Portal Priorities: Armed with NIL war chest, Curt Cignetti will be busy rebuilding roster
BLOOMINGTON – Hired within the space of a week, Curt Cignetti has managed to assemble the bones and muscle of a coaching staff with the same expediency.
A half-dozen members of Cignetti’s new Indiana staff have already been confirmed, and based on a variety of tweets, that staff has attacked the recruiting trail swiftly.
Of particular interest will be the Hoosiers’ early work in the transfer portal. Cignetti told Andy Sweeney and Kevin Bowen on 107.5 The Fan on Monday morning that the NIL resources he’s been provided are considerable.
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“There’s a perception that people won’t give to (Indiana) football,” Cignetti said during an interview with the Indianapolis sports-talk station. “The ante has been upped. The figure is there. It’s a highly competitive figure within the Big Ten.”
Now, Cignetti takes that number on the road. The Hoosiers have begun passing around offers to high school and portal targets, the latter group particularly important in Cignetti’s attempt to produce a quick turnaround.
What positions will he prioritize? All players listed according to projected 2024 eligibility.
Quarterback
Everyone needs a portal quarterback, annually it seems. The good news is, plenty are available.
The portal flooded Monday with QBs, some already confirmed and some announced the day the window opened. UCLA’s Dante Moore, Ohio State’s Kyle McCord, Oklahoma’s Dillon Gabriel — all testing their value.
Indiana will need someone, given two of its 2023 signal callers, Dexter Williams and Brendan Sorsby, are among that lengthy list of entrants. The Hoosiers have two scholarship QBs still in the fold, redshirt sophomore Tayven Jackson and redshirt freshman Broc Lowry.
Cignetti also offered 2024 Miami Columbus QB Alberto Mendoza, once a commitment of his at James Madison, over the weekend. So IU could add a fresh high school prospect. But Cignetti will likely want more veteran competition and depth.
Could he turn to Jordan McCloud, who won Sun Belt player of the year honors under his watch in Harrisonburg last season? McCloud is already in the portal, with one year of eligibility remaining.
Offensive line
This might be a position where Cignetti hopes to retain as much as replace.
Four of Indiana’s five starters — Matt Bedford, Kahlil Benson, Zach Carpenter and Carter Smith — are in the portal. The fifth, Mike Katic, declared for the NFL Draft.
Cignetti’s lone retention from the previous coaching staff so far is Bob Bostad, who did good work retooling an underperforming line in 2023. Bostad was well-respected, and the results showed.
Cignetti will probably want veteran competition at a position his reputation from James Madison suggests he never tries to cut corners. The Hoosiers could add here. They could also push a bit, and see if some or all of those 2023 starters might be interested in returning.
Wide receiver
This should be one where IU wants retention as much as outside help.
Donaven McCulley emerged as a genuine all-conference receiver in 2023. The Lawrence North grad made honorable mention All-Big Ten after catching 48 passes for 644 yards and six touchdowns.
McCulley turned a corner midseason. Over the Hoosiers’ final five games, he rolled up 28 receptions for 420 yards and five scores. Averaging those numbers over 12 games would come to 67 catches, 1,008 yards and 12 touchdowns. All would have been top-three numbers in the Big Ten this fall.
There are young players here Cignetti will be keen to develop. And if McCulley leaves, he’ll need to be replaced. But Cignetti should have no greater portal priority, at least among getting players back out, than McCulley.
Defensive end/edge rusher
Indiana was among the Big Ten leaders in tackles for loss this fall, but the Hoosiers were disruptive if not always productive in areas like pass rush.
Problem is, some of the most impactful players in that effort are gone, particularly Andre Carter and Aaron Casey. Both are out of eligibility.
IU has burgeoning talent in these areas, but even some of those players — like Lanell Carr — won’t be long for college. Cignetti’s James Madison defenses ranked among the most disruptive in the Sun Belt by the end of his tenure, a major reason the Dukes won 19 games across the past two seasons.
He will probably want more help here. Given that JMU’s big-impact disruptive defenders were mostly linemen, it might make sense to target some edge help.
Safety
At least statistically, two of Indiana’s most productive safeties from last season, Louis Moore and Phillip Dunnam, are in the portal.
Cignetti may want to try to bring them back. Again, he says he has the resources to be competitive.
If he lets Moore or Dunnam go, or they just want to leave, they’ll need to be replaced, given they anchored the back end of IU’s defense.
At least publicly, Indiana doesn’t have a secondary coach in place yet (though given Cignetti’s swiftness, that will probably change soon). One of the first jobs that coach must address is restocking or refashioning another position that’s hit the Hoosiers hard in the portal.
Follow IndyStar reporter Zach Osterman on Twitter: @ZachOsterman.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana football: Curt Cignetti's transfer portal roster priorities
