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Indiana barely practices at all
Posted on 12/9/25 at 7:38 am
Posted on 12/9/25 at 7:38 am
There’s a subscription WSJ article which talks about Indiana’s limited practice.
Excerpts
“Instead of endless hours on the practice field and a grueling regimen of drills, Cignetti’s Indiana team has reached the pinnacle of the game by hardly practicing at all.”
“I’ve always been a short practice guy,” Cignetti said. “My practices have probably gotten even shorter through the years, as we do everything we can to prepare the team fully but keep them fresh and healthy.”
It was there that Cignetti practically earned a doctorate in “The Process,” Saban’s patented, detail-obsessed method for turning the Tide into a dynasty. In Saban’s system, even the tiniest elements of the game are drilled and drilled until the team becomes a championship-winning machine.
When Cignetti took over his own programs—at Division II Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and then at Elon and James Madison University—he tried to run practices as hard as his former boss. But he soon came to realize that Saban-style drudgery could be counterproductive. Players were frequently unavailable on game days because they picked up so many injuries in practice.
“I just believe in keeping people fresh and healthy,” Cignetti said. “The better people feel physically, the better they feel mentally, too.”
Only one Indiana player might miss the playoffs due to injuries
Excerpts
“Instead of endless hours on the practice field and a grueling regimen of drills, Cignetti’s Indiana team has reached the pinnacle of the game by hardly practicing at all.”
“I’ve always been a short practice guy,” Cignetti said. “My practices have probably gotten even shorter through the years, as we do everything we can to prepare the team fully but keep them fresh and healthy.”
It was there that Cignetti practically earned a doctorate in “The Process,” Saban’s patented, detail-obsessed method for turning the Tide into a dynasty. In Saban’s system, even the tiniest elements of the game are drilled and drilled until the team becomes a championship-winning machine.
When Cignetti took over his own programs—at Division II Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and then at Elon and James Madison University—he tried to run practices as hard as his former boss. But he soon came to realize that Saban-style drudgery could be counterproductive. Players were frequently unavailable on game days because they picked up so many injuries in practice.
“I just believe in keeping people fresh and healthy,” Cignetti said. “The better people feel physically, the better they feel mentally, too.”
Only one Indiana player might miss the playoffs due to injuries
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Posted on 12/9/25 at 7:41 am to RelentlessTide
Went through two a days and some rough practices in high school, but a week before the season our coach started backing off.
During the season we only practiced in shoulder pads and helmets.
Thursday was a walk through with just helmets.
Very seldom had anyone miss time due to injury.
During the season we only practiced in shoulder pads and helmets.
Thursday was a walk through with just helmets.
Very seldom had anyone miss time due to injury.
Posted on 12/9/25 at 7:49 am to RelentlessTide
quote:
There’s a subscription WSJ article which talks about Indiana’s limited practice.
Excerpts
“Instead of endless hours on the practice field and a grueling regimen of drills, Cignetti’s Indiana team has reached the pinnacle of the game by hardly practicing at all.”
“I’ve always been a short practice guy,” Cignetti said. “My practices have probably gotten even shorter through the years, as we do everything we can to prepare the team fully but keep them fresh and healthy.”
It was there that Cignetti practically earned a doctorate in “The Process,” Saban’s patented, detail-obsessed method for turning the Tide into a dynasty. In Saban’s system, even the tiniest elements of the game are drilled and drilled until the team becomes a championship-winning machine.
When Cignetti took over his own programs—at Division II Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and then at Elon and James Madison University—he tried to run practices as hard as his former boss. But he soon came to realize that Saban-style drudgery could be counterproductive. Players were frequently unavailable on game days because they picked up so many injuries in practice.
“I just believe in keeping people fresh and healthy,” Cignetti said. “The better people feel physically, the better they feel mentally, too.”
Only one Indiana player might miss the playoffs due to injuries
Love this approach so much! Everyone and their brother who played ball in HS or college knows that coaches love to make players slog through wayyy too long practices. There was a HS coach at I believe Hartselle that won a LOT. I heard him say one time at a coaches clinic that he limited practice to 90 minutes tops. This forces you to be organized, limit stupid downtime of people standing around and keep player's minds engaged.
