Several former Wisconsin Badgers have helped lead the Indiana Hoosiers to a record 10-0 start to the 2024 season.
Those are tackle Trey Wedig, guard Drew Evans and offensive line coach Bob Bostad. The trio is a significant reason the Hoosiers’ line was named a semifinalist for the 2024 Joe Moore Award on Tuesday.
Related: Indiana coach Curt Cignetti is doing what everybody expected Luke Fickell to do at Wisconsin
The award, with history since 2015, is given annually to college football’s best offensive line. Notable recent winners include Washington (2023), Michigan (2021-22), Alabama (2020) and LSU (2019).
The Hoosiers were named a semifinalist for the 2024 award along with Alabama, Army, Iowa, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas and Tulane.
As mentioned, three former Badgers are a big reason for the nomination.
Wedig has started all 10 games at right tackle for the Hoosiers this season. He boasts one of the top PFF grades of any eligible tackle in the Big Ten, making him one of Curt Cignetti’s top transfer additions from a highly successful offseason.
The versatile lineman entered the portal after playing a reserve role on the 2023 Badgers in year one under Luke Fickell. He would’ve been up for limited snaps again in 2024 with both Jack Nelson and Riley Mahlman back for a final season.
Evans, meanwhile, transferred to Indiana back in 2023 after initially walking on with the Badgers ahead of the 2022 season. He started the first nine games of the 2024 season for the Hoosiers before suffering a season-ending injury last week in practice.
Bostad, finally, is the most notable former Badger of the group. The current Indiana offensive line coach was a top assistant under Bret Bielema in the mid-2000s before returning to the Wisconsin program in 2017 as its inside linebackers coach.
He transitioned back to offensive line duties in 2022 as Paul Chryst reworked his offensive coaching staff. The veteran assistant then took a job at Indiana after Chryst’s firing.
Up for the Nation's Best Offensive Line Unit. pic.twitter.com/qiWrMPx82L
— Indiana Football (@IndianaFootball) November 12, 2024
Indiana will look to continue its dream season on Nov. 23 when it faces the top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes. The team is a win away from possibly reaching the Big Ten title game, a remarkable turnaround after a 3-9 final season under Tom Allen.
A big factor in that success has been the work of Wedig, Evans and Bostad along the offensive line.
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