Indiana Football Position Preview: Offensive Line Improvement Vital to Success in 2023

First up in our Indiana football position previews, the offensive line. This unit has struggled in the last two seasons, and is perhaps the most important position group heading in to 2023. On Wednesday, we talked with new offensive line coach Bob Bostad, as well as linemen Matt Bedford, Mike Katic, Kahlil Benson and Max Longman following the first day of fall camp.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – In a season filled with injuries, unproductive play and a coaching change, the Indiana offensive line had a wake-up call.

They knew they simply had to be better at both moving the defensive line off the ball and protecting the quarterback in order for the Hoosiers to have success. 

"Every team has its faults in every aspect, but I think we had a huge wake-up call, knowing that we were kind of on the back end," Indiana offensive lineman Kahlil Benson said after fall camp on Wednesday. "So we had a lot of people talking, letting us know, 'Hey, this is what it has to be. Y'all all are the leaders. Y'all lead the way.' So it's a culture thing, and we're going to defend it. That's it. We're going to defend our culture."

The 2022 campaign ended in 4-8 fashion, but the line showed promise during a victory at Michigan State in Week 11, when the Hoosiers rushed for 257 yards and four touchdowns on 5.8 yards per carry. 

Performances like that must become more commonplace in 2023, and the linemen believe it's possible under Bob Bostad, Indiana's new offensive line coach and run-game coordinator. Head coach Tom Allen pointed to Indiana's running backs as a strength of this year's team, with Jaylin Lucas, Josh Henderson and Wake Forest transfer Christian Turner creating a versatile room. Max Longman, an offensive lineman transfer from UMass, said Bostad is helping them build an identity up front to maximize the backs' potential.

"We're going to try to be the toughest offensive line in the country," Longman said. "Go out there, run all different kinds of run styles and go right at them every play, five guys just moving together and in sync and moving guys off the ball together."

With fall camp beginning on Monday, the offensive line is first up in our Indiana football position preview series that will lead into the season opener on Sept. 2 against Ohio State. 

On Wednesday, we talked with Bostad, Benson, Longman and fellow offensive linemen Matt Bedford and Mike Katic to get a sense of the position group, and there's no doubt they're hungry to prove themselves on game day.

Indiana linemen Joshua Sales Jr. (77), Kalil Benson (67) and Max Longman (60) prepare for a snap during Indiana football's Spring Football Saturday event at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, April 15, 2203 :: Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

Personnel

• Coach: Bob Bostad, first year at IU
• #50 Zach Carpenter: redshirt senior, 6-foot-5, 295 pounds, 13 starts at IU
• #56 Mike Katic: redshirt senior, 6-foot-4, 315 pounds, 25 starts at IU
• #60 Max Longman: redshirt senior, 6-foot-4, 315 pounds, 24 starts at UMass
• #76 Matthew Bedford: redshirt senior, 6-foot-6, 305 pounds, 28 starts at IU
• #67 Kahlil Benson: redshirt junior, 6-foot-6, 310 pounds, five starts at IU
• #53 Vincent Fiacable: redshirt sophomore, 6-foot-4, 305 pounds, two appearances at IU
• #66 Noah Bolticoff: redshirt sophomore, 6-foot-5, 300 pounds, seven appearances at TCU
• #77 Joshua Sales Jr.: redshirt sophomore, 6-foot-6, 305 pounds, four starts at IU
• #78 Cooper Jones: redshirt sophomore, 6-foot-6, 310 pounds, seven
• appearances at IU
• #63 Josh Witt: sophomore, 6-foot-3, 315 pounds
• #54 Jack Greer: redshirt freshman, 6-foot-3, 315 pounds
• #65 Carter Smith: redshirt freshman, 6-foot-5, 305 pounds, two appearances at IU
• #72 DJ Moore: redshirt freshman, 6-foot-5, 315 pounds
• #74 Bray Lynch: redshirt freshman, 6-foot-5, 310 pounds, four appearances at IU
• #79 Max Williams: redshirt freshman, 6-foot-6, 310 pounds
• #70 Bubba Jeffries: freshman, 6-foot-4, 305 pounds
• #71 Will Larkins: freshman, 6-foot-5, 310 pounds,
• #73 Austin Barrett: freshman, 6-foot-6, 290 pounds

Mike Katic, Matt Bedford, Kahlil Benson, Zach Carpenter, Max Longman, Carter Smith, Joshua Sales Jr., and Bray Lynch appear to be the top contenders for starting roles in 2023. 

