IU O-Line Eager To Prove Itself Under Bob Bostad: 'So Much Attention To Details, It's Crazy'
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana's offensive line was a major weakness in 2022.
It's why Darren Hiller was fired six games into last season, then replaced this by new Indiana offensive line coach and run game coordinator Bob Bostad. After giving up 38 sacks in just 12 games in 2022, Bostad and the Indiana offensive line plan to turn things around in 2023.
They've heard how fans and media have talked about them, and they want to flip the script this fall.
"We understand that, to the outside, for the past [two years], we've been a weak link," sixth-year senior Matthew Bedford said Wednesday. "We're working to change that. We're not just working on it. We're changing it now, through the actions. We're working on habits. We built a lot of bad habits in the past couple years, and [now] we're breaking them."
"We may have had some bad seasons as an offensive line, but I think that's going to change this year," redshirt senior Mike Katic said.
There's a number of reasons the Indiana offensive line believes it will improve in 2023. Improved health is one, particularly with the return of Bedford, who missed 11 games in 2022 after tearing his ACL during the season opener. Another is the infusion of new talent, namely UMass transfer Max Longman and redshirt freshman Carter Smith, two players that Bostad spoke highly of on Wednesday.
"I thought [Longman] just got better and better and showed me a lot of things," Bostad said. "This guy is right on the edge to being a starter. He is going to push [for that]."
And in regards to the Smith, who made his collegiate debut and played in two games last year, Bostad was even more upfront.
"Carter Smith is playing right now," Bostad said. "He's first string."
The additions of Smith and Longman to the returning core of Katic, Bedford, Kahlil Benson, Zach Carpenter, Joshua Sales Jr. and Bray Lynch give Indiana hope that the unit will improve, but perhaps more importantly does the addition of Bostad.
Offensive linemen at IU have appreciated the Bostad's attention to detail and subtle intensity, and they're eager to learn from him.
"Anytime you get a coach that coached in the NFL [at the] offensive line — he knows what he's talking about, and makes it easy to trust," Longman said. "He shows the NFL film up there and he's like, 'Yup, I coached all five of those guys.'"
Bostad instructing NFL offensive lineman Demar Dotson at his former job as offensive line coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
© Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Coming from such an impressive background as the former offensive line coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tennessee Titans – he produced All-Americans with the Wisconsin Badgers, too – Bostad is obsessed with the minutiae of the position. He's always sharing subtle insights that players might not notice, and pointing out details that might seem trivial at first, but make a huge difference in the long run.
"There's so much attention and details, it's crazy," Bedford said. "As a leader, you got to make sure that the young guys are following along, and no one messes up, [because] we all mess up. That's another big thing with Coach Bostad. When one [player] is wrong, you're all wrong. [So] just really honing in on the details of things, doing it the right way."
Both Bostad and the players were asked how they're preparing to take on a defensive line as talented as Ohio State's in the season opener on Sept. 2. Regardless of who is chosen as the starter between Tayven Jackson and Brendan Sorsby, the Hoosiers will have a first-time starter at quarterback against the Buckeyes, and it's on Bostad's unit to give them the support they need.
"We got a really young guy [at quarterback], and I think we can take a lot off his plate," Bostad said. "If we can be good when we're trying to run the ball and stuff like that, you know, kind of shorten down his play list, and [tell him] here's the things you got to be good at, you know, for us to move chains."
But for as much as everyone wants to talk about how IU will handle J.T. Tuimoloau, Jack Sawyer and the rest of Ohio State's talented defensive line, Bostad is focused on reconstructing a unit that struggled in 2021 and 2022.
"I'm not trying to put the cart ahead of the horse right now," Bostad said. "We got a lot of other things to do, and let's just slowly build this thing together and get it done. But I mean, I like the approach. I like the attitude. I like the willingness, you know, those things are all there."
Indiana offensive line coach Bob Bostad teaches the Hoosiers during fall camp.
Indiana Athletics
Everyone on the coaching staff and in the position room knows that it's going to be a process correcting the offensive line after it faltered the past two seasons. From Katic to Bedford, the veterans on the roster stressed everything from always picking up the quarterback, to picking out underclassmen talents they want to mentor as ways to improve the unit.
As Katic said, they're ready to prove to doubters that they're going to be different in 2023. And though the team is focused on the task at hand, wanting to improve every day at fall camp, it's clear the Ohio State game has been circled on their calendars for a while.
"Every game you want to put someone on their neck, but that one has a special place in my heart," Bedford said. "I like playing Ohio State."
Exactly one month away from their game with the Buckeyes, Bedford, Bostad and the entire Indiana offensive line is eager to show just how much they've changed.
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