joe Brunner outside to right tackle.

It was that way for over half of fall camp before offensive line coach Bob Bostad determined that putting Brunner at guard and Ajani back to tackle, where he started a handful of games last season, was the best lineup.

"Well that's the way we're committed to heading right now. And Bob felt near the end of the camp, you know, that would be our best unit. So we've got about a week in before the first game, a little bit more than in a week doing that." Cignetti said.

The move worked out fine as IU's offense scored 52 points on 46 plays.

Missed Assignments and Poor Tackling Will Be Cleaned Up

Sep 5, 2026; Bloomington, Indiana, USA; North Texas Mean Green quarterback Tayven Jackson (2) is sacked by Indiana Hoosiers defensive lineman Tyrique Tucker (95) during the first quarter at Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Hoosiers missed 14 tackles per PFF.com, which is uncharacteristically sloppy of a Bryant Haines coached unit. While IU does not tackle in fall camp, this was the poorest performance in an opener in this category under Cignetti.

"Defense had a hard time getting off the field. And the opponent had the ball 37 minutes, a combination of some critical missed assignments and poor tackling. So gotta get better there." Cignetti said.

Some of the struggles came because of the injuries to the starting cornerbacks, but Indiana also did not create enough havoc up front.

"We weren't real disruptive up front, but it was a little bit of a space game, too. So you go out in the first game, you're not exactly sure what the opponent's going to do. They gave us a lot of different looks, to their credit, but we overcame it." Cignetti added.

Hoover Wasn't Perfect, but Its a Good Start

New Indiana quarterback Josh Hoover had a tremendous day on Saturday completing 13-16 passes for 231 yards and four touchdowns. It was the best season-opening performance by an IU quarterback in the Cignetti Era.

However, in true Cignetti fashion, he said Hoover was not perfect.

"He got away with one that he's not gonna get away with in Big Ten play. And the one long touchdown to Charlie, he's got to step into that throw better and get it out there and get it up and down," Cignetti said. "The one he got his helmet ripped off, he flipped the protection and really shouldn't have. So he became unprotected to the side of the blitz."

The scary thing about Hoover, is that quarterback play under Cignetti has vastly improved from the first game to the second.

A Sneak Peek at the Howard Bison

Indiana's week two game comes against FCS foe Howard. The Bison are 1-1 and coming off a 28-21 loss to Richmond last week. They did knock off Alabama A&M 31-24 in their Week 0 opener. Cignetti had good things to say about Howard quarterback Ja'shaun Scroggins.

"He's their leading rusher, and obviously the quarterback, too. He's a really good athlete. They've got good team speed. I mean, they've got skill. Even on defense, they've got quickness and speed. So the quarterback, he's played a lot for them and he's a dual guy."

Scroggins has thrown for 424 yards and four touchdowns, but has struggled with consistency as he only completes 44.4% of his passes.

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