Indiana’s Curt Cignetti Reveals Shocking Truth Behind His Relentless Transfer Portal Strategy

Is the transfer portal college football’s new secret weapon, or just a flashy crutch for quick fixes? Indiana football head coach Curt Cignetti has certainly figured out the sweet spot. Riding the portal wave, he’s not only steered the Hoosiers to two straight College Football Playoff appearances and snagged a national title, but he’s managed to balance savvy transfers with budding high school talent. Interesting, huh? Cignetti’s numbers tell a story: from 32 transfers in year one down to 17 this past season, showing a shift as high school recruiting gets stronger—but make no mistake, he’ll never completely close the portal door. After all, who’s going to argue that a 24-year-old’s finesse and grit beats an 18-year-old’s rookie hustle? This modern recruiting dance—part strategic dabbling, part patient building—is redefining what it means to win now and in the future. Curious to see how Cignetti keeps mixing these two worlds? LEARN MORE.

The transfer portal has completely changed the way college football teams recruit in today’s landscape. One of the biggest winners of the transfer portal era has been the Indiana football program. Curt Cignetti led the Hoosiers to two consecutive College Football Playoff appearances and a national title this past season, thanks in large part to transfers. Cignetti will also never stop using it in Bloomington.

On the latest episode of “The Triple Option” podcast, Cignetti discussed how they used the transfer portal more at first, but now that they are building a reputation for winning, they are recruiting much better at the high school level. Over the course of three offseasons, the Hoosiers have used the transfer portal less and less, but Cignetti made it clear they will continue to dabble in it.

Cignetti said, “I think year one we took 32, year two we took 22, this year we took 17. So you see that number going down as high school recruiting builds. Now that we’re winning, the high school recruiting is getting better. It still takes those guys a little while to develop, so they can play winning football, and I don’t care.

“A 24-year-old is going to play better than an 18-year-old,” Cignetti continued. “So I don’t think you’re ever going to see the day when you’re not dabbling in the portal. And you know, maybe next year we’re at 14. Who knows? But you always have critical needs, and you always have to win every single year. That’s just the way the business is now.”

The transfer portal allows for a more immediate roster fix and makes it easy to fill depth with older players. High school players are still the lifeblood of college football, but they are not a slam dunk. High school players need time to develop the physicality required in the college game, which is why the transfer portal offers a valuable buffer zone.

It seems like Cignetti is going about it the right way: the transfer portal is here to stay and is part of the modern game, but he also realizes that relying on it year in and year out is unsustainable; instead, use it smartly, as they did this year.

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