Indiana football head coach Curt Cignetti, hired Nov. 30 after five years at James Madison University, has wasted little time building his roster, adding several more players Monday and Tuesday.
Cignetti secured the commitment of Indiana’s Center Grove High School quarterback Tyler Cherry on Tuesday. The four-star recruit is now Indiana’s highest-rated commit, with On3 ranking him as the nation’s sixth-best signal caller and No. 105 player overall.
Cherry joins three-star recruit Alberto Mendoza as quarterback commits in the Hoosiers’ high school class, while Ohio University transfer Kurtis Rourke joined via the transfer portal.
The announcement came just hours after Indiana landed James Madison transfer defensive end Mikail Kamara, who collected 17.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks in 2023. He has two years of eligibility remaining.
Kamara opted to follow Cignetti from James Madison to Indiana, a trend that’s grown common since Cignetti left Harrisonburg, Virginia, for Bloomington.
On Monday, the Hoosiers received a commitment from Roman Catholic High School (Pa.) safety Jah Jah Boyd, who was previously the highest-ranked recruit in James Madison history.
Boyd, a three-star recruit and Philadelphia native, merely started Cignetti’s fortuitous day, as Indiana landed three transfer portal receivers in the hours that followed.
Ohio University junior Miles Cross was the first domino to fall, joining senior quarterback Kurtis Rourke to give the Hoosiers a pair of former Bobcats.
The 6-foot-1, 213-pound Cross caught 47 passes for 617 yards and five touchdowns in 2023. He finished his three-year tenure in Athens, Ohio, with 105 catches for 1,301 yards and eight scores.
Cross announced his decision on X, formerly known as Twitter, and was greeted with a warm response from Rourke.
“Yessir!!! Duo is back,” Rourke tweeted.
Some four hours later, Texas Tech University senior receiver Myles Price committed to Indiana, again posting via X with the caption, “In Cig I trust.”
Price, who comes in at 5-foot-10, 190 pounds, logged 43 receptions for 410 yards and five touchdowns in his final season with the Red Raiders. For his four-year career, Price hauled in 161 passes for 1,751 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Still, Cignetti wasn’t done.
Just minutes before 9:00 p.m. Monday, Wake Forest University senior receiver Ke’Shawn Williams announced his commitment over X, giving the Hoosiers their third veteran wideout addition of the day.
Williams, who’s listed at 5-foot-10, 190 pounds, made 38 grabs for 384 yards and one touchdown this past season. He made 107 catches for 1,385 yards and five scores during his four years with the Demon Deacons.
Cross, Price and Williams are each down to their final year of eligibility, meaning they’ll be one-year players in Bloomington, but will have the chance to help Cignetti lay an important foundation.
This commitment-filled start to the week is merely the continuation of an active three weeks for Cignetti, who’s now landed six transfers and brought back several key Hoosiers who entered the transfer portal, including redshirt freshman left tackle Carter Smith, junior receiver Donaven McCulley and redshirt sophomore running back Trent Howland.
Cignetti also retained a handful of recruits from since-fired head coach Tom Allen’s class, including the Hoosiers’ highest-ranked recruit, Florida’s Cardinal Newman High School cornerback Josh Philostin.
Toss in the five recruits who’ve flipped from James Madison to Indiana, and Cignetti’s first roster in Bloomington is beginning to come together — but there’s still plenty more to come.
“Not done yet,” Cignetti tweeted Monday night.
Follow reporters Matt Press (@MattPress23) and Dalton James (@DaltonMJames) and columnist Daniel Flick (@ByDanielFlick) for updates throughout the Indiana football offseason.