Cig should really keep this info to himself lol. Now everyone is gonna start copying him, like they did with Saban
Posted on 12/9/25 at 7:57 am to RelentlessTide
quote:
Only one Indiana player might miss the playoffs due to injuries
Might have a lot to do with playing Maryland and Northwestern every week.
Posted on 12/9/25 at 8:05 am to RelentlessTide
Im 100% in favor of limiting hitting. Even a peak 22 year old can only handle so many hits before things start breaking down.
But anyone running a complex offense or preparing to deal with a Kirby Smart defense can absolutely benefit from repetitions as far as read/react, seeing things not just on film and then reinforcing the correct action.
So I get the keeping people healthy thing once you've established tackling technique and proper conditioning, but I dont quite understand the short practice thing.
Saban certainly wasn't cutting practices short as part of his "process".
But anyone running a complex offense or preparing to deal with a Kirby Smart defense can absolutely benefit from repetitions as far as read/react, seeing things not just on film and then reinforcing the correct action.
So I get the keeping people healthy thing once you've established tackling technique and proper conditioning, but I dont quite understand the short practice thing.
Saban certainly wasn't cutting practices short as part of his "process".
Posted on 12/9/25 at 8:18 am to RelentlessTide
This is how the NFL works to be quite honest but they also use the first month of the regular season like preseason now too. Do not have that luxury in college since winning a division isn't a golden ticket to the playoffs.
I think he's got the right of it though. I assume that they drill fairly hard in the Spring and Fall camps but the game week practices are about understanding the opponent and the game plan.
I think he's got the right of it though. I assume that they drill fairly hard in the Spring and Fall camps but the game week practices are about understanding the opponent and the game plan.
Posted on 12/9/25 at 8:46 am to Sandkhan
quote:
Might have a lot to do with playing Maryland and Northwestern every week.
This, this and this.
I so want to beat Oklahoma to have a shot at Indiana.
Posted on 12/9/25 at 8:47 am to RelentlessTide
Remember when navy limited hitting and tackling in practice for this very reason and proceeded to look like shite and then the coach gets drug for doing it? I remember. Cignetti looks like he’s a genius because right now he’s playing one game a year schedule. Has players that are playing their asses off because they aren’t NIL madonnas. Not yet. Let Cig slip once and these people back patting him will eat him alive.
Also I’m not talking about hitting all practice, everyday. You obviously can’t do that, and 30 years ago even my dumb arse HS coach knew that. But you can limit practice to 90 mins when you are playing the local HS and can prep for OSU for 3 weeks
Also I’m not talking about hitting all practice, everyday. You obviously can’t do that, and 30 years ago even my dumb arse HS coach knew that. But you can limit practice to 90 mins when you are playing the local HS and can prep for OSU for 3 weeks
Posted on 12/9/25 at 9:15 am to RelentlessTide
quote:
“Instead of endless hours on the practice field and a grueling regimen of drills, Cignetti’s Indiana team has reached the pinnacle of the game by hardly practicing at all.”
Coached for 20 years. There’s a fine line. I think the most important thing is avoiding grinding for the sake of grinding and being efficient with what you’re doing. Not just with the players but the staff.
At the end of the day, winning is mostly about the talent of the players. As great as Saban was in focus and preparation, he could have scheduled a 30 minute cupcakes and karaoke break in the middle of practice every day and beat most of the teams they played with the talent he had.
Posted on 12/9/25 at 9:41 am to RelentlessTide
After we lost to FSU the complaint was we were soft because we practiced in the mornings. 
Now let's shorten practices to stay fresh.
The bottom line is when you're winning, whatever you're doing looks good.
Now let's shorten practices to stay fresh.
The bottom line is when you're winning, whatever you're doing looks good.
This post was edited on 12/9/25 at 9:42 am
Posted on 12/9/25 at 9:54 am to scottydoesntknow
You left out some details although I don’t know if they were in this particular story, I have seen them in others. Every one of those 90 minutes is accounted for and every one of those 90 minutes is done at full speed and intensity if not full contact. He gets ‘em on the field, gets his business done and gets ‘em off the field.
