Indiana returns multiple key pieces of its offensive line from the 2025 national championship team.
All-American Carter Smith is back a left tackle, and he’s joined by last year’s starting guards Drew Evans and Bray Lynch.
But gone are likely NFL Draft pick Pat Coogan at center, and there’s also a void left at right tackle created by the departures of Khalil Benson and Zen Michalski.
The Hoosiers made a prominent addition via the transfer portal by snagging Wisconsin’s Joe Brunner. He’ll likely slot in as a starter alongside Smith, Evans and Lynch.
But who will play where, and who are some of the key backups who need to be ready if an injury occurs?
Offensive line coach Bob Bostad has a proven track record of developing young tackle, and we are beginning to get clarity on who set to emerge.
Lynch is likely to move over to center to take over for Coogan, who said as much of the plan on a recent podcast with former IU receiver Rhett Lewis. Lynch played just one snap at center in 2025, when Coogan had to come out for a play. He’s attempting to follow the path of his former teammate Mike Katic, who successfully moved from guard to center for the 2024 campaign.
The move by Lynch to center opens his right guard spot for Brunner. And the up-and-comer being groomed to be ready at both guard spots and center is 6-foot-6, 300-pound redshirt sophomore Austin Leibfried.
“Austin plays a lot of center and he’s moving around a lot at the guard spots, so he’s moving a lot on the interior,” Smith said when asked about younger players who are catching his eye this spring.
“I think him being a swing player for a lot of our inside spots fills a lot of gaps.”
Leibfried played a total of 69 offensive snaps in 2025, all at center.
Smith is going to miss the entire spring as he recovers from a shoulder injury. That creates an opportunity for a younger tackle to gain valuable experience as a starter while he completes his rehab.
The next man up behind Smith is Baylor Wilkin, who IU lists at 6-foot-5 and 289 pounds. He will be getting first team reps at left tackle this spring.
“I see him (Wilkin) as a really fast dude who can connect to bodies really fast,” Smith said. “He’s got a good strike. He might be a little bit on the shorter side, but he makes up for it in his length.”
Wilkin played 32 snaps on offense in 2025, with all of them coming at the guard spots.
And what about starting right tackle?
Both Smith and Coogan suggest the early leader for that role is 6-foot-4 and 308-pound redshirt sophomore Adedamola Ajani, who hasn’t been a full-time starter but gained valuable experience at multiple positions during the 2025 title run.
Ajani played 361 snaps on offense in 2025, including 246 at guard and 115 at tackle, so he’s less under-the-radar than Wilkin and Leibfried. He filled in for Evans at left guard when he was injured, and then played right tackle against both Alabama and Miami in the College Football Playoff as the Hoosiers dealt with injuries and pass protection challenges.
“He saw plenty of responsibility last year,” Smith said of Ajani. “We threw him in for Penn State, so he definitely has a lot of the experience down. He’s played in a lot of those big game scenarios. As as a body playing right tackle, I think he’s very fit for the position.
“He’s a long guy, and he definitely has the want to do it. He does a good job moving guys off the ball and he’s very physical at the line of scrimmage.”
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