Meet the Coaches: Indiana QB Coach Tino Sunseri ‘A Real Rising Star’
Indiana quarterbacks coach Tino Sunseri got his start at some of the best programs in the nation, including Alabama, Tennessee and Florida State. That prepared him for a successful run at James Madison, and he’s looking to continue that with head coach Curt Cignetti at Indiana.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – James Madison quarterback Cole Johnson had a stellar sixth-year senior season in 2021.
He set James Madison’s single-season records for passing yards (3,779), touchdowns (41) and completions (287). He ranked fifth in FCS passing yards and threw fewer interceptions, four, than each quarterback ahead of him.
But Monday film sessions remained humbling because quarterbacks coach Tino Sunseri, who followed head coach Curt Cignetti to Indiana as co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Hoosiers, demanded perfection.
You’d have five or six touchdowns and three incompletions, you’d come off feeling good about yourself, we did a great job,” Johnson said in an interview with HoosiersNow. “Then you go into film, and Tino is the ultimate critic where he’d say, ‘I told you you had a three-step [drop] and a hitch there, and you took a three-step and two hitches,’ even though you threw a touchdown.”
Johnson was used to coaches being hard on him after games throughout his football career, and he never felt Sunseri was being mean. He took this constructive criticism as a sign Sunseri wanted to help him improve. And because Sunseri had been in that position himself as a quarterback at Pittsburgh from 2008-12, they could better connect on a personal level.
“Tino has a unique ability to not be degrading and putting you down through criticism and constructiveness,” Johnson said. “He’s very positive and uplifting, and it’s a great way to help you grow. He wants the best for you, and you understand that.”
As a sixth-year senior, Johnson went on to rank top five among FCS quarterbacks in passing yards, touchdowns, completion percentage and pass efficiency as James Madison went 12-2 and reached the FCS playoff semifinals. He was named CFPA FCS National Performer of the Year, second-team All-American and CAA Offensive Player of the Year, among a slew of other awards
