Zacharey Smith was told his eyes were poor — not by an optometrist, but by Indiana football cornerbacks coach Rod Ojong. Smith’s eyes were low, and if he was facing a receiver during the drill, he wouldn’t have been looking at the right spot.
And each time Smith, a freshman cornerback from Union City, Georgia, failed to catch a pass at the end of his rep, Ojong and others expressed their frustration.
Three months ago, Smith was in the process of finishing his final semester at Hapeville Charter Career Academy, where he developed into a consensus three-star recruit after notching 17 interceptions in his last two seasons and earning first-team All-Region honors in 2023.
But Indiana isn’t Hapeville Charter. College isn’t high school. The Hoosiers, who went to the College Football Playoff last season, aren’t guaranteed to go back to those heights — and certainly not with a subpar spring.
Welcome to spring football, the time for reality checks.
“You go from high school, you're the man, you're no question a starter,” senior linebacker Aiden Fisher said March 11. “You come here, you're going to be a four. You're limited right now. You got to earn everything again. You've got ground zero, so just making sure they know and embrace that journey and not someone's like, ‘Oh, man, I came here and now I'm not playing.’ It's just something you got to embrace.”
Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti didn’t play many true freshmen last year — receiver Charlie Becker, linebacker Rolijah Hardy and defensive linemen Mario Landino and Daniel Ndukwe were the only four who saw the field in 12 or more games.
Landino and Ndukwe were early enrollees in spring 2024. The Hoosiers have 14 freshmen participating in spring practice this year, headlined by safety Byron Baldwin, cornerback Jaylen Bell, offensive lineman Baylor Wilkin and receivers LeBron Bond and Myles Kendrick — five of Indiana’s six highest-rated recruits in 2025, according to 247sports.
Early enrollees have the luxury of getting through a semester without the stress of being in-season, Cignetti said, while also spending additional time in the weight room. It helps jumpstart their development.
Similar growth is formulating in the minds of the Hoosiers’ newcomers, as well.
“A lot of the guys are doing a great job now,” Fisher said. “Their mindset kind of switched a little bit, so like that growth mindset. They’re asking a lot of questions, they're doing a great job on the field, in the film room. So, compared to Day 1 when they got here now, it's a big difference.”
Indiana has 33 new players — 19 transfers, 14 freshmen — on its spring roster, which means over 40% of the team watched the Hoosiers’ historic 2024 season from afar.
Winning creates expectations. Indiana’s veteran leaders don’t want expectations to turn into entitlement.
“I think the turnaround has been great, but with a lot of fresh faces, we have some freshmen in here who saw what we can do last year — maybe they could be a little cocky out on the field,” redshirt junior left tackle Carter Smith said March 11. “So, we need to make sure the standard is upheld, and we have the right mindset going into all of the training.”
Fisher referenced a line Cignetti often cites: the Hoosiers are 0-0 and haven’t accomplished anything. Every team will leave spring football undefeated.
Indiana’s goal is to leave next season unblemished, too. The challenge? Eradicating any complacency from last season’s results.
“We have given everyone a reality check, and practice has definitely given them a reality check,” Fisher said . “It's just making sure everyone knows we are at ground zero right now and make sure you're not getting in over yourself. You have zero stats as you come in. It's just about setting the tone for the team and letting them know we have a long way to go, but we are going to get there.”
The Hoosiers work out in position-specific groups — the offensive and defensive linemen lift together at the W. Jay and Nancy Wilkinson Performance Center in Memorial Stadium, as do the offensive and defensive skill positions. Subsequently, Smith said there were still offensive players whose names he didn’t know through the first several spring practices.
Introductions occurred later in spring camp during offensive and defensive meetings, where Smith said players put names to faces. Workouts aren’t made for such moments. Instead, veteran Hoosiers like Smith view their early-morning lifts as a chance to uphold, if not uplift, the standard.
“We keep up with workouts — making sure everyone's on time, making sure no one overlooks the smallest detail, because the smallest detail can be one of the biggest killers,” Smith said. “I think just making sure that everyone's in the same headspace and keeps the same work ethic in mind, then we're going to flourish.”
Cignetti often speaks about stalking complacency. Last spring, he needed his team to shed its reputation as the “old Indiana” — the losingest program in college football history.
Now in his second spring as the Hoosiers’ head coach, Cignetti’s demands have shifted. Indiana, which started 10-0 for the first time in school history but lost two of its final three games, didn’t get a fairytale finish to a season straight from a set in Hollywood.
The Hoosiers don’t want to be a one-hit wonder. They’re steadfast in proving 2024 wasn’t a fluke — a process that starts by cleaning any cockiness or complacency present within the walls of Memorial Stadium.
Follow reporters Daniel Flick (@ByDanielFlick) and Dalton James (@DaltonMJames) and columnist Jhett Garrett (@jhettgarrett) for updates throughout the Indiana football offseason.
