Generated 2026-04-20T16:51:56.841Z | 37 quotes from 7 sources
"Alright, I need a celebration. I don't know what to do. What do you think?"
— Mario Landino, Jan 17, 2026 'Freak of Nature': Inside Mario Landino's Rise to Indiana Football, CFP Title Game | Confidence: 1.00
"That might be the worst thing I've ever heard of."
— Mario Landino, Jan 17, 2026 'Freak of Nature': Inside Mario Landino's Rise to Indiana Football, CFP Title Game | Confidence: 1.00
"All I could think about was (Smith's) face. I just got up, and I did it. And it was like, 'Alright, well, I just got to keep it.' He came up to me and he's like, 'Oh my gosh, I can't believe you did it.' I was like, 'Me neither.'"
— Mario Landino, Jan 17, 2026 'Freak of Nature': Inside Mario Landino's Rise to Indiana Football, CFP Title Game | Confidence: 1.00
"I got to be a leader, so I got to play. I couldn't play both ways because I was so tired. I was on the sideline, on my butt, tired. It was crazy."
— Mario Landino, Jan 17, 2026 'Freak of Nature': Inside Mario Landino's Rise to Indiana Football, CFP Title Game | Confidence: 1.00
"It's a different mindset when you're playing. Like, you're more attacking. Instead of always catching and protecting the ball, I'd rather go attack it and get the ball."
— Mario Landino, Jan 17, 2026 'Freak of Nature': Inside Mario Landino's Rise to Indiana Football, CFP Title Game | Confidence: 1.00
"I was like, 'There's no doubt in my mind.' This is the place I want to go."
— Mario Landino, Jan 17, 2026 'Freak of Nature': Inside Mario Landino's Rise to Indiana Football, CFP Title Game | Confidence: 1.00
"Mikail's always showed me hard work. I think he's one of the hardest workers in the country, and that's the biggest thing. He's always working harder than someone else. I’m just following that."
— Mario Landino, Jan 17, 2026 'Freak of Nature': Inside Mario Landino's Rise to Indiana Football, CFP Title Game | Confidence: 1.00
"That was one of the best feelings of this season. When they called me up there, like, I almost had tears in my eyes. But I'm just happy I was able to get up there and be with my boys."
— Mario Landino, Jan 17, 2026 'Freak of Nature': Inside Mario Landino's Rise to Indiana Football, CFP Title Game | Confidence: 1.00
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— Mario Landino, Apr 2, 2026 Video: IU football spring availability with Curt Cignetti, Mario Landino and Tyrique Tucker - Inside the Hall | Indiana Hoosiers Basketball News, Recruiting and Analysis | Confidence: 0.30
"It's been a great ride, the last two years have been unbelievable"
— Mario Landino, Jan 7, 2026 Emmaus grad starring in Indiana Hoosiers CFP run | Confidence: 1.00
"When I went up there, all I heard was 'basketball school, basketball school,' but Cignetti has come in with guns ablazing. He has plans that people don’t expect from the Indiana program. I’ve been there once, and I see people’s heads turning. I see a new culture coming into the program. It’s really exciting to see the players buy in and have that desire to win a Big Ten championship and to make the playoffs, especially with the playoff field being expanded. Coach Cignetti is starting a new era, a new culture, and people are going to say we’re a basketball and football school. We’re going to make a name for ourselves."
— Mario Landino, Jan 8, 2026 Mario Landino’s success has made Emmaus community, and family and friends Indiana football fans (+1 sources) | Confidence: 1.00
"This is like a dream."
— Mario Landino, Jan 8, 2026 Mario Landino’s success has made Emmaus community, and family and friends Indiana football fans (+1 sources) | Confidence: 1.00
"It's just another game, mom."
— Mario Landino, Jan 20, 2026 Emmaus cheers on hometown football star Mario Landino as Hoosiers win national championship | Confidence: 1.00
"Not one bit. Not at all."
— Harold Fairclough (Coach), Jan 17, 2026 'Freak of Nature': Inside Mario Landino's Rise to Indiana Football, CFP Title Game | Confidence: 1.00
"It was cool to see his attitude about being in that situation. Because he had everything locked up and he could have just easily said, 'No, I'm going to sit out this game, going to stay home.' And he was like, 'If I can stand, I'm going to go play and give full effort.'"
— Harold Fairclough (Coach), Jan 17, 2026 'Freak of Nature': Inside Mario Landino's Rise to Indiana Football, CFP Title Game | Confidence: 1.00
"In practice, my goodness. It's not often you get a kid that’s a Division I prospect that has such a high motor, such a high work ethic, in practice. I remember him coming off the ball, turning the edge and had an opportunity to literally decapitate somebody. And he would get it fit and then pick the kid up, put him down — not like not in a 'A-hole' way, you know what I mean? But he practiced like he intended to play, which is awesome to see and it was like that every single day."
