Indiana returns four starters along the offensive line from its 2025 national championship team.
And with the addition of Wisconsin transfer Joe Brunner, the Hoosiers should have four starters this season who didn’t allow a single regular season sack in 2025.
The other three are left tackle Carter Smith, left guard Drew Evans, and right tackle Adedamola Ajani.
Brunner played 328 pass blocking snaps for Wisconsin last season and allowed just nine pressures (seven hurries and two quarterback hits).
In fact, according to PFF, Brunner has never allowed a sack in 747 career pass blocking snaps.
Smith made it all the way to the second half of the national championship game before finally allowing a sack last season. He gave up two in that second half. And those sacks come with a major asterisk. Smith allowed NFL first round draft picks Akheem Mesidor and Reuben Bain to get to Fernando Mendoza — after he had suffered a late second quarter tear of the labrum in his left shoulder.
Prior to that, Smith was masterful. On his way to first team All-American honors, he didn’t even allow a quarterback hit, much less a sack, in Indiana’s first 15 games. Smith’s efficiency as a pass blocker has improved each year, from 19 pressures in 2023, to 12 in 2024, to just nine in 2025.
Probably the most underappreciated player on the team, Evans has also never allowed a sack in his college career. He’s only allowed two quarterback hits in 656 career pass blocking snaps across 22 games. When healthy, Evans is as reliable as they come.
And then there was last year’s emergent young talent, Ajani, who saw action at both guard spots and right tackle in 2025 — his first season seeing meaningful snaps. He had his share of struggles at Penn State, where he allowed five pressures. But Ajani’s confidence seemed to grow and his role expanded. He saw significant action against Ohio State, Alabama and Miami. Ajani didn’t allow a sack in the regular season, but did give up one each against Alabama and Miami — the only pressure he allowed in each game.
It’s also worth noting that while starting right guard Bray Lynch did allow two regular season sacks — one each at Iowa and Oregon — he finished the final 10 games without a sack or even a quarterback hit allowed. And that included the Big Ten Championship through National Championship gauntlet. The middle of Indiana’s offensive line didn’t allow a sack in any of the four postseason games.
But this isn’t an offensive line without some question marks ahead of the 2026 campaign.
Replacing 2025 center Pat Coogan won’t be easy of course. A sixth-round draft choice of the Tennessee Titans, Coogan also allowed no sacks in 2025. And whoever mans the center spot in 2026 will be taking on that mission critical role full time for the first time in his college career. Lynch and Evans are the leading contenders to start at center going into fall camp, and it’s a position neither has played.
That won’t be the only positional shuffling. If Lynch plays center then one of Evans or Brunner will have to play something other than left guard, where both have played almost exclusively.
And of course Ajani is going to have to be ready to step into a full-time role from day one after filling in all over the place in 2025. He only has 112 career snaps at right tackle.
Also, who will provide the depth on this unit? There is no real experience beyond the perceived starting five.
But no regular season sacks allowed across four projected starters, while the fifth closed with a clean tally for 10 straight games? That’s a good foundation to build from. Especially as they work all offseason against one of the best front sevens in the nation.
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