Curt Cignetti has Indiana football recruiting in a great spot. Cignetti and his staff put together a strong summer on the recruiting trail, and have re-defined what's possible for the IU program in a variety of ways. With Cignetti leading the way, Bloomington is now firmly on the radar for the top players all over the country.
With the new college football season right around the corner, visits for the fall are getting put on the calendar. In just a matter of weeks, the top prospects in the nation will spend game days taking in the sights and sounds of colleges vying for their services.
Kahlil Benson is already turning an undrafted beginning into something special
One player that Cignetti and company have their eyes on is 2029 linebacker Austin Phillips, who hails from East Noble High School in Kendallville, IN. Earlier this month, Phillips announced that he will be in Bloomington for the Hoosiers' season opener against North Texas on Saturday, September 5. He has now revealed his full schedule for the fall, giving us a look at who Indiana is competing with in the early stages of his recruitment process.
Indiana competing with familiar faces for 2029 linebacker Austin Phillips
On Monday, Phillips took to X (formerly Twitter) to announce where he will be for each game day visit this fall. His visit to Indiana on September 5 will be his first, with a handful more to follow. Some familiar faces are on his calendar, with one in-state rival standing out from the rest.
Phillips will take visits to Indiana, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Tennessee, Michigan State, and Purdue. He will head to South Bend to visit the Fighting Irish on two different occasions: September 12 vs. Rice and November 7 when Notre Dame hosts Miami (FL). Things can change, but as it stands, Notre Dame is the only school he is slated to visit twice this fall.
Here is a full look at the visits Phillips has scheduled:
September 5: Indiana (vs. North Texas)
September 12: Notre Dame (vs. Rice)
September 19: Ohio State (vs. Kent State)
October 3: Tennessee (vs. Auburn)
October 17: Michigan State (vs. Northwestern)
November 7: Notre Dame (vs. Miami FL)
November 21: Purdue (vs. Minnesota)
Curt Cignetti laying the ground work for 2029 recruiting class
Official rankings for the 2029 recruiting cycle have yet to be constructed. But when they are, Phillips figures to be one of the top prospects in the state of Indiana. He is already heralded as the top freshman in the state by several media outlets, and is poised for a monster sophomore campaign this fall.
Owning a 6'2" 215-pound frame, Phillips racked up 99 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, 8 QB hurries, and 3 forced fumbles as a linebacker during his freshman season. He also saw ample time at running back, and totaled an impressive 967 yards and 11 touchdowns while averaging 8.13 yards per carry. For his efforts, he earned First-Team NE8 All-Conference honors and was named the NE Indiana GameNight Newcomer of the Year.
While he thrives as a two-way player right now, Phillips projects as a linebacker at the college level. After turning Aiden Fisher into an NFL Draft pick, and with Rolijah Hardy and Isaiah Jones both poised for big seasons once again this season, Hoosier football fans are hoping Cignetti's proven track record of developing linebackers at Indiana helps bring Phillips to Bloomington down the road.
Add us as a preferred source on Google