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Biggest improvement for Indiana football this offseason? Its offensive line, says opposing Big Ten coach

headshotby: Alec Lasley05/23/25allasley
Syndication: The Herald-Times
Indiana's Pat Coogan (78) prepares to snap the ball as the Hoosies get ready before the start of the Indiana football spring game at Memorial Stadium on Thursday, April 17, 2025.

While Indiana football saw one of the more drastic changes in just one offseason — not every little detail was able to reach the level of success that the program as a whole saw. With the game of football being won in the trenches, it’s imperative to be able to win the line of scrimmage, and unfortunately, that was one area that Indiana struggled in during its two losses.

Despite seeing a massive shift from the 2023 to 2024 seasons and Indiana football putting a much-improved offensive line on the field last year, it still wasn’t at the level it needed to be in order to be a game-changer.

Led by offensive line coach Bob Bostad, the only coach who stayed in the coaching change from Tom Allen to Curt Cignetti, IU’s offensive line was a semifinalist for the Joe Moore award — given to the top offensive line in the country.

But there was still a ways to go and it was shown in losses to Ohio State and Notre Dame. Indiana ran for 2.3 yards a carry against Notre Dame and 2.1 yards against Ohio State. The result were the only two losses of the season. It was also against the two most physical teams on IU’s schedule.

“They’ve probably got more depth than we do,” Cignetti said after IU’s loss to the Irish in the College Football Playoff. “They probably have some front-line guys that are just a little bit bigger, stronger, faster than our guys.

“They have good players.  And they won the line of scrimmage. They won the one-on-one match-ups on the perimeter. They affected the quarterback and they swarmed to the ball.”

So this offseason it was a point of emphasis to retain its core from the improved group, and add depth and production.

That resulted in additions from ex-Hoosier and former Colorado lineman Kahlil Benson, Notre Dame’s Pat Coogan and Ohio State’s Zen Michalski — combining for 91 appearances in their careers. Add in the return of Carter Smith, Bray Lynch and the eventual return of Drew Evans and Indiana’s group is even more improved from a season ago.

Ahead of Athlon Sports’ annual College Football Preview release, it’s sharing anonymous Big Ten coaches’ comments about opponents this season. The biggest takeaway from one opposing coach in regards to Indiana football? The improved offensive line. 

“I think they’ve improved the O-line enough to stay in games against top-level, physical defenses,” said one coach.

Outside of Indiana’s two losses last year, it averaged 5.1 yards a carry — a vast difference than against the Irish and Buckeyes.

While the improvement from year-to-year was massive from that group, it was pivotal this offseason get better, deeper and more versatile. All of which seem to be checked off.

“I like our line a lot. I think we’ve got potential to be really good,” Cignetti said on the Always College Football Podcast with Greg McElroy. “I like our line, I think we can be better than last season.”

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