— Harold Fairclough (Coach), Jan 17, 2026 'Freak of Nature': Inside Mario Landino's Rise to Indiana Football, CFP Title Game | Confidence: 1.00
"He was like a full-tilt, high-motor type guy. That's what separated him and also let us know wherever he was going to go, he was going to make it, because he was going to work his butt off and not be denied of any opportunity. So, those are the type of guys that force you to get them on the field no matter what. Like, he's an ass-kicker."
— Harold Fairclough (Coach), Jan 17, 2026 'Freak of Nature': Inside Mario Landino's Rise to Indiana Football, CFP Title Game | Confidence: 1.00
"Very coachable. Learns quickly. Kind of a tenacious type of guy. Really enjoys the process. He's got a nice future."
— Curt Cignetti (Coach), Jan 17, 2026 'Freak of Nature': Inside Mario Landino's Rise to Indiana Football, CFP Title Game | Confidence: 1.00
"We've always been very high on him. I see him developing into the player we knew he could be, and he's got an unlimited ceiling moving forward."
— Curt Cignetti (Coach), Jan 17, 2026 'Freak of Nature': Inside Mario Landino's Rise to Indiana Football, CFP Title Game | Confidence: 1.00
"Mario, he's huge. He's a freak of nature. It just comes down to your mentality. Whether it's being confident, whether you're being aggressive, whether you're shooting your shots; it's just his mentality, and I feel like that's where I definitely help a lot."
— Mikail Kamara (Teammate), Jan 17, 2026 'Freak of Nature': Inside Mario Landino's Rise to Indiana Football, CFP Title Game | Confidence: 1.00
"Committed to coach Allen, I didn’t really know what was going to happen, they were coming off a losing season. Head coaches, especially nowadays, coaches, they switch up a little bit. And so, we heard Coach Cig coming in, it was just like, okay, this is a dude who will help us and lead us to become a winning team."
— Khobie Martin (Player) IU football: Redshirt sophomore RB Khobie Martin earning high praise from Curt Cignetti – The Daily Hoosier | Confidence: 1.00
"He (Cignetti) was just looking at me up-and-down, just evaluating me. I already knew from then on it was serious with him."
— Khobie Martin (Player) IU football: Redshirt sophomore RB Khobie Martin earning high praise from Curt Cignetti – The Daily Hoosier | Confidence: 1.00
"Khobie Martin has really taken a step. He’s improved as much, or more so, as anyone in that first recruiting class. And every time he has an opportunity, he takes advantage of it. He practices really hard. He runs with good pad level. He’s a load. Does a nice job catching, but it’s important to me, very consistent. I really like him a lot."
— Curt Cignetti (Coach) IU football: Redshirt sophomore RB Khobie Martin earning high praise from Curt Cignetti – The Daily Hoosier | Confidence: 1.00
"I have to pinch myself every so often to really know that it's real"
— Mary Landino (Family), Jan 7, 2026 Emmaus grad starring in Indiana Hoosiers CFP run | Confidence: 1.00
"To see his progress and Indiana's progress has been just a joy and a blessing"
— Mary Landino (Family), Jan 7, 2026 Emmaus grad starring in Indiana Hoosiers CFP run | Confidence: 1.00
"I felt it coming... it was huge. It's very monumental"
— Joseph Landino (Family), Jan 7, 2026 Emmaus grad starring in Indiana Hoosiers CFP run | Confidence: 1.00
"They're going to win this game, and they're going to go to the national championship and win a national championship"
— Joseph Landino (Family), Jan 7, 2026 Emmaus grad starring in Indiana Hoosiers CFP run | Confidence: 1.00
"We’ve got to pinch ourselves every so often to realize that this is actually happening. We’re excited and just so proud that he has gotten this far because he has worked so hard to get here."
— Mary Landino (Family), Jan 8, 2026 Mario Landino’s success has made Emmaus community, and family and friends Indiana football fans | Confidence: 1.00
"It’s super exciting and definitely something that I never really imagined. I remember when he was a high school senior and getting all of these offers, it didn’t really click that he was so good at football. It’s kind of funny. But all of these offers kept coming, and then he made the decision to commit to JMU, and it turned into Indiana. We couldn’t have expected Indiana to progress the way they have, but we’re here now, and it’s super exciting."
— Katerina Landino (Family), Jan 8, 2026 Mario Landino’s success has made Emmaus community, and family and friends Indiana football fans | Confidence: 1.00
"Family for us is very big. We grew up in two cultures that really value family. My dad is Sicilian, and my mom is Syrian, and a lot of the core values in those two Mediterranean cultures definitely are based on family. Mario is very strong about family. He’s a family guy, and faith is also very important."
