With the 2026 Indiana football season rapidly approaching, we’re going through the Hoosiers’ roster with position by position previews as the program moves into a post-national title era.
We’ll be previewing the offense first this week with the defense following next week. Follow along
Positions
- Quarterbacks
- Wide receivers
- Running backs
- Tight ends
Carter Smith – Sr (5)
- Role: Starting LT
Smith needs little introduction for ye who’ve paid any amount of attention to Indiana football lately. He’s been the starter at left tackle for three seasons now and is one of the top offensive linemen
in all of college football.
There was a wrinkle to this year’s offseason with him missing Spring ball after undergoing offseason shoulder surgery for an injury suffered during the national championship, but he’s back and ready to roll for the Fall. That injury actually gave some real opportunity to Indiana’s depth along the line, which needs as much work as it can get for this season and the future.
Drew Evans – Sr (5)
- Role: Starting LG
Evans, like Smith, holds down the left side of Indiana’s offensive line.
His story is just about as good as it gets in college football, joining in-state Wisconsin as a preferred walk-on before following position coach Bob Bostad to Indiana for the 2024 season. He’s been a starter, a great one, for the Hoosiers ever since.
Indiana’s line took a real hit without him in 2024 when he suffered a season-ending injury in the leadup to the matchup against Michigan. He sat some with injuries in 2025, but starts at left guard whenever he’s available. He was key to keeping Fernando Mendoza upright through the Hoosiers’ postseason run.
Bray Lynch – Sr (5)
- Role: Starting C
And this is where things get really different from 2025.
Indiana has had strong play at center from two veterans in Mike Katic back in 2024 and former Notre Dame transfer Pat Coogan in 2025. Coogan was effective on the field but perhaps even moreso as a leader in the locker room, being named Rose Bowl MVP for a strong performance against Alabama that all but broke the Crimson Tide’s will.
Bray Lynch, Indiana’s starting right guard in both 2024 and 2025, has made the move over one spot to take Coogan’s role at center. He follows in the footsteps of Katic, who made a similar move ahead of the 2024 season after plenty of experience starting at guard during the Tom Allen era.
Lynch is a bit smaller than both of Katic and Coogan, weighing in at under 300 lbs, per Indiana’s Athletics website, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see him put on some additional mass ahead of the move this season.
Adedamola Ajani – Jr
- Role: Starting RG
This is where I raised a bit of an eyebrow.
Ajani was the Hoosiers’ best depth lineman in 2025 by some distance in spite of his inexperience and stepped in for an injured Evans before becoming a key part of the line during the postseason running, including at right tackle in the National Championship Game.
He’s seemingly moved back inside for 2026, taking reps at right guard in camp. I’d figured he could be in line for more time at that right tackle spot with Indiana adding a career interior lineman in Brunner, but that isn’t the case at this point. Curt Cignetti said he wants to see more maturity out of Ajani this season, which is something to watch as the weeks go on.
Ajani is definitely capable on the interior and has the kind of size such a lineman needs, but it’ll be interesting to see how he adjusts to being a full time starter rather than a pinch guy.
Joe Brunner – Sr (5)
- Role: Starting RT
Brunner was Indiana’s prized addition on the offensive line this offseason after losing just one starter from 2025’s unit, Coogan, and he’s where the line gets a tad more interesting.
Ajani had more experience at guard than tackle in 2025, playing well in that reserve role. Brunner now makes the transition from guard to tackle after only ever starting at left guard for Wisconsin across two seasons in 2024 and 2025. Not only has he spent the vast majority of his time on the interior, it’s also been on the left side of the line.
Playing on the right side at tackle is a massive change. Luckily for Indiana, Brunner is a massive human. He’s the tallest of the Hoosiers’ starting offensive linemen at 6’7” and weighs in at 313lbs, equalling that of Smith, his fellow tackle.
He has the size and he’s had the time to get in work at his new spot against some strong opposing defensive linemen. The rest of the line is formidable, but Indiana really needs Brunner to jell early if it wants to reach its goals in 2026.
Note:
This is where the line gets more interesting. We’ve seen enough of the starters over the years to know what to expect at this point. This group will need to provide some reliable depth and development for the sake of the program’s future, so be sure to watch it develop in 2026.
Cignetti mentioned this depth in particular during a fall camp media availability, singling out Austin Leibfried, Matt Marek, Baylor Wilkin and Sam Simpson (!) as key pieces, admitting that he was probably forgetting someone on the spot.
Austin Leibfried – Jr
- Role: Depth
Leibfried is entering his third season with the program, appearing sparingly in both 2024 and 2025 to get some relief reps in.
He was clearly behind both of Ajani and Zen Michalski as a depth option last year, but has an opportunity to log some meaningful snaps in 2026. Whenever he appeared in 2025, he was a center with the second unit. Most of his work has come along the interior, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him as a filler a la Ajani last season should it come to that.
He’s pretty big for an interior lineman at 6’6” and right around 300 lbs.
Baylor Wilkin – So
- Role: Depth
If Leibfried provides some depth along the interior, Wilkin provides the same on the outside.
Wilkin, like Leibfried, saw all of his 2025 action with the second unit rather than in relief of a starter, which is something he had to do this offseason due to Smith’s injury. Wilkin took over at left tackle this spring and got some really valuable reps in against Indiana’s defense.
He doesn’t have the typical size you’d expect from a tackle, but he has the speed and athletic ability to make up for that.
Matt Marek – S0
- Role: Depth
Marek played sparingly as a true freshman in 2025, typically as part of a fourth quarter second unit in blowouts, but he got on the field, which is a credit to him.
He profiles as more of an interior lineman with his size but played both tackle positions in high school in Illinois, so there could be some positional flexibility that makes his future more intriguing. As Cignetti said, he’s stood out in practice, so he’s one to watch for potential depth this season and as a factor in the room’s future.
Sam Simpson – Fr
- Role: Depth
Simpson’s an interesting one. It’s not often that true freshmen, or first-year players now, make an impact on the offensive line this early in there careers yet he was singled out by Curt Cignetti as one who’s stood out up to this point.
He’s got prototypical size for an interior lineman at 6’3”, 304 lbs with a bit of room to grow and, just like several of his predecessors under Bob Bostad, hails from Wisconsin. We can’t be too sure what form his 2026 contributions will take, but him being a factor this early on is a positive sign for the room’s future.
Note:
The remainder of the room, as true freshmen, will likely need a bit more time at the college level to develop into contributors. Regardless, here’s a handful of thoughts.
Ben Novak – Fr
- Role: Develop
Novak was a late flip away from Wisconsin (running theme here, the Badgers) in the Hoosiers’ class of 2026.
He has great size at 6’6” and 300+ lbs, hailing from Andrean High School in Merrillville, Indiana. He was sought after locally too, with both Louisville and Kentucky being factors in his recruitment.
CJ Scifries – Fr
- Role: Develop
Scifries, like Novak, has a bit more size at 6’5”, 300lbs and joins the former as an in-state recruit, this time coming from Center Grove High School in Greenwood.
Kenton Mondeau – Fr
- Role: Develop
Last, but not least, Mondeau comes to Indiana from Eau Claire, Wisconsin and has the size of his fellow freshmen at 6’7”, 300+ lbs.
Indiana’s true freshmen are pretty sizable all around and should be a promising group for Bob Bostad to build on heading into the future.
