Curt Cignetti on Big Ten Network: Everything Indiana coach said in first media appearance

About an hour before his introductory news conference in Bloomington, new Indiana coach Curt Cignetti made an appearance on the Big Ten Network’s live show in Indianapolis ahead of Saturday’s Big Ten championship game.

Cignetti was announced as the Hoosiers’ 30th coach on Thursday and closed out his interview Friday by predicting that, exactly a year from now, Indiana will be preparing to play at Lucas Oil Stadium for the conference championship next season.

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“I figured I had to make this trip up here since we’ll be playing in this game next year,” Cignetti said.

The 62-year-old coach was hired away from James Madison, where he led the Dukes to a 11-1 record this season, 19-4 FBS record and an overall mark of 52-9 in five seasons (including three seasons at the FCS level).

Here’s the best of what Cignetti said in his first media appearance since taking the Indiana job:

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What Indiana’s Curt Cignetti said on Big Ten Network

Why he left James Madison for Indiana

“I had a great thing going and loved the people, but this was a challenge. In life, you got to make hard decisions, you only grow when you’re uncomfortable. I’m too young to quit growing. I’ve had turnarounds in terms of records that were worse than this. And it’s in the Big Ten which, right now, Big Ten and SEC (are) one and two, right? So, it’s doable. We got a blueprint and a plan. You do it with people. and looking forward to it.”

What he learned from James Madison success

“It’s validation that the process works and our way of doing things work. And I’ll hire a good nucleus of guys from that stuff and the philosophy of how we do things won’t change much. Everybody wants to improve their processes daily, right? You don’t want to do things the same way, you want to continue growing so you’re not getting caught and passed up.

“The key is you got to get it done now and avoid complacency. You have a sense of urgency. And in my situation right now, we have a lot to get done in a short amount of time.”

What he learned on Nick Saban’s first Alabama staff?

Cignetti was the recruiting coordinator and receivers coach at Alabama from 2007-10.

“I learned so much. My dad was a hall of fame coach, there’s a lot of him in me. But after one year with Coach (Nick) Saban, I had learned more about being a head coach and how to run a program (than) in the previous 28 years. And it was a great experience.”

High school recruiting philisophy

“Lot of good players out there, right? My thing is recruiting guts with character, a foundation of habits. It’s all about recruiting and development, not retention, obviously. I like performance over potential. I’m old fashioned, I look at the transcripts to see how many absences are on there. Those are the kind of guys I want because here’s the deal: You get 11 guys doing their job, it’s not addition, it’s multiplication.”

What style of play Indiana fans can expect

“Physical, relentless, a team that plays hard one play at a time. Stop the run, explosive plays. … Our teams have played smart, disciplined, and we’ve been the least penalized team in the league the last two, three years, which wasn’t the case when I took over JMU. … Our guys, they play hard and physical.”

Balance of coaching James Madison bowl game, working at Indiana

“It’s going to be 90 percent Indiana. I’m going to be at the bowl game, I may be there a day or two before the bowl game. (JMU athletic director Jeff Bourne) and I agreed, let’s be nimble on our feet. … I’m not going to have much of a rule in preparation.”

How his Indiana staff building is forming

“I’m probably 70, 80 percent there.”