Offensive Line Working Hard
Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Video doesn’t lie. It’s a sports cliché as old as, well, video.
So here is Bob Bostad, a man on an Indiana football mission to build a dominant offensive line, starring in a recent IU football social media video, and if it opens with him getting hit in the head by a football, don’t mistake humor -- and the perils of indoor practice at the Mellencamp Pavilion and the relentless series of punts, kicks, and passes -- with lack of purpose.
The Hoosiers have had powerful offensive lines before when standout running backs such as Tevin Coleman and Jordan Howard shredded Big Ten defenses behind offensive line standouts such as Dan Feeney and Jason Spriggs.
Bostad, who was hired as offensive line coach and run game coordinator, brings 33 years of coaching experience, including the NFL and at Wisconsin, a program known for producing powerhouse lines, to return IU to that kind of success.
The video shows him in full-teaching mode in the middle of spring practice action.
“Nimble! Nimble! Nimble!” he shouts at one point. And then, “Drive it! Drive it! Drive it!” And then, “That’s the way it should look right there.” And then, “That’s good pad level.” And finally, “We accelerate to that linebacker.”
Head coach Tom Allen, seeking to regain the Cream & Crimson winning edge from 2019 and ’20, is impressed.
“I love the drill work, the attention to detail, the toughness, the intensity that he’s created,” Allen says. “He’s a no-nonsense guy. I expect improvement in that area.”
Improvement surfaces as IU ramps up the intensity, including hitting. The offense and defense go at each other amid fluctuating consistency typical of early spring practice work.
“There’s been a lot of teaching,” Allen says. “A lot of work on third downs. That was productive. It’s a constant process of getting better. There’s back and forth on both sides of the ball.
“I like where we are, but we have to keep working.”
As far as the offensive line, with standout Matthew Bedford still recovering from knee surgery, Allen says 6-5 304-pound freshman Carter Smith “jumps out.” He played in two games last season, including Ohio State, and was redshirted.
“He’s taken the next step,” Allen says.
Veteran Mike Katic (6-4, 309) has embraced the new coaching, as has veteran Zach Carpenter (6-5, 292).
“Michael has been here a long time, and has played a lot of football, and still wants to adapt,” Allen says. “Zach continues to develop.”
Allen says veterans Kahlil Benson (6-6, 325) and Vinny Fiacable (6-4, 305) have had solid springs, as has Joshua Sales Jr. (6-6, 316), who played in 10 games last season as a freshman, with four starts.
“It’s getting these young guys along,” Allen says. “Joshua and Kahlil continue to grow to allow us to have the depth we need to have. I’m encouraged by that group.”
There’s still plenty of learning to do. Last Thursday’s practice, in which the defense added third-down twists, created challenges, which is expected when offense and defense are heavy into installation. Last Saturday’s practice featured the spring’s first full-pad live action.
“The twists aren’t easy to pick up,” Allen says. “We’re trying to install on both sides, and that’s created some of the challenges. We’re not scheming each other. We use technique and fundamentals.”
The defensive line is also a priority. Allen brought in four college transfers to help address it -- LeDarrius Cox from Ole Miss, Andre Carter from Western Michigan, Marcus Burris Jr. from Texas A&M and Philip Blidi from Texas Tech.
The Hoosiers also added outside linebacker Lanell Carr, a West Virginia transfer and an intriguing complement to returning veteran Myles Jackson.
“The guys we brought in have made an immediate difference,” Allen says. “It’s not just in how they look, but how they practice.”
Take Carr, who totaled 24 career tackles, 4.5 for loss, with a sack as a Mountaineer.
“Carr popped again (Thursday),” Allen says. “He’s done some good things off the edge. He has that burst we haven’t had. Myles is being pushed by him. Myles is pushing him. It’s a good combination.”
It’s not the only one.
“Andre is on the other side, and his size and physicality sticks out,” Allen says. “Then there’s the inside guys with Marcus and Philip. That gives us depth. It pushes the older guys who are returning.
“That’s where we have to be better. We addressed it in the off-season. With the young guys I want to see consistency and energy.”
Allen will push the defensive linemen hard the rest of the spring.
“We’re practicing very physical with those guys. That’s by design. It’s not going to stop. We’ll be physical the whole way through. We’ll balance that with keeping guys healthy, but there’s a physicality to this game that has to be there. We have to get better at that.”