BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti entered spring practice on Thursday concerned about the team’s depth.
Cignetti’s worries are mostly centered around the offensive side of the ball. The Hoosiers opened camp unable to fill out a full two-deep at a handful of positions with only 33 players available on that side of the ball.
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“I mean, the biggest challenge right now, to be quite honest with you,” Cignetti said.
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Without naming the full list of players, Cignetti told reporters that Indiana will have seven offensive players sidelined for the duration of camp.
“We’re short right now on the offensive line,” Cignetti said. “We’ve got one guy that’s limited, so I’ll count him as a half. We’ve got 11 and a half offensive linemen, and we’ve got three guys at tight end that are out for the spring. One of the young tight ends was flexed out his whole high school career, so I’ll count him as a half. We’ve got one and a half tight ends and 11 and a half offensive linemen, and we’re rolling through groups.”
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It’s in stark contrast to the situation on the defensive line, where IU is rotating 18 players, a number that includes a nice mix of veterans and younger faces.
“The most important thing is we get our work in, and if we’ve got to move a guy or two over to offense to help us get the work in so we can keep developing as a football team, we will,” Cignetti said.
Indiana Head Coach Curt Cignetti during Indiana University spring football practice on Thursday, March 26, 2026.
Cignetti adjusted the offseason calendar to be as fresh as possible for spring camp.
The Hoosiers pushed back spring practice to after the school’s spring break, and gave the veterans time off after the season to recharge while the incoming transfers and true freshmen got started on winter conditioning workouts. It was well-deserved rest for a group of players who played 16 games, including a grueling postseason run that culminated in a physical matchup against Miami in the national title game.
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Cignetti’s other challenge this spring is making sure the 36 new faces (19 high school freshmen and 17 transfers) Indiana welcomed to Bloomington at the start of the semester understand his standards. Receiver Nick Marsh ran into an issue on Thursday when he showed up to practice wearing gold cleats.
The veteran coach seized on the moment to show everyone watching what it’s like playing for the reigning national champions.
“We’re building a house from the ground up again, right?” Cignetti said. “We’ve got to have that edge and be humble and hungry.”
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Why Indiana football is worried about injuries as spring practice gets underway
