EUGENE, Ore. — Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti’s long to-do list after a 30-20 win over No. 2 Oregon on Saturday highlighted the historic nature of the win.
Instead of going straight back to the locker room, Cignetti had to get through a series of interviews that included a lengthy spot with a crew from CBS Sports that was on site at Autzen Stadium for the game.
The crowd behind Cignetti swelled to more than a hundred fans from IU’s traveling party, leaving him with little room to make a swift exit after taking off his head set. Cignetti got a security escort down the sideline while fans followed him and tried to thank him for a win the likes of which they had never witnessed.
Cignetti kept his eyes forward with a stoic expression until he saw Indiana football defensive end Mikail Kamara waiting for him at the entrance of the tunnel leading outside the stadium and offered him a wide grin. Kamara was one of 13 former James Madison players who followed Cignetti to Bloomington.
They walked down the tunnel together with Cignetti even putting his arm around Kamara in a moment that highlighted the all the battles they’ve fought together. Kamara bought into Cignetti’s vision before he even played a game at James Madison as part of the team’s 2020 signing class.
The story Kamara likes to tell was that Cignetti was reluctant to even offer him a scholarship and only relented at the insistence of the team’s then receivers coach Mike Shanahan. Kamara is one of the staff’s great success stories — he contributed as a true freshman despite playing through multiple shoulder injuries and led the FBS in quarterback pressures last season.
There were a half dozen former James Madison standouts on the field for IU on Saturday, including linebacker Aiden Fisher, defensive back D’Angelo Ponds, defensive tackle Tyrique Tucker, wide receiver Elijah Sarratt and running back Kaelon Black.
They all share similar backgrounds as overlooked recruits that flourished under Cignetti’s tutelage at multiple stops.
“A lot of people ask why do you follow coach Curt Cignetti, why did you make this decision instead of other schools, this is why,” Fisher said after Saturday’s game. “Complete buy in, complete trust for what coach Cig is doing here. You do things like that and it can lead to games like that and wins like this. … Just following coach Cig and buy into what he sells you, what he believes in and his preparation and his process. He’s better than anyone in the country.”
While they give Cignetti all the credit, the coach has returned the favor. He’s long said the leadership from his former JMU players — including ones who have since graduated like defensive tackle James Carpenter and tight end Zach Horton — laid the foundation for IU’s success.
They got the buy in from all the holdovers in IU’s locker room and taught them all about Cignetti’s “fast, physical and relentless” motto.
There’s no upset on Saturday at Autzen Stadium without the Hoosiers living up to the standard they learned from the players who came over from James Madison. Cignetti got to briefly celebrate the crowning achievement of that partnership with Kamara on their walk back to the locker room.
“They believe that they’re going to win,” Cignetti said last year. “They think like champions. They believe in the coaches. They believe in the program. They believe they’re going to step foot on (campus) and make a difference. Guess what? I believe that too.”
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: Why Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti’s unshakeable bond with former JMU players led to win over Oregon
Reporting by Michael Niziolek, The Herald-Times / The Herald-Times
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