Biggest concerns

Offensive line play was Indiana's biggest down fall during the 2021 and 2022 seasons, a stretch in which the Hoosiers posted a 6-18 record. Indiana allowed 38 sacks in 12 games last season, tied for second most in the Big Ten and 19th in FBS.

Injuries only made matters worse, and it'll be important for the offensive to stay healthy so the group can build consistency and chemistry. Indiana will largely rely on the same personnel along the offensive line in 2023, so it's fair to wonder just how much the group can improve from one season to the next.

A grueling Big Ten East schedule doesn't help, either, and the challenge begins right away in Week 1 against Ohio State's daunting pass rush with J.T. Tuimoloau and company. Ohio State and Michigan will most likely be ranked in the top five of the AP preseason poll, and both teams boast an intimidating front seven that dominated Indiana last year, along with Penn State, who led the Big Ten in sacks last year. Altogether, Indiana's nine-game Big Ten slate features 8-of-9 teams with the most sacks in the conference in 2022. 

Aside from pass protection, Indiana's offensive line and run game also generated the second-fewest total yards and yards per game in the Big Ten last year. And with matchups against Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois, the Hoosiers will face the Big Ten's top-three run defenses from 2022.

New Indiana offensive line coach and run game coordinator Bob Bostad teaches the Hoosiers during fall camp on Wednesday / Indiana Athletics

Reasons for optimism

At Big Ten Media Days last week, I asked Tom Allen what it would take for the offensive line to improve this year, and whether he believes it's possible with much of the same personnel. He pointed to the return of Matthew Bedford – Indiana's best offensive lineman who tore his ACL in Week 1 last year – as well as first-year coach Bob Bostad as primary reasons for why he think Indiana will be better up front this year.

"[The offensive line] was a huge focus, for sure," Allen said. "Bob has been a tremendous track record in our conference. I already feel like we've gotten better, certain things that he's brought. And getting Matt Bedford back is huge. Losing him week one was a big blow to us; he was our best offensive lineman. He's back now 100 percent which is exciting. I'm very excited for him. I think the whole group needs to be able to mesh with them. He's been with them all spring, being able to bring in his thoughts and ideas, the toughness he brings, the attention to detail, the way he coaches them, and just the relentlessness of the way he approaches offensive line play. It's a huge part of our team. I know that. We know that. We understand that. It's been something we addressed obviously and those guys have to step up. Got several guys that play a lot of football at that position for us. I'm excited for that group to lead us on our way on offense."

Indiana added two offensive line transfers this offseason, with Max Longman from UMass and Noah Bolticoff from TCU. I asked Bostad about Indiana's two new linemen, and because Longman joined IU for spring practice, along with 24 games of starting experience at UMass, he seems more likely to get significant playing time in 2023, compared to Bolticoff, a redshirt sophomore.

"I thought [Longman] just got better and better," Bostad. "And showed me a lot of things like, 'Hey, this guy is right on the edge to being a starter,' so he's going to push. He's smart, he's tough."

Despite it being his first year at Indiana, Longman feels comfortable within the Hoosiers' system because he played for current Indiana offensive coordinator Walt Bell when he was the head coach at UMass. Longman has embraced Bostad's coaching, too.

"I like [Bostad] a lot," Longman said. "Any time you get a coach who coached in the NFL offensive line, he knows what he's talking about and makes it easy to trust. He shows the NFL film up there, and he's like, 'Yep, coached all five of those guys,' so it makes it easy like, 'Okay. Yep, I'll do that.' So yeah I like him."

The bottom line

Offensive line is arguably the most important position group for Indiana in 2023, even with so much unknown quarterback. Because no matter who's under center, if the offensive line can't protect him or open holes for a talented group of running backs, the Hoosiers will fall into the same problems that plagued them in 2021 and 2022.

The offensive line should improve due to the return of Bedford and the addition of Bostad, who had success at Wisconsin and in the NFL. But how much improvement is realistic to expect? That answer will have to wait until the games begin.

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• O-LINE EAGER TO PROVE ITSELF: Indiana offensive line coach Bob Bostad spoke to media following the first day of fall camp on Wednesday, along with players Mike Katic, Matthew Bedford, Max Longman and Kahlil Benson. Here's how Bostad is making his mark on a group that's eager to prove itself in 2023. CLICK HERE
• OPEN COMPETITION AMONG SECONDARY: Indiana coach Tom Allen held his first presser of fall camp on Tuesday and said that he expects open competition at nearly every position group on the roster, but particularly in the secondary. CLICK HERE
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