BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football opens fall camp on July 30 as Curt Cignetti and crew look to build on the foundation they laid with an historic run to the College Football Playoffs.
The Hoosiers were once again active participants in the transfer portal, but they also retained many of the key faces behind last year’s success. We’re taking a position-by-position look at their roster this week that continues with a breakdown of the team’s offensive line.
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Meet Indiana football’s offensive line
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Returning: Carter Smith (R-Jr), Drew Evans (R-Jr), Bray Lynch (R-Jr), Adedamola Ajani (R-Fr), Austin Leibfried (R-Fr), Evan Lawrence (R-Fr), Mitch Verstegen (R-Fr)
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Transfers: Kahlil Benson (R-Sr), Pat Coogan (R-Sr), Zen Michalski (R-Sr)
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Early enrollees: Matt Marek, Baylor Wilkin
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Fall enrollees: Evan Parker
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Indiana University’s Drew Evans (62) stretches during fall practice at the Mellencamp Pavilion at Indiana University on Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024.
Can Indiana football returning starter Drew Evans avoid a setback?
Cignetti told reporters at Big Ten Media Days that Evans was cleared for fall camp from the Achilles injury he suffered at the end of last season. The coaching staff will monitor his workload as he returns to practice after missing spring camp.
Will IU look to have Evans back in the starting lineup at left guard for Week 1 against Old Dominion? Or will the Hoosiers give him additional time to work back into form for the Big Ten opener against Illinois a few weeks later?
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Adedamola Ajani, who spent spring camp with the first-team offense, would benefit from the game reps while taking the pressure off Evans who is coming back from an injury that can take up to 12 months to fully recover from.
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Indiana’s Zen Michalski (75) gets in his stance during spring practice at Memorial Stadium on Thursday, April 3, 2025.
Will Indiana football have a moment of Zen this fall?
Zen Michalski stands out among IU’s transfer class, but not because he’s a former top rated-prospect — the Floyd Central grad was the No. 2 ranked recruit from Indiana in the 2021 signing class — or because he played for the national champs last season.
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Michalski’s lack of experience as a fifth-year senior makes him an outlier.
He has one career start under his belt and played just 260 snaps with all those reps coming at left tackle. He gave up four quarterback pressures (two sacks) in that lone career start against Nebraska last season.
Will a change of scenery and change of position to right tackle help Michalski unlock the potential he showed as a preps player?
Indiana offensive line coach Bob Bostad has drawn rave reviews from Cignetti, but the success he’s had with transfers has mostly come from players he previously coached (Evans and Trey Wedig).
Oct 19, 2024; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Colorado Buffalos offensive lineman Kahlil Benson (67) against the Arizona Wildcats at Arizona Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Where does Kahlil Benson fit into Indiana football’s plans?
Benson is the most experienced of Indiana’s offensive lineman having played in 33 career games and 1,828 career snaps, with the bulk of those coming in Bloomington. He was one of two former Hoosiers (Louis Moore) who transferred back to the program after spending a year away.
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Cignetti envisioned Benson competing at right tackle since that’s where he played for Bostad in 2023, but that’s not set in stone.
Will his experience give him an edge over Michalski? Or will IU shake things up and have Benson compete for playing time at guard? The uncertainty surrounding Benson’s spot on the two-deep given his experience is one of the bigger storylines of fall camp.
More: Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti: Opposing team offered Hoosiers player $1.5 million to transfer
Predicted depth chart for Indiana’s offensive line
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First team: Carter Smith (LT), Drew Evans (LG), Pat Coogan (C), Bray Lynch (RG), Kahlil Benson (RT)
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Second team: Evan Lawrence (LT), Adedamola Ajani (LG), Matt Marek (C), Austin Leibfried (RG), Zen Michalski (RT)
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Indiana football position preview roundup
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Indiana football 2025 position preview: Offensive line
