Curt Cignetti’s first spring at Indiana is fast approaching. With the Hoosiers’ spring game set for April 18, the schedule for the next few months is taking shape.
Cignetti and his staff spent December retooling what he called a “crisis roster situation,” and then they laid the foundation for recruits in the classes of 2025 and 2026. Now, it’s time to get to work with the current roster to prepare for the 2024 season.
So far, it appears strength and conditioning coach Derek Owings has spent more time around the current roster than Cignetti has. Owings came to Bloomington after serving in the same role under Cignetti at James Madison for the past four years. Owings — who makes $535,000 annually at IU — has been training with IU’s overhauled roster ahead of spring practice. While the rest of the staff has been on the road, Owings has stayed in Bloomington preparing players for the season.
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“The offseason is his baby,” Cignetti said about Owings during signing day on Wednesday. “Right now and then in the summer. Now, we’ll still maintain and do things during spring ball, fall camp, during the season. I think he’s a big part of what we do. That’s why I do everything I can to keep him on the roster, pay him as well as I can because he makes a difference.”
As for getting into the spring season and preparing for the spring game, the Hoosiers will have an abbreviated stretch of training. IU will hold only 13 spring practices before the game, which will be played at night. This shorter lead-up was to ensure the game would be held the day before during Little 500 weekend in Bloomington.
Cignetti acknowledged implementing the systems of the…
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