Indiana football's new staff on the look out for leaders
BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti knows it's going to take time for leaders to emerge in the locker room.
In the meantime, he's going to lean on the guys he brought over with him from James Madison to rally the troops as spring practice gets underway. The job on Thursday went to former James Madison running back Kaelon Black.
"He talked one time last year and had a lot of juice," Cignetti said. "We want that guy to grab everybody's attention."
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The fifth-year junior didn't have any issues steeping into the spotlight.
"It was a good day, and Kaelon was sort of showing everybody else how we do it," Cignetti said. "Everybody is different and does it different. Not everybody's going to get up in front and talk, because those are sort of like the guys that are going to end up being leaders."
The roster turnover after the coaching change left a leadership void on the team. The Hoosiers will 40 new faces on the roster by the time the season kicks off including 22 transfers.
Former Indiana linebacker Aaron Casey was one of the most prominent leaders last year alongside the likes of Noah Pierre, Louis Moore and Matthew Bedford. Casey and Pierre exhausted their eligibilty while Moore (Ole Miss) and Bedford (Oregon) entered the transfer portal.
Quarterback Brendan Sorsby tried to take on a larger leadership role once he was named, but he also transferred out. The only captain still on the team from last year is offensive lineman Mike Katic.
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"We're learning, we got players from Indiana we ain't coach last year, we got transfers we ain't coach last year and we got some guys from JMU we did coach last year," Cignetti said. "I think that will evolve."
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 has a leadership void going into spring practice
