‘Solid’ Wedig Makes His Offensive Line Mark
Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Trey Wedig keeps it short. Public self-analysis isn’t big on his to-do list. Not when the senior offensive tackle has defensive players to block, quarterbacks to protect, an offensive line coach to satisfy, and holes to open as part of Indiana’s juggernaut offense.
What are the strengths of a guy listed at 6-foot-7 and 319 pounds?
“My hands,” he says. “My footwork. I can get in there and move people.”
Wedig spent four years and three seasons moving people at Wisconsin before transferring to Indiana last winter. Three of those years came with Bob Bostad as his offensive line coach, the same Bob Bostad now coaching for the Hoosiers.
Wedig joins Mike Katic, Carter Smith, Drew Evans and Bray Lynch in what has emerged as one of the Big Ten’s best offensive lines entering Saturday’s home game against Michigan (5-4 overall, 3-3 in the Big Ten).
Wedig has been a big addition, says Smith, who is in his third season with the Hoosiers.
“Trey fit right in when he got here,” Smith says. “He’s been really good. He’s a fun guy to be around.”
The No. 8/10 Hoosiers (9-0, 6-0), who were No. 8 in the debut of the 12-team college football playoff ratings, have the Big Ten’s No. 2 rushing attack at 191.9 yards per game behind Iowa’s 222.3. IU leads the conference with 32 rushing touchdowns.
“I like running the ball,” Wedig says. “It's fun. But I think the key to our success is that all five of us are playing hard and playing as physical as we can.”
This is what head coach Curt Cignetti wanted in his debut Hoosier season.
“Trey is an older guy,” Cignetti said. “He’s played a lot of football in his career. Coach Bostad coached him at Wisconsin, knew him. He's been really solid for us at right tackle. That whole group has been really solid.
“(Wedig) gives you a great day of work every day at practice and on Saturday in the games. He doesn't talk a lot, but really in that group, aside from Mike Katic and Carter Smith, the other ones are pretty quiet. They’re playing good football for us.”
It starts with Bostad, who has built a reputation as one of the nation’s best offensive line coaches during his time in college and in the NFL.
“His message is the same as it was at Wisconsin,” Wedig says. “We do a lot of reps. We rep on air. We rep in the meeting room to make sure we’re all on the same page. He’s a big reps guy.”
And when reps sometimes aren’t enough, “He really gets us going and gives us the kick we need when we need it,” Wedig says. “He means a lot to this group.”
Bostad rivals, if not surpasses, Cignetti’s serious public persona.
“That’s a toss up,” Wedig says when asked who is the more serious.
Bostad is an old-school coach with an old-school approach. Smiles just get in the way, although Wedig concedes that Bostad might smile “once in a blue moon.”
“You’ll see him smile sometimes if someone gets a pancake block or has a good block. If someone does a coaching point really well, you might get a smirk out of him.”
Evans and Lynch are in their first seasons as starters but aren’t playing like it.
“They’re getting better each game and each week,” Wedig says. “They’re more focused mentally. They’re showing that consistency where they might make one mistake one week and the next week they don’t make that mistake again.”
As veterans, Wedig, Katic and Smith provide invaluable guidance.
“We make sure they’re on the right page,” Wedig says. “As an O-lineman, if you’re not 100 percent mentally sure what you’re doing, you can hold yourself back. If you know exactly what you’re doing technique-wise, like ‘I’m going to take this step, or I’m going to do this,’ it allows you to play faster and get better.”
Katic, who is in his sixth season as a Hoosier, sets the tone.
“He hits on the important things we need to think about,” Wedig says. “If there’s a big coaching point, he’ll hit on that. He will get one of us going, and if we see one of us going, we all get going.
“He brings a lot of consistency. He makes calls you wouldn’t expect him to make without a lot of other people’s help. He makes really good plays. It’s his consistency and stability he brings to the O-line.”
IU has historically struggled against Michigan, winning just 10 of the 72 meetings. Its last win against the Wolverines came in 2020 by a 38-21 score.
But under Cignetti, this is a different team and culture. His stay-humble-play-relentless message resonates with his players and coaches.
“Coach Cignetti always opens up the week by saying this week is the most important week because it’s the next one,” Wedig says. “We need to keep that mindset.”