Indiana football entered the 2026 offseason needing to fill a few holes along both the offensive and defensive lines.
The offensive line was losing starting center and Rose Bowl MVP Pat Coogan, who’d joined the Hoosiers for the 2025 season after spending the majority of his career at Notre Dame. The defensive line was losing some depth alongside key pieces like Mikail Kamara and, at the time, Kellan Wyatt and Stephen Daley.
The Hoosiers reloaded on the offensive line by adding former Wisconsin lineman
Joe Brunner, who made 39 appearances with 24 starts in four seasons with the Badgers. He spent 2024 and 2025 starting at left guard in Madison.
Indiana reloaded on the defensive line by adding depth in former Tulsa defensive lineman Joe Hjelle, who appeared in 24 games over the past two seasons with the Golden Hurricane after transferring in from Iowa Western Community College, where he spent the first two seasons of his career.
Both Joes, Brunner and Hjelle, addressed the media for fall camp this week. Watch their appearances below:
Indiana OL Joe Brunner
Indiana DL Joe Hjelle
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