Curt Cignetti's sustained success has changed the game for No. 6 Indiana on the recruiting trail

Branden Sharpe started his prep career with lots of potential and endless college options.

His athleticism was obvious even before he entered Brownsburg High School in suburban Indianapolis. It didn't take long for the lean, 5-foot-9 receiver to go from Football Bowl Subdivision hopeful to Power Four recruit.

Three years ago, Sharpe and other in-state players had little interest in playing for Indiana. The Hoosiers had won just nine games and were 3-24 in the Big Ten from 2021-23. They played in front of half-full stadiums and carried the banner of FBS' losingest program.

The program's most successful back-to-back seasons has changed the whole equation.

Afte landing just two of the state's top 12 recruits in 2025, the class of 2026 has three of the top seven and five of the top 20. And next year's freshmen class already includes commitments from two of the top five in-state targets — Lawrence North receiver Monshun Sales, the nation’s No. 12 recruit according to Rivals.com and the highest rated prospect in school history, and, yes, even the surprised Sharpe.

“In 2023, you know, no one was really giving a thought to Indiana, no one was really talking about going to Indiana games,” Sharpe said before naming coach Curt Cignetti. “But then the Coach Cig effect, he gets there, they start winning a few games and it's like everyone (likes) IU football. And the culture he's built and the fan base that's behind him, it's great.”

Today's college football landscape is rife with instability.

Players who thought they were out of eligibility are suddenly back at practice, players cut by NFL teams could soon resume their college careers, too, and coaches are trying to cope with the ever-evolving environment.

As Indiana has learned, the constant is there's no substitute for winning.

The defending national champion Hoosiers open their season Saturday against North Texas. The nation's sixth-ranked team will try to extend the FBS' longest active winning streak to 17 and the nation's longest active home winning streak to 16 after having a school record eight players selected in April's NFL draft, including Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza.

And between all those victories, all those new titles and all those players off to the NFL, Indiana suddenly has become a destination stop as former Wisconsin guard Joe Brunner can attest.

“This is one of the best cultures in football, if not the best, and that makes it super easy to transition,” said Brunner, who transferred this year. "They know how to welcome guys with open arms, how to bring them into the culture and let them develop. It’s easier as an older guy. You want to win, right? You want to be a part of a winning culture? If you’re competitive enough, that’s all you want to do, and you can see it from afar. You can see it from anywhere."

Cignetti didn't become the first back-to-back winner of The Associated Press Coach of the Year Award by happenstance. Long before talking about winning Big Ten titles or challenging doubters to Google him, he had a plan.

Rather than building around five-star recruits or in-demand athletes, Cignetti valued smart, instinctive players who were selfless enough to allow his staff to unlock their full potential.

This year's transfer class includes Brunner, quarterback Josh Hoover, the former TCU star, and record-setting receiver Nick Marsh from Michigan State. When Marsh wore a pair of gold shoes on the first day of spring practice, the blunt-talking Cignetti wasted no time calling out Marsh publicly. It was an old-school message designed to help recreate Indiana's magic.

“It's understanding the standard, the expectation level, the accountability, doing the things we preach that lead to winning football games and not doing the things that lose football games," Cignetti said.

While Cignetti's 15 straight winning seasons as a head coach leave no room to quibble with the results, his passion for excellence is why many came to Bloomington in the first place.

He teaches, challenges and develops players he knows fits the system wherever they may be. Mendoza came from California, All-American linebacker Aiden Fisher came from James Madison and Rose Bowl MVP Pat Coogan came from Notre Dame. This year, he has Hoover, Brunner and Marsh as well as a host of others from across the fruited plains.

It's the in-state progress that has really resonated in the Hoosier State, and it's changed the whole perception of Indiana football.

“If you would have asked me when I was a freshman, I would not have expected it. I mean, I should have known with Coach Cignetti being the coach, it was going to be like that," Sharpe said, explaining how he chose Indiana. ”They are definitely well coached, I believe the best coached team in the country. Just being able to play for that, I think I can fit in their scheme, and I think I can really develop well there."

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