Before the 2025 season began, the Indiana Hoosiers were not looked as true title contenders. Despite making the College Football Playoff in 2024, they weren’t looked at as a true threat to win it all. Curt Cignetti used that to his advantage.
Cignetti turned this group of Hoosiers into champions, and it is perhaps the greatest two-year turnaround in college football history. Cignetti did a fantastic job of grabbing players from the Transfer Portal that fit the vision of how the team should play.
D’Angelo Ponds was one of the players that Cignetti brought with him from James Madison. He was the best cornerback that the Hoosiers had. While at the NFL Combine, he told the media an inspiring story about Cignetti.
GettyIndiana Hoosiers cornerback De’Angelo Ponds makes a tackle. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
Indiana Hoosiers Corner Tells Intriguing Story About Curt Cignetti
While speaking to the media at the Combine, Ponds let everyone know that Cignetti told him he knew they were going to win a championship.
“Just him recruiting me, I took my visit to Indiana. I was with my dad on the visit. We were meeting with Coach Cig, we were going over the schedule of who we were going to play and things like that. My dad was like, ‘Yeah, we should definitely go to a bowl game.’ Coach Cig looked at him and was like, ‘Bowl game? We’re going to win it all.’ And like, it came true.”
Ponds came with Cignetti before the 2024 season. That year, they lost two games. The Hoosiers lost to Ohio State in the regular season and to Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff. This past year, they won all 16 games and won the national championship.
Cignetti’s confidence in his ability to get things done is why he had so many players decide to follow him from James Madison. Not only was he right in his prediction, but he made every one of those James Madison players better.
GettyIndiana Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti celebrates. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Curt Cignetti Will Need to Work Indiana Hoosiers Magic Again in 2026
The Hoosiers lose a lot of talent heading into the 2026 season, including quarterback Fernando Mendoza. Mendoza will likely be the number-one overall pick in the draft, so Josh Hoover has big shoes to fill as the starting QB next season. Cignetti got Hoover from TCU.
Indiana’s schedule isn’t terribly hard. They get Ohio State at home, which will be the toughest game they face. Indiana does travel to Ann Arbor, but Michigan is a program in crisis after a brutal offseason that saw its coach get fired because of an off-the-field scandal.
With most of the guys from JMU gone, including Ponds, Cignetti will have a unique challenge on his hands. He is no longer coaching an underdog squad full of unappreciated players. Now, the Hoosiers are the hunted and have a bullseye on their back.
If Cignetti can make the CFP again, it would be quite a feat.
Indiana Hoosiers Draft Prospect Tells Inspiring Curt Cignetti Story