Corey Hetherman spent three years working under Curt Cignetti at James Madison from 2019-21. Now he’s on the opposite sideline, coordinating the Hurricanes’ defense. But Hetherman’s respect for Cignetti goes back even further than their time together at James Madison. Before joining Cignetti’s staff, Hetherman was building his own program as defensive coordinator at Maine while watching what Cignetti was accomplishing at Elon.
“We were at the University of Maine. We had been building, and in 2018, we finally got to a point where we were a playoff team,” Hetherman explained. “We were able to make a run in the postseason. But while being in that conference in 2017 and 2018, you can see what he was building in Elon. That program got better and better in his years there. They did an unbelievable job with the product that was put on the field every week. The culture that they created and the environment for those guys. Having an opportunity to coach against them in 2019. We played a game where they didn’t have a quarterback. How are they going to manage the game? How are they going to go about it? It was still an unbelievable game plan,” Hetherman recalled.
That experience apparently left enough of an impression that when Cignetti offered him the defensive coordinator job at James Madison shortly after, Hetherman jumped at the opportunity. Working under Cignetti gave Hetherman a front-row seat to the meticulous preparation that has now carried Indiana to an undefeated season and a shot at the program’s first national title…