— Katerina Landino (Family), Jan 8, 2026 Mario Landino’s success has made Emmaus community, and family and friends Indiana football fans | Confidence: 1.00
"It’s God’s providence that he is where he is. Indiana wasn’t even a blip on our page or in our mind. Mario had one Power-5 offer at Rutgers, and his dream was to play at Penn State. He committed to JMU, and the day before his official visit, the coaches announced they were leaving, including Pat Kuntz who we really got attached to. We really liked Coach Kuntz. He was the reason Mario wanted to go to JMU, and we liked it because it was only five hours away. We thought it was a good option, but then the whole staff was going. They decided to take Mario with them, and that was a big joy because he always wanted to play at the highest level. God led that path to Indiana, and the last two years have been really amazing. They have turned the whole program around, and Mario has been a part of it. He never redshirted. He worked really hard, and five games into this season, he got the starting position. His first start was at Oregon, and he had a really good game that first game."
— Mary Landino (Family), Jan 8, 2026 Mario Landino’s success has made Emmaus community, and family and friends Indiana football fans | Confidence: 1.00
"We always touch base. It might not be a long conversation, but one of us is always in touch with him. He doesn’t get overexcited. He’s very even-keeled. He’s just ready for what comes, and it’s one game at a time, like Cignetti says. But at the same time, he knows this is special. I think it was after the Big Ten championship game when he walked over to me and said, 'This is like a dream.' Sometimes, you can’t believe you’re even a part of it. We’re just grateful to God for leading us to where we are. Mario knows they are making history, and they’re a part of something special. God has brought a lot of great gentlemen together to do something really big."
— Mary Landino (Family), Jan 8, 2026 Mario Landino’s success has made Emmaus community, and family and friends Indiana football fans | Confidence: 1.00
"He was everything you could ask for in a player on and off the field. He had a great work ethic, a high motor, and you didn’t have to get on him about much. In fact, he would tell the coaches to get on him because he needed to get a little juice flowing. And we said, 'No problem,' and we got on him a little bit. He was great in that aspect. He worked hard in the weight room and got after it in practice. He got up to game speed right away. He went as hard as he possibly could have destroyed some of the younger kids, but he went as hard as he could without tossing around the underclassmen. He got all of his keys and reads for the week without crushing the younger guys."
— Harold Fairclough (Coach), Jan 8, 2026 Mario Landino’s success has made Emmaus community, and family and friends Indiana football fans | Confidence: 1.00
"Super Mario!! Big-time player with all the intangibles to be great. So excited to coach you!"
— Pat Kuntz (Coach), Jan 8, 2026 Mario Landino’s success has made Emmaus community, and family and friends Indiana football fans | Confidence: 1.00
"Everybody here has been touched by Mario — just the way that he is, the way he carries himself. And to see him playing in basically the Super Bowl of college football is amazing."
— Justin Ferris (Coach), Jan 20, 2026 Emmaus cheers on hometown football star Mario Landino as Hoosiers win national championship | Confidence: 1.00
"It’s unbelievable. I mean, I'm not surprised to some extent because Mario’s always the kind of kid that was super athletic, coachable, high character kid."
— Justin Ferris (Coach), Jan 20, 2026 Emmaus cheers on hometown football star Mario Landino as Hoosiers win national championship | Confidence: 1.00
| # | Source | Type | Date | Quotes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 'Freak of Nature': Inside Mario Landino's Rise to Indiana Football, CFP Title Game | feature | Jan 17, 2026 | 15 |
| 2 | What to know about Mario Landino, breakout Indiana football player | news-article | Jan 10, 2026 | 1 |
| 3 | IU football: Redshirt sophomore RB Khobie Martin earning high praise from Curt Cignetti – The Daily Hoosier | official-site | — | 3 |
| 4 | [Video: IU football spring availability with Curt Cignetti, Mario Landino and Tyrique Tucker - Inside the Hall | Indiana Hoosiers Basketball News, Recruiting and Analysis](https://www.insidethehall.com/2026/04/02/video-iu-football-spring-availability-with-curt-cignetti-mario-landino-and-tyrique-tucker/) | interview | Apr 2, 2026 |
| 5 | Emmaus grad starring in Indiana Hoosiers CFP run | news-article | Jan 7, 2026 | 5 |
| 6 | Mario Landino’s success has made Emmaus community, and family and friends Indiana football fans | news-article | Jan 8, 2026 | 9 |
| 7 | Emmaus cheers on hometown football star Mario Landino as Hoosiers win national championship | news-article | Jan 20, 2026 | 3 |
