Indiana's Offensive Line Improving as Season Progresses

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana quarterback Michael Penix Jr. was given the game ball after Indiana's 38-21 victory over Michigan last Saturday.

As soon as Penix found his way to the front of the group and grabbed the game ball, the first words out his mouth were, "Hey, check this out. I'm not trying to be corny or anything, but I'm sharing this with my offensive line."

A team win!!! Game ball goes to @themikepenix! pic.twitter.com/Gmeml5b7Bu
— Coach Tom Allen (@CoachAllenPSU) November 8, 2020

"I thought it was neat when I gave him the game ball afterwards, the first thing he did was defer it to the offensive line, which I thought was just awesome," head coach Tom Allen said. "Understanding that you are only as good as the people around you and that was a neat thing to see."

That special postgame moment was a culmination of a hard week in practice, especially for the Hoosiers' offensive line.

Allen had said Wednesday was one of the most physical practices because he challenged his team to do so.

Offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan believes that at last Wednesday's practice, the starting offensive lineman were all upset with him because he was so hard on them.

"But they all thanked me and the rest of the staff because it was worth it," Sheridan said.

During the first two games this season, the O-line struggled to keep the pocket clean. Penix was hit hard a few times against Penn State, and Allen said after the game he was not pleased with his offensive line.

They were improved at Rutgers, but still not where Indiana needed them to be, especially going into a game against a physical defensive line like Michigan.

Against the Wolverines, the Hoosiers allowed no sacks and accumulated over 100 rushing yards.

"I have been hard on them and calling them out," Allen said. "There is still pressures and we got to do better. But I just felt like that they strained harder, longer than we have in the past and stayed on their blocks and executed better, communicated better."

Penix had a career day, throwing for a career-high 342 passing yards with three touchdowns and zero interceptions.

"They played their tails off," Penix said of his O-line. "They had a great game, and I just felt like it was necessary (to give them the ball) because I couldn't do it without them."

"It was a tough game, it was very physical, but we rose to the occasion," starting left tackle Caleb Jones said. "But it meant a lot to get that recognition from Mike because we try our hardest to keep him untouched even though we're not perfect all the time."

Harry Crider is starting at center for the first time this season, and Allen said he has stepped up as a leader this season.

Jones and Matthew Bedford have swapped sides from last year to this year. Jones is playing left tackle and Bedford is playing right tackle.

Mackenzie Nworah is starting at right guard and Mike Katic at left guard. But Katic went down with an injury against Michigan, and grad transfer Dylan Powell stepped in for him.

It's been an adjustment for all of them to work together as a unit, especially since during the offseason they were doing O-line work and had to be six feet apart.

But they performed well against Michigan, which is a promising sign for Indiana's coaching staff.

"We need them to continue to do that because we feel that we have an opportunity to have a very good offensive line," Sheridan said. "We just need to continue to work to prove that there are times where it looks really good just like other positions and there are times where we need to get better at it.

"They have been great and they have allowed us to coach them hard, which we have, and they responded. It has been great."

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