BLOOMINGTON — Dress to impress? That’s not a phrase in Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti’s lexicon.
On Thursday morning, Michigan State transfer receiver Nick Marsh found out there are no exceptions to Cignetti’s strict dress code when he showed up for his first Hoosiers spring practice wearing gold cleats.
“He learned what getting your ass ripped is all about,” Cignetti said. “I don’t know if that happened to him very often at Michigan State. That was before practice started. That was a wake-up call.”
When Indiana opened a portion of practice for reporters, Marsh was wearing white cleats.
Cignetti believes his high standards are at the center of his team’s winning ways. Fresh off winning a title with an undefeated record, the coach’s biggest concern is making sure all the new faces on the roster become familiar with his long-established way of doing business.
But it wasn’t all bad news for Marsh.
Cignetti praised the receiver’s impressive body of work — he put up 100 receptions for 1,311 yards for the Spartans — and work ethic. Marsh played well against IU each of the last two seasons, and his performance in those games convinced Cignetti the receiver would be a good fit in the crimson and cream.
According to the 247Sports composite rankings, Marsh was the No. 33 overall player in the transfer portal (No. 10 WR).
“Done a great job for us,” Cignetti said.
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Indiana football’s Curt Cignetti ‘ripped’ Nick Marsh for wearing gold cleats
Reporting by Michael Niziolek, The Herald-Times / The Herald-Times
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