Curt Cignetti: Indiana DB Louis Moore 'Got to Get Better'

Even in one of Louis Moore's brightest moments, Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti found darkness.

Moore, a sixth-year senior safety, intercepted Kennesaw State quarterback Amari Odom in the third quarter of the Hoosiers' 56-9 victory Sept. 6. It was a "nice interception," Cignetti said. Then, the rest of the play fell apart.

Once Moore secured the takeaway, senior linebacker Aiden Fisher ran toward the sideline, preparing to set a block for the return. Cignetti and his staff teach players to take the ball down the sideline. By Cignetti's principle, Moore should've followed Fisher.

Instead, Moore sprinted straight ahead and was tackled — though he gained 24 yards in the process. Upon lifting himself from the Memorial Stadium turf, Moore ran to the endzone, celebrating with teammates Kellan Wyatt and Devan Boykin. Cignetti dubbed it as a "look at me" reaction.

"You know I don't like that style," Cignetti said Wednesday night on his radio show with Don Fischer.

Moore played at Indiana from 2022-23, ultimately transferring to Ole Miss after the Hoosiers fired Tom Allen on Nov. 26, 2023. He's still learning Cignetti's system, as are Wyatt, a Maryland transfer, and Boykin, a North Carolina State transfer.

Cignetti has noted multiple times in the season's first few weeks that, with a transfer class featuring players from programs with various success levels, he and his staff have been forced to continually remind several players of Indiana's standard. Most, Cignetti said, are responding and getting better. He's still trying to figure out how to reach "a couple" newcomers.

On the field, Moore has been Indiana's most productive defender. He leads the Hoosiers with 14 tackles and two interceptions, and his two tackles for loss puts him in a tie for third-most on the team.

Moore's results have been terrific. His process has been anything but.

And Cignetti, who doesn't often call out players, didn't mince words when Fischer asked him about Moore.

“He's one of those guys that's got to get better," Cignetti said. "I mean, he's got talent. He's played a lot of football. He's got to practice better. He's got to prepare better. He's got to play with more urgency. Because those things all show up on tape.

"I'm not real happy with the safety position after the last game, and it all starts with preparation and practice."

Cignetti also said Moore had several coverage busts, as did some of the Hoosiers' other safeties. Junior Amare Ferrell starts next to Moore, while Boykin starts at rover, a mixture between safety and cornerback.

Yet while Cignetti isn't pleased by Moore's early season returns, he's grateful the 5-foot-11, 200-pounder still has eligibility.

Moore is suing the NCAA for eligibility this season. The NCAA has twice denied Moore's request for eligibility, but Dallas County Court Judge Dale Tillery has granted Moore three Temporary Restraining Orders over the past month. The TROs have given Moore two weeks of eligibility at a time while his case carries forward.

Moore, who spent two years at Navarro Community College, two at Indiana and one at Ole Miss before re-joining the Hoosiers last winter, is arguing his two years in community college shouldn't count toward his eligibility.

Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia sued the NCAA and won the same argument in December of 2024. Moore and his attorney, Brian Lauten, have cited Pavia's case as precedent.

On Monday, attorneys representing Moore and the NCAA agreed to push back the next meeting, previously scheduled for Sept. 10, to Sept. 24. Subsequently, Moore received eligibility for the Hoosiers' non-conference finale Friday night against Indiana State and Big Ten opener Sept. 20 against No. 9 Illinois.

And despite his frustration with Moore's habits, Cignetti welcomed the outcome.

"He does have two more weeks, and I'm glad," Cignetti said, "because, boy, we are very thin at that position.”

The Hoosiers lost backup safety Bryson Bonds to a season-ending knee injury in Week 1, and prized freshman Byron Baldwin, the highest-ranked recruit in the team's 2025 class, hasn't played in the first two games due to an undisclosed injury. Cignetti described Baldwin as "day-to-day" entering Week 2.

Redshirt freshman Jah Jah Boyd made his college debut against Kennesaw State and played five snaps in the fourth quarter, while redshirt sophomore walk-on Anthony Chung, who debuted the week before, notched his first college tackle against the Owls.

Indiana has only two other scholarship safeties, and both are true freshmen: Seaonta Stewart Jr., who hasn't played, and Garrett Reese, who's played 15 snaps on kickoff coverage.

Cignetti described Indiana's safety depth as day-to-day, depending on the room's health status. But no matter the availability, the room collectively lacks experience after Moore and Ferrell.

The Hoosiers are banking on Moore's veteran presence to emerge on the back end. At least in terms of his preparation, practice habits and urgency, it hasn't yet.

Moore's numbers suggest he's made a tremendous impact. Cignetti, however, said Sept. 4 that "statistics are for losers." When he watches players, he sees more than tackles or interceptions. He doesn't want to see coverage busts or "look at me" celebrations, two things unnoticed on the box score.

Whether Cignetti will get to watch Moore beyond the next two weeks remains to be seen. But for as long as Moore is eligible, Cignetti wants to see progress — and he won't be looking at the stat sheet to find it.