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BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti spent much of the spring making sure the team’s returning players bought into his practice blueprint.
He used words like fast, up-tempo and relentless to describe his approach.
One of the reasons it was such a steep learning curve for IU’s returning players is that the intensity of the team’s practices in Tom Allen’s final season was lacking from previous years.
“I love coach Allen, but last year he wasn’t as hard on us and yelling at us to pick up the tempo and stuff,” Indiana receiver Omar Cooper Jr. said after Wednesday’s practice. “The fast-paced practice was a little slower, that was a little different.”
More: Bold. Brash. Entertaining. IU football’s Curt Cignetti makes his Big Ten Media Days debut.
Indiana University’s Omar Cooper Jr. (3) during the first day of fall practice at the Mellencamp Pavilion at Indiana University on Wednesday, July 31, 2024.
Cooper signed with IU out of Lawrence North High School as part of Allen’s 2022 signing class. He was high school teammates on the school’s football and basketball teams with Donaven McCulley.
After redshirting as a true freshman, he played in nine games last year and made two starts. He had 18 catches for 267 yards with two touchdowns. He had a standout performance early in the season with seven catches for 101 yards.
Cooper described Cignetti’s approach as a breath of fresh air.
“On the field, he’s going to tough love coach you,” Cooper said, with a smile.
The new staff has all the bases covered between Cignetti’s winning attitude and the meticulous nature of his assistants. Cooper has embraced the way offensive coordinator and receivers coach Mike Shanahan harps on the smallest of details throughout their time together.
“He’s real big on alignments and how stances start, like how we…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/why-indiana-football-players-embracing-184021705.html
Author : The Herald-Times
Publish date : 2024-08-14 18:40:21
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