Indiana Offensive Line Coach Bob Bostad Fuels Improvement In Trenches

Veteran coach kept things simple and took advantage of good chemistry to build a solid unit.

Indiana offensive line coach Bob Bostad goes through a drill during an offseason practice. / Indiana athletics

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Of all of the things that have been surprising about Indiana’s football season – the list is long – the transformation of the offensive line is near the top of the list.

In 2023, Indiana only averaged 3.3 yards per carry and Hoosier quarterbacks were sacked 25 times, a rate of two sacks per game.

So far in 2024? The Hoosiers are getting five yards per carry and Indiana signal-callers have only been sacked seven times, a rate of less than one per game.

Unlike some of the other units, Indiana’s offensive line has not had an infusion of transfer portal talent. The one transfer who was supposed to be part of the starting offensive line – guard Nick Kidwell – was hurt in preseason camp.

Tackles Carter Smith and Trey Wedig, guards Drew Evans and Bray Lynch, and center Mike Katic had pulled together as a unit. Much of the credit for that goes to offensive line coach Bob Bostad.

Bostad has 26 years of coaching experience, and he was the only assistant coach from Tom Allen’s 2023 staff that Curt Cignetti kept.

Bostad has coached in both the college and pro ranks, and he hasn’t just coached the offensive line. He coached inside linebackers for five seasons at Wisconsin before he was moved back to offensive line duties in his final season in Madison in 2022.

A native of Pardeeville, Wis., Bostad knew he wanted to be a coach at an early age.

“I played small school football, and I just loved it, and I just didn't really see myself doing anything else,” Bostad said on the Inside Indiana Football radio show last week.

Bostad played overseas for a brief period and worked tirelessly to get a coaching job in the early 1990s.

“I sent out 100 letters all over the country to try to get my foot in the door and had one letter returned to me from a coach by the name of Jim Wacker (Minnesota coach from 1992-96), who said, ‘I don't have a job. I don't have anything for you to do. I can't pay you, but if you come here and you get into school, I'll find something for you to do.’ You know? That was all I needed. So I had that little sliver of opportunity and I ran with it,” Bostad recalled.

Bostad was at Minnesota for three seasons as a graduate assistant. He got his first offensive line coaching opportunity at Cal State-Northridge in 1995 and has been on an upward trajectory ever since.

What makes Bostad effective as an offensive line coach? Both players and coaches note his tenacity and determination.

“He's industrious, he's open to new ideas, and the kids really respect him,” Cignetti said. “He’s got a high standard, and he doesn't lower his standards. He’ll confront people if they're not meeting the standard, not in a demeaning way, but the right way.”

The right way was bluntly explained by Wedig.

“He gets the kick in the ass when we need it,” Wedig said. “He just gets us going.”

Indiana offensive line coach Bob Bostad gives instructions to tackle Carter Smith during an offseason practice. / Indiana athletics

Bostad thinks the success of the Indiana offensive line began in the offseason. He said the process of building chemistry happened quickly.

“I think that started in the off season. Once we put all these guys together, they really gelled. They really got along as people,” Bostad explained. “I always kind of thought putting this group together we needed guys that could get along. That’s kind of where it started.”

From there? It was all about hard work.

“I think I'm a high rep guy. I believe in doing things over and over and over again. When you get out there, and all the other things that are going on, you're gonna fall back on your training,” Bostad said.

Wedig said those reps are a big part of why Indiana’s line has made such a big leap.

“We would get a lot of reps. We would make sure that we're all on the same page. He’s a big reps guy for things like that,” said Wedig, who was also coached by Bostad at Wisconsin when Wedig played for the Badgers from 2020-23.

Bostad said consistency in approach also plays a big role in building the kind of unified mentality needed to make a line effective.

“I don't think you're doing your players a service if you're not consistent, if you're changing things all the time. It's really hard to operate at a high level,” Bostad said.

So far? Indiana’s line has taken Bostad’s philosophies to heart in the best possible way.

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