Video, Quotes: Curt Cignetti reacts to IU football’s win against Howard

Curt Cignetti addressed the media following IU football’s 55-0 win against Howard on Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium.

Watch Cignetti’s postgame comments below:

Links to player postgame availabilities: Charlie Becker, Rolijah Hardy, Grant Wilson, Josh Burnham

A full transcript is available below, via ASAP Sports:

CURT CIGNETTI: Okay, better taste in our mouths after this game, which was the goal. And got to play a lot of players. Defense got the shutout and also scored, which was good.

And we did shorten the fourth quarter to ten minutes. We both agreed to that. Got it done in less than three hours. Get everybody out of the heat. Wasn’t that hot, but…

So wasn’t perfect. Still mistakes. But there was mistakes that could be critical mistakes in big football games. But better and we need to continue to develop and get better.

Q. Josh Hoover took a series of hits there in the second quarter. What are the conversations like with your quarterback, competetive like that, but to try to protect himself a little more?

CURT CIGNETTI: I need to watch tape a little bit. I thought a couple — I’m not going to say it. Couple of those hits on — well, I will say it — on the sideline, first couple weren’t penalties but they were close.

May not have been him. But Josh made a couple really nice plays in the game and then he had a couple that he’s going to want back.

Q. Nico Radicic obviously a pretty consistent guy for you, kicker. He wasn’t out there today. I saw he was in uniform. Is it just kind of like a day to day thing with him?

CURT CIGNETTI: Yeah, woke up Thursday morning with a little pull, rib cage, and couldn’t go today.

Q. Did you get overall what you wanted from Paddy in terms of his ability to replace Nico?

CURT CIGNETTI: Yeah. We missed the first one, but after that we were good.

Q. Coach, Charlie Becker, five touchdowns, seven receptions so far this season; zero career drops if I am reading the analytics correctly. Just your thoughts on the player he is and the preparation and what you get out of him week in and week out.

CURT CIGNETTI: Hardest worker on the team. Prepares as well as anybody. Nobody prepares more. Goes hard every play. Goes hard in practice. He’s a really good special teams guy, too.

It’s really important to him and he does everything he can to be the best explosive player. We’ve had quarterbacks around here throw more touchdown passes and incompletions in games the last two years probably three, four times, right? He’s got almost as many touchdown catches as receptions.

Q. Coach, 12 tackles for loss; five sacks. What did you see out of the defensive line?

CURT CIGNETTI: Yeah, that’s great. Back to how we used to be. I thought as the game went on they couldn’t block us and our biggest challenge was tackling the quarterback when we were getting to him. And then we got to him and tackled them.

Q. Coach, I saw Nick Marsh in the game in the fourth quarter.

CURT CIGNETTI: What?

Q. Nick Marsh was in the game in the fourth quarter I believe. When you go into a game like this do you have a different vision for every player in terms of number of snaps they see and things like that?

CURT CIGNETTI: A little bit. Shazz Preston was in had the game too, as was Davion. Those are three of our Top 4 receivers right now. Well, if you include Tyler, five.

So him and Shazz rotated a little bit more at L this game. And Nick played a little bit of R, too. Yeah.

Q. On some third and longs there was a set with four different defensive ends out there. Is that something we can expect in the future, and what was over all your assessment on having four defensive ends out there at the same time?

CURT CIGNETTI: Well, we were good on third down so I like it. You know, Bryant, he’s going to find ways to create the most problems for the opposition that he can and utilize our personnel as effectively as possible. So, yeah, he’s good.

Q. Coach, how did the decision get made, the process to cut the five minutes for the fourth quarter? Was it something you suggested? The other coach suggested? The refs? The actual talking of it.

CURT CIGNETTI: Yeah. That’s gone on a couple times this year in I think two other games, and it was mentioned would I be for that before the game by the officials — in case. I said yes. Then I brought it up to the official and end of the third quarter and he went and asked the opposing coach and he was for it also.

Q. I guess two backup quarterbacks get snaps. How valuable is that? I understand the game is long decided, but those guys having in-game reps. I know nobody wants to be too sentimental, but just what do you think it meant for Tyler to get that completion in the fourth quarter given everything he’s been through?

CURT CIGNETTI: I think it was really good. Start with Grant. He got in last week and had a 50-yard touchdown run. Gets in this week, has two nice runs. I believe throws a — two touchdown passes. So he’s got to feel good about his performance.

Then it was good to get Tyler in the game. But, you know, he missed his first two throws. He’s got to make those throws. At this level you got to make those throws.

Then he did make the one. That was a nice throw to Woz.

Q. And extension of that, Grant kind of took — came here knowing he would be the third guy last year, then —

CURT CIGNETTI: No.

Q. He said that. He mentioned that or thought that.

CURT CIGNETTI: Let me think when he came in. He was here in the spring, right?

Q. Yep.

CURT CIGNETTI: Or was he a fall camp guy? There was a little bit of competition between him and Alberto.

Q. It was clear that he was okay with backing up, but him being —

CURT CIGNETTI: As it evolved, yes.

Q. Him being willing to help them out and mentor those guys how, much does he help now Josh doing that as well?

CURT CIGNETTI: He’s as good a team player as we have on the team, which was huge in getting him back. Besides having an experienced backup quarterback.

You know, he probably wants to coach when he’s done and it looked like that’s where he was heading until things evolved and the opportunity to come back was present to him. Thankfully he accepted.

Q. 196 yards on the ground, Lee and Turbo, 100-yard games. How much more comfortable do you feel in the run game moving forward?

CURT CIGNETTI: Well, never comfortable because every week is a new challenge. It’s hard to run the football and then we know we get in Big10 play, you know, those yards are tough.

So it all starts up front, and with tight ends and the perimeter blocking and the backs, you know, I think we ran for 320 against ODU last year. But it was nice, yeah.

That one drive early in in the first half where we just handed the ball off and hammered them, I like doing that.

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