This post was edited on 12/9/25 at 9:55 am
Posted on 12/9/25 at 10:00 am to InkStainedWretch
I did track at Alabama back in the day. One thing that surprised me is how little we did compared to high school in terms of volume (Distance runners did a lot more volume though). Some super intense work, but not a ton of it. Grinding just to grind is dumb.
Football tends to waste a lot of time, at least at the lower levels. I work at a middle school and when I'm coaching my XC kids I see that most of football practice is spent standing around. They practice for 2 1/2 hours a day but very little of it is actual *practice*. I see a lot of waste. Hell, even Saban wasted time by having the team do static stretching before games. That wasn't just a waste of time - it made the guys slower!
Football tends to waste a lot of time, at least at the lower levels. I work at a middle school and when I'm coaching my XC kids I see that most of football practice is spent standing around. They practice for 2 1/2 hours a day but very little of it is actual *practice*. I see a lot of waste. Hell, even Saban wasted time by having the team do static stretching before games. That wasn't just a waste of time - it made the guys slower!
Posted on 12/9/25 at 10:05 am to JIB
Cignetti is all about efficiency and literally not wasting a second. I think it’s a refreshing approach but I get the sense that some folks in this thread think he’s soft and not tough enough by doing this. I’ve said before, I think the ideal football coach for a lot of folks on this forum at least is R. Lee Ermey as Sgt. Hartman in Full Metal Jacket.
This post was edited on 12/9/25 at 10:06 am
Posted on 12/9/25 at 10:10 am to InkStainedWretch
Most schools are doing thud hitting and I think the NCAA limits practice time now. I dont think KD over works these guys. Most of our injuries have come from the games.
Posted on 12/9/25 at 10:37 am to InkStainedWretch
quote:"Why aren't you stomping Pvt. Grubb's guts out, Pvt. Wommack?!"
I think the ideal football coach for a lot of folks on this forum at least is R. Lee Ermey as Sgt. Hartman in Full Metal Jacket
Posted on 12/9/25 at 11:08 am to UsingUpAllTheLetters
One thing I learned in the coaching profession is that when you’re winning you can get away with just about any hours and methods you want. But when you’re losing, people start to question why you’re losing. And if you’re doing things that are unusual, people will often pounce on that.
If you’re a 4-6 high school coach running the spread, throwing it around, losing 42-35 every week, and perceived as working around the clock, you’re probably not going to get as much criticism as a 4-6 Wing-T coach who’s losing 14-7 every week and posted pictures on Facebook of his Saturday fishing trip with his bros.
The outcomes could be the exact same in almost every way - but the outside perception still matters.
If you’re a 4-6 high school coach running the spread, throwing it around, losing 42-35 every week, and perceived as working around the clock, you’re probably not going to get as much criticism as a 4-6 Wing-T coach who’s losing 14-7 every week and posted pictures on Facebook of his Saturday fishing trip with his bros.
The outcomes could be the exact same in almost every way - but the outside perception still matters.
Posted on 12/9/25 at 11:15 am to Sandkhan
Correct, but they also just beat Ohio State and they went to Oregon and beat them soundly. I think they are pretty legit.
Posted on 12/9/25 at 11:44 am to RelentlessTide
He can get away with that in the big 10, not so much in the SEC.
Posted on 12/9/25 at 12:06 pm to Globetrotter747
But is Cignetti doing anything “unnatural?” Again, he may be going for only 90 minutes but that is 90 minutes at full speed and intensity and tempo, even if it’s not 90 minutes of full contact. It’s period straight into period and drill straight into drill, no lollygagging. Every second of the practice is accounted for to the point of being micromanaged. They certainly didn’t look laxly prepared the other night and I think it is a real stretch for people to say “they hardly practice at all.”
This post was edited on 12/9/25 at 12:13 pm
Posted on 12/9/25 at 1:12 pm to InkStainedWretch
quote:
But is Cignetti doing anything “unnatural?”
I don’t know much about what he does. I am just saying that (in general) unconventional methods are often more heavily scrutinized when the results aren’t meeting expectations - whether those methods are the cause or not.
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