Mike Katic is back and poised for a breakout 2024 Hoosier football season
INDIANAPOLIS -- Mike Katic was presented at a crossroads after last season: hang it up after five seasons with IU, enter the transfer portal or find a way to come back to Bloomington under a new head coach.
While Katic may have thought about this decision thoroughly, that new head coach, Curt Cignetti from James Madison, did not think twice about having Katic on his roster.
Cignetti talked to Katic soon after the lineman’s call with his assistant coach and as Katic put it, “Cignetti FaceTimed me and pitched me what he does, he wins.”
This mantra of being a winner is what has already sold many IU fans on Cignetti and that’s what sold Katic as well. He said bluntly about this season, “I want to win.”
This drive of success is what makes Katic such a great competitor and leader, while also making it a delight to have him back for his second year in a row at Big Ten Media Days in Indianapolis.
Katic, the 6 '4'’’ 315 pound offensive lineman from Pittsburgh, PA has been around IU football since 2019, redshirting that year, but playing the last four for the Hoosiers. He has been a left guard for his entire collegiate career, but this season he’ll be faced with a new position, center.
While being in a new role is never easy, Katic knows that nothing in the Indiana football program has been easy over the years he’s been there.
Like most Hoosier fans out there, Katic knows it’s been a rocky road for IU football over the past few years, but the difference for Katic is that he’s lived it.
“I had a bad taste in my mouth from the last two seasons," Katic said, and for good reason.
The Hoosiers went a combined 7-17 in those seasons he referenced and, as a result, former coach Tom Allen was fired. While Katic has tons of respect for Allen, he knows that Cignetti brings in a different culture, one that is all focused on one goal: winning.
Cignetti’s former and current players all know what he’s about and say publicly how open he is about his goal.
"He's a winner, I think that's his pitch to a lot of guys," Katic said. "He wins football games. If you want to be successful in the Big Ten, you better have that confidence and that swagger about you."
This is one of the reasons why players are so drawn to Cignetti, resulting in an incredibly successful transfer class, so this is one of the best locker rooms that we've had, the camaraderie of the team, it's different thing that has excited fans all over because of how important it is in today’s age of college football.
While transfers are important to building a winning team, retaining talent, especially experienced leaders, may be even more important.
This is where Katic comes in and, as the most tenured player in the locker room, he brings a level of experience that will help the Hoosiers develop a great off the field culture.
He touched on this by saying “I really love every single person on this team. They're all really good friends of mine”
Katic also said, mentioning his experience, “I've been a part of so many different teams and so many different locker rooms.”
Katic knows his unique ability to change the culture of IU football, and it seems like he has, as he added “this is one of the best locker rooms that we've had, the camaraderie of the team, it's different.”
Changing the culture is the first step to forming a winning football team, but performing on the field is just as important, and Katic is just as impressive on the field as he is off of it.
Katic, like so many others, is excited by the new-look Hoosier offense, sharing this excitement.
”(It’s) really exciting for the offensive line," Katic said. "We do our job and then you never know where the ball is going. You can go to any of the running backs out of the backfield, tight ends, we have so many weapons on this offense and I'm just so excited to watch them gel and work together and get open. It makes our jobs easier when it's a long pass touchdown, we get off the field and can go get some water.”
Katic’s story is one that many Hoosier fans know, but if they didn’t before, they’ll get behind him this year. He’ll be a critical part of IU’s success in 2024 and for good reason. He summed it up by stating “‘I want to leave this place on a good note and I want to leave it better than I found it”
Katic’s leadership and drive should not only provide a boost to the offensive line, but the entire team as, with new head coach Curt Cignetti, Katic and the rest of the Hoosiers are ready for an exciting and successful 2024 season.
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