Indiana offensive line turns in mixed bag of results in week one, but shows significant growth

The offensive line for Indiana football underwent a total overhaul this offseason and was one of the biggest question marks throughout the summer. That was heightened even more when senior and expected starter Nick Kidwell was announced out for the entire 2024 season with a knee injury.

So, it was a shortened rotation with some inexperience on the line heading into week one against Florida International. What happened? A mixed bag of results but one of the better overall performances in recent years.

The Indiana offensive line was the only group in the Power 4 with multiple players rated in the top-10 in pass protection grades, per Pro Football Focus. They were led by Carter Smith who had the top Power 4 grade with a 89.2. Bray Lynch, who was making his first real impact for the Hoosiers, ranked 4th in the Big Ten and 7th in the Power 4 with a 87.8 grade.

This is a significant step for a group that is in year two under offensive line coach Bob Bostad. Bostad, who was in his first season with the Indiana football program in 2023, helped the offensive line to its best PFF season grade since 2017, allowing just 16 sacks on the season in comparison to 26 in 2022.

Indiana’s starting group consisted of Carter Smith at left tackle, Drew Evans at left guard, Mike Katic was at center, Bray Lynch at right guard and then Trey Wedig at right tackle. The group gave up two sacks and six QB hurries. Most of the crease came from Wedig, who held the lowest pass protection grade.

“Pass pro, we had a couple issues, but nothing that’s not correctible there,” Curt Cignetti said this week. “We’re not real deep there on the offensive line. We can go probably six deep with veteran guys, seven. So got to keep progressing.”

While there were some inconsistencies at times from the group in pass protection, it was phenomenal in the run game. Indiana ran for 234 yards and saw its running backs average 6.6 yards per carry.

“Offensive line did an amazing job today. Shout out to the all five of them,” IU running back Ty Son Lawton said. “Even when Kurtis (Rourke) pulled it, the holes were still wide open. So just shout out to the O-Line.”

Indiana’s offense totaled 414 yards and averaged 6.4 yards per play

The Hoosiers take the field for game two on Friday night against Western Illinois.

SEE ALSO: 3 storylines to watch for when Indiana football hosts Western Illinois

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