Quotes: Everything Curt Cignetti said at his Monday press conference
- Alex Bozich
- 48m ago
Curt Cignetti addressed the media on Monday following IU’s practice to open the third week of fall camp.
Here’s everything Cignetti had to say in his press conference:
On the depth of the roster:
“Yeah, more depth this year for sure. But still, there’s areas where we have to develop players. And you might be counting on some younger guys at certain spots to fill in depth.”
On the depth on the offensive line:
“Yeah, those young guys like (Adedamola) Ajani, who’s started a game or two, probably played in five to seven games in competitive situations. (Austin) Leibfried, (Matt) Marek, (Baylor) Wilkin, (Sam) Simpson, a true freshman, has done a nice job. I’m probably forgetting somebody, but those are the guys probably the next in it right now.”
On takeaways from the first scrimmage:
“Like most first scrimmages, some good, bad and ugly. Not quite as many penalties as there normally are, or turnovers. But still a lot to clean up in terms of assignments and getting guys to do what they’re supposed to do.”
On Joe Hjelle:
“Yeah, really a tough guy that had explosive power and good movement. Kind of a blue-collar guy and he’ll be in the mix inside for sure.”
On the depth at linebacker, specifically Jeff Utzinger and Kaiden Turner and what they bring:
“Experience, they know what to do, they’ve played before. They’re good special teams players as well. It’s a competitive situation in terms of the third, fourth and fifth linebacker right now. And of course in two tight ends, we’d like to play three linebackers.
“Kellan Wyatt could figure in that mix as a linebacker against 12-personnel. But that’s speculation because he hasn’t been out there yet in 11-on-11.”
On whether the defense is still ahead of the offense like he mentioned in the spring:
“It’s been back and forth, pretty good competition. They’ve both had their moments, The defense, thing about the defense because we’re deep on defensive line ,when the twos go we’ve got young linemen against older guys. But that’s gonna happen in season too if one of those guys have to step in.
“So it’s been back and forth, but I’d give the defense the edge. But that’s been pretty much the case every year I’ve been a head coach since 2019, I’d say on the defense has always been a little bit ahead of the offense.”
On Daniel Ndukwe and where he fits in on a crowded defensive line:
“Everything’s earned, not given. Competition is a great thing and anybody that can play winning football is gonna play. One thing about Bryant (Haines) is he’s gonna create packages to get people on the field to put the offense in conflict.”
On where the team has made the most progress so far this fall:
“I think as a team, we’re making progress. Every practice is a little bit cleaner. Guys are coming closer to meeting the bar, play-in and play-out from an assignment-effort standpoint and finishing plays. But still a way to go. We’re not completely done with our installation. We still have a number of situations to practice before the first game. But we’re on track.”
On the play of Nick Marsh in fall camp:
“Yeah, he’s made some really nice plays in fall camp, made a great catch in the scrimmage. Big, long strong guy. He’s good after the catch and just him and (Charlie) Becker, two long guys that have a good track record and now it’s kind of developing three, four or five in that receiver room.”
On the center position:
“Bray’s (Lynch) taken 90 percent of the reps with the ones at center. And (Drew) Evans has played left guard. So Bob’s (Bostad) always moving guys around because you never have enough guys that can snap the ball. We probably work four or five different guys at the center position because you can’t get a play off if you can’t snap the ball.
“But Bray’s done a really nice job and Drew’s being playing left guard.”
On the depth at wide receiver:
“Well, Tyler Morris had a family situation, so he didn’t scrimmage Saturday. I think Davion’s (Chandler) made good progress here recently. He’s got a lot of talent, can play inside and outside. Tyler Morris certainly had his moments, can play inside and outside. After that, we’ve got to figure it out.
“Shazz Preston has talent, but he’s gotta be locked in assignment-wise and do the right thing, play in and play out. He can help us if he can do that. He missed the first three or four practices with a hip and has gotten on the field recently. He’s made some nice plays, but we’ve got to eliminate kind of MA’s (missed assignments) with him. Lebron Bond, Jackson Wasserstrom pretty much round out the group.”
On Rolijah Hardy and what makes him impactful:
“Instinct, initial quickness, explosiveness, his ability to run. He loves the game, he’s got really good ball skills. He’s had, early on his career, some nice interceptions. So he’s got a nose for the football and he’s just a really good player. I’ve mentioned a few other times before, in the big games, he plays really well.”
(Photo credit: IU Athletics)
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