Indiana University's offensive line enters the 2026 season with a rare degree of continuity, returning four starters who helped the Hoosiers capture a national championship a year ago. The group features Wisconsin transfer Joe Brunner, Carter Smith, Drew Evans and Adedamola Ajani, each of whom contributed to a unit that finished the regular season without allowing a sack to four of its members.
Brunner arrives with a flawless pass‑blocking résumé: he yielded just nine pressures in 328 snaps for Wisconsin and has never allowed a sack in 747 career snaps. Smith, who missed the second half of the championship game with a labrum tear, still logged 15 games without a quarterback hit and improved his efficiency each year from 2023 to 2025. Evans has never surrendered a sack in his college career and has given up only two quarterback hits over 656 snaps.
A Strong Foundation
Ajani split time at guard and right tackle, limiting himself to five pressures at Penn State before tightening his game at Indiana. He did give up a sack against Alabama and Miami, but the interior of the line closed out the postseason without a sack in any of the four games, underscoring the unit’s resilience.
Replacing center Pat Coogan, who finished the previous season without a single sack allowed, will be the biggest test. Bray Lynch and Evans are the leading contenders to take the snap at center, while Ajani must step into a full‑time starting role from day one.
Despite the loss of experience beyond the projected five, the line’s track record of zero sacks in the regular season for four of its members and a perfect streak of ten games to end the year suggests the Hoosiers are well positioned to keep the pressure off their quarterback as they chase another championship.