Indiana Football Position Preview: Offensive Line Faces Early Adversity

Offensive line coach Bob Bostad was the only assistant coach retained from last season, and he’s working with a mix of newcomers and returners.

Jack Ankony | Aug 26, 2024

Indiana's offensive line coach Bob Bostad instructs left tackle Carter Smith during fall camp. / Indiana Athletics

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Indiana Hoosiers

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana’s offensive line is already dealing with its first unanticipated challenge.

James Madison transfer Nick Kidwell was expected to be the Hoosiers’ starting right guard in 2024, but he suffered a knee injury during fall camp and will miss the season.

That has sparked even more competition within coach Bob Bostad’s position group. Indiana lost three starters and two of its top backups following the 2023 season and replaced them with three transfers and four true freshmen.

Improved offensive line play will be crucial to the program’s rebuild under first-year coach Curt Cignetti. Indiana ranked eighth in the Big Ten with 25 sacks allowed during Bostad’s first year in 2023, an improvement from 38 sacks allowed in 2022, 12th in the conference. The Hoosiers’ rushing yards per game and per carry improved too, though they still ranked near the bottom of the Big Ten.

Here’s a full breakdown of the offensive line.

Personnel

#53 Vince Fiacable: redshirt junior, 6-foot-4, 315 pounds, three games at Indiana.
#54 Jack Greer: redshirt sophomore, 6-foot-3, 311 pounds, has not played in two seasons at Indiana.
#55 Nick Kidwell: redshirt senior+, 6-foot-5, 316 pounds, 52 games at James Madison.
#56 Mike Katic: redshirt senior+, 6-foot-4, 318 pounds, 39 games at Indiana.
#62 Drew Evans: redshirt sophomore, 6-foot-4, 306 pounds, has not played in one season at Indiana and one season at Wisconsin.
#63 Mitch Verstegen: freshman, 6-foot-4, 290 pounds.
#65 Carter Smith: redshirt sophomore, 6-foot-5, 308 pounds, 14 games at Indiana.
#70 Austin Leibfried: freshman, 6-foot-6, 288 pounds.
#71 Evan Lawrence: freshman, 6-foot-6, 281 pounds.
#72 Adedamola Ajani: freshman, 6-foot-4, 301 pounds.
#73 Austin Barrett: redshirt freshman, 6-foot-6, 308 pounds, did not play last season at Indiana.
#74 Bray Lynch: redshirt sophomore, 6-foot-5, 307 pounds, nine games at Indiana.
#75 Trey Wedig: redshirt senior, 6-foot-7, 319 pounds, 35 games at Wisconsin.
#77 Tyler Stephens: senior+, 6-foot-5, 311 pounds, 36 games at James Madison.
#78 Cooper Jones: redshirt junior, 6-foot-5, 314 pounds, 19 games at Indiana.
#79 Max Williams: redshirt sophomore, 6-foot-6, 314 pounds, has not played in two seasons at Indiana.

Notable departures from 2023 roster: Matthew Bedford (Oregon), Kahlil Benson (Colorado), Zach Carpenter (Miami), Josh Sales (Purdue), Max Longman.

Indiana's Trey Wedig (75) during practice at Memorial Stadium on Tuesday, March 26, 2024. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

Transfer infusions

In addition to the injured Kidwell, Indiana landed Wisconsin transfer Trey Wedig and James Madison transfer Tyler Stephens. When Bostad was at Wisconsin, Wedig was an eight-game starter for the Badgers’ 2022 offensive line. But his role decreased in 2023, so he reunited with Bostad in Bloomington for the 2024 season. The 6-foot-7, 319-pound Wedig has experience all over the offensive line, but he’s expected to be the Hoosiers’ starting right tackle this year.

Among Wisconsin offensive linemen with at least 200 snaps in 2023, Wedig ranked fifth in pass blocking grade (62.9) and sixth in run blocking grade (60.7), according to Pro Football Focus. Those numbers decreased from his 2022 season, when he started eight games and ranked second on the team in run blocking (75.0) and sixth in pass blocking (71.5).

Cignetti said Stephens will compete for the starting right and left guard positions after Kidwell’s injury. Stephens started 31 games across four seasons at James Madison, logging snaps at left tackle, left guard and right tackle. In 2023, he was named second-team All-Sun Belt.

Indiana's Mike Katic (56) hikes the ball to Kurtis Rourke (9) during practice at Memorial Stadium on Tuesday, March 26, 2024. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

Returning linemen

One of Indiana’s most important roster retention moves of the offseason was getting Carter Smith back for his redshirt sophomore season. He entered the transfer portal during the coaching change and drew interest from Florida State, Ole Miss and others before deciding to return to Bloomington. At 6-foot-5 and 308 pounds, Smith started all 12 games at left tackle last season.

“Keeping Bostad was huge for me,” Smith said. “He’s very highly regarded. He’s been in the NFL. He’s been all over college football. So with experience like that, there’s no way I couldn’t come back.”

The other returner is Mike Katic, who’s back for his sixth-year senior season. He first declared for the NFL Draft after the 2023 season, but eventually decided to return after conversations with Bostad and Cignetti. He has 37 career starts as a Hoosier, including 12 at left guard last season, but Katic is moving to center for his final year of eligibility. He had Indiana’s highest pass blocking grade (78.0) among starters in 2023.

Along with Stephens, Cignetti said returning redshirt sophomores Bray Lynch and Drew Evans will compete for the starting left and right guard positions. Lynch has played 71 total snaps in 10 games on the offensive line and special teams across two seasons in a backup role with the Hoosiers. He was a three-star recruit ranked No. 1,033 in the nation and No. 95 among offensive tackles, per the 247Sports Composite. He attended Westlake High School in Austin, Texas, which won three consecutive state titles from 2019-21.

Evans did not play any snaps as a true freshman at Wisconsin in 2022 or last season at Indiana, so he could get his first chance with Cignetti and the Hoosiers this year.

“Both of those guys have played probably limited football at this point, but it’s time. It’s their time,” Cignetti said. “Bray Lynch is a year older. Drew Evans is a real smart guy, has got natural strength. Bray Lynch has good movement.”

The bottom line

For Indiana to have success in 2024, its offensive line play must improve from recent seasons. Getting Katic and Smith back at center and left tackle, respectively, was important, but there is uncertainty with the rest of the group.

After Kidwell’s injury, Indiana will likely be starting one or both of Lynch and Evans, who have almost zero combined in-game experience at the college level. The third option is Stephens, who’s making the jump from the Sun Belt to the Big Ten. Indiana is also banking on improvement from Wedig, who previously lost his starting job at Wisconsin. But optimistically, the group is led by a well-respected coach in Bostad.

“He’s a veteran with a great reputation," Cignetti said of Bostad. "He really works his guys. He’s a tough guy, Bob is, a little bit old school, which I like. But that’s such a critical position, and it takes a while to mesh in terms of things I’m used to doing or we’re used to doing offensively and in terms of what he’s done, come together, and I like the way that process has gone. He’s a real asset, a winning edge. I know he’s going to get the most out of the offensive line.”

Indiana Football Position Preview: Offensive Line Faces Early Adversity

Jack Ankony | Aug 26, 2024

Transfer infusions

Returning linemen

The bottom line

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