Curt Cignetti’s ‘spring anxiety’ is real, but here’s why Indiana has enough to contend

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Reminders of Indiana’s historic 2025 season are everywhere in the Hoosier State this spring. At the Indianapolis airport, a massive “National Champions” mural depicting Fernando Mendoza and Charlie Becker clasping hands greets flyers in the main concourse. In the gift shop, Colts and Pacers merch is now crammed in a corner to make way for dozens of IU football items — including a crimson “Curt’s So Good” T-shirt in honor of head coach Curt Cignetti.

One place you won’t find that imagery? Cignetti’s office. No bowl or College Football Playoff trophies. No Big Ten championship trophy. No framed pictures from that dramatic win over Miami.

Another place you won’t hear reminiscing about 2025? Inside the Hoosiers’ locker room.

“No one (on the current team) talks about what this team did last year,” says Wisconsin transfer guard Joe Brunner. “Everyone’s moved past it, and this is a new team.”

A dozen or so starters from the national championship team are currently waiting to hear whether their names get called in Thursday night’s NFL Draft. Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza, the expected No. 1 pick, will be one of them. So will cornerback D’Angelo Ponds, receivers Omar Cooper Jr. and Elijah Sarratt and linebacker Aiden Fisher. Several others are projected to join them.

Don’t be fooled by all that departed star power. Indiana will be very good again this fall. College football’s newest $13 million coach will make sure of that.

“Coach Cignetti operates at his best when he has a chip on his shoulder,” athletic director Scott Dolson said last week. “And I would definitely say his chip on his shoulder is bigger than last year — when we won the national championship.”

Work day ‼️ pic.twitter.com/zXSZoiF40i

— Indiana Football (@IndianaFootball) April 16, 2026

Attending an Indiana practice is not quite the same as a Nick Saban-era Alabama practice, where every single offensive and defensive lineman looked built in a lab, or an Ohio State practice where seemingly every receiver runs a 4.3. But there’s a crispness to each drill you don’t normally see five months before the season — especially with a host of portal guys still new to the system.

And there are playmakers all over the field.

During a roughly 90-minute practice last week, Kansas State transfer pass-rusher Tobi Osunsanmi exploded off the edge to force a strip-sack. Returning running back Khobie Martin burst through a hole for a long run. Michigan State transfer receiver Nick Marsh made a couple of Sarratt/Cooper Jr.-type catches. Cornerback Jamari Sharpe, who nabbed the game-sealing interception against Miami, forced two turnovers.

Cignetti has the process down by now. It began before last season ended, when he signed another portal class full of older, proven guys. They already know how to play high-level football, but they need a full offseason to absorb Cignetti’s playbook and expectations. The goal is to have everyone humming by Week 1, but what he’s seeing now doesn’t match that standard, giving him an annual case of “spring anxiety.”

“All these new guys always kind of follow the same trajectory when they come in, you know what I mean?” Cignetti said. “They did some good, some bad. They’re a little better by the end of spring. They have a great summer and fall camp; they’re like new guys.

“But I’ve always got this spring anxiety. Always.”

Tobi Osunsanmi, a transfer from Kansas State, is one of the new additions to the Hoosiers’ defensive front. (Peter Aiken / Getty Images)

In addition to Osunsanmi, Marsh and Brunner, at least six other transfers figure to start or at least play key roles this season.

Defensive ends Joshua Burnham (Notre Dame) and Chiddi Obiazor (K-State) join Osunsanmi and incumbent defensive tackles Tyrique Tucker and Mario Landino on a defensive line that people within the program believe will be better than last season’s. Boston College running back Turbo Richard joins returnees Martin and Lee Beebe Jr. to form an explosive three-man backfield rotation. Preston Zachman (Wisconsin) is pushing for a starting safety job, and A.J. Harris (Penn State) should be the second or third cornerback.

“This is one of the best cultures in college football, if not the best, right? And that makes it a super easy transition,” said Brunner. “You’re around a bunch of guys who played a lot of football. They know how to welcome guys with open arms and how to bring them into a culture.”

But it’s not like the Hoosiers have zero continuity from 2025.

First and foremost, Cignetti managed to retain all but one on-field assistant. Most notably, defensive coordinator and Broyles Award winner Bryant Haines received a raise to $3 million per year, and offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan’s salary was bumped up to $1.7 million per year.

“It says a lot about Coach Cignetti, how he runs the program, how he treats his staff, that they want to be here,” said Dolson. “Now, they want to be fairly compensated in the marketplace, which anybody would be, which we certainly want to do. But it wasn’t like they were trying to find greener pastures somewhere else.”

As for players, the majority of IU’s defense is back, led by Sharpe, Tucker, linebacker Rolijah Hardy and safety Amare Ferrell. Veteran linebacker Isaiah Jones steps in for Fisher in the middle of the defense. On offense, All-American left tackle Carter Smith will be back, though he’s sitting out spring while recovering from shoulder surgery, as well as two other starters. At receiver, there’s Becker, the breakout star of Indiana’s postseason, and former Michigan transfer Tyler Morris.

The Hoosiers were already considered “old” last season, yet even after all the turnover, they could wind up with as many as 14 starters in at least their fifth year of eligibility.

That includes the new starting quarterback. Though he may also be Indiana’s question mark.

Spring scenes. pic.twitter.com/1DrGlXoJIE

— Indiana Football (@IndianaFootball) April 10, 2026

When the QB musical chairs cycle began last winter, Cignetti honed in on TCU’s Josh Hoover, a fifth-year senior who’s thrown for 9,629 yards over two-plus seasons as a starter. It was a notable decision, given Cignetti’s sterling track record of developing QBs. (He loves to point out that all but one of his QBs since 2019 at James Madison have been named conference player of the year.)

But Hoover’s coach at TCU, Sonny Dykes, raised eyebrows in March when he threw shade at the quarterback on the Bussin’ With the Boys podcast, pointing out Hoover’s 42 turnovers (33 INTs, 9 lost fumbles) over 31 starts. Cignetti responded with one of his trademark one-liners, saying, “When Josh got here, he met his two new best friends: great defense and a really good run game.”

TCU HC Sonny Dykes didn’t hold back talking about Josh Hoover heading to Indiana

“Josh started 31 games here as a quarterback, and turned the ball over 42 times.” pic.twitter.com/hIXly5IOUW

— Bussin’ With The Boys (@BussinWTB) March 25, 2026

It was hard to get a good read on Hoover during team drills because of the offensive line holdouts, which left the IU quarterbacks with little time to throw. He showed nice zip on his deep balls, but several throws were off target.

“He’s still trying to get a good grasp of the offense after being in TCU so long,” said his future left tackle, Smith. “Once the summer hits, once he’s able to work one-on-one with his receivers a little more outside of 7-on-7 or in between practice is where he really starts to understand the game plan.”

Folks in the program note that Mendoza himself was hardly a finished product last spring and made his biggest jump from summer to preseason camp.

“(Hoover) is probably about where most of the quarterbacks have been in this part of the spring,” said Cignetti.

It’s all part of the process.

“It takes a while,” Cignetti said, “and every year you’ve got to start over.”