As Indiana looks to fill a void at right tackle, one prospect they’re trying to land lives in their own backyard.
Transferring Ohio State offensive tackle Zen Michalski is from Floyds Knobs, Ind. and attended Floyd Central H.S.
Indiana is one of the main schools Michalski is focused on, along with Kansas State.
The 6-foot-6 and 319-pound Michalski has appeared in 19 games for the Buckeyes, and will have one year of eligibility remaining — his redshirt senior season.
Michalski was a four-star recruit in the 2021 recruiting class. He was the No. 229 overall player, the No. 22 offensive tackle and No. 3 player in the state of Indiana for his class according to the On3 Industry Average. Indiana did offer him in high school and he did visit Bloomington as a prep prospect.
He is still with the Ohio State team as they play in the CFP. He returned to backup duty after missing the Buckeyes’ final five games of the regular season with an injury he suffered in his lone start of the year against Nebraska. Michalski filled in for the Buckeyes midgame after an injury when they played at Oregon in October.
According to PFF, Michalski played a total of 158 snaps in 2024, and he’s played 260 for his career. PFF gave him a solid 73.8 grade as a run blocker, but says he struggled as a pass blocker in his two primary games against Oregon and Nebraska this season. Overall they say he gave up seven pressures in 75 opportunities.
Indiana needs a right tackle in 2025 after starter Trey Wedig exhausted his eligibility. Wedig came to IU coming off a similar 2023 season with the Badgers as Michalski in 2024, playing in a reserve role and receiving mixed PFF grades. Wedig had a solid season for IU in 2024 and is appearing on NFL Draft boards.
Here is some essential information for the IU football offseason:
- Position-by-position roster turnover
- Scholarship players by position for 2025
- IU football transfer portal activity tracker
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