Indiana football: Best offensive lineman out for the season

In the first game of the season, Indiana football loses their best offensive lineman, Matthew Bedford, for the entire season due to a torn ACL. With the offensive line already showing big signs of trouble, things are just getting worse as the Hoosiers look ahead to Week 2 against Idaho on September 10.

Bedford appeared on many NFL Draft radars prior to the 2022 season and seemed to be on his way to getting picked in the later rounds of the 2023 draft with a healthy and productive 2022 campaign. Though it’s a huge blow for this season for the Hoosiers, Tom Allen says that Bedford will return for his final season in 2023.

Bedford made his 28th start of his career on the offensive line on Friday night and as a junior last season, started all 12 games and was named an Honorable Mention for All-Big Ten by coaches and media.

As of right now, Parker Hanna will be replacing Bedford in his right tackle position, but expect things to continue to be a revolving door for the offensive line as Darren Hiller looks to find the right pieces to protect his quarterback, Connor Bazelak, and make running lanes for Shaun Shivers. Tom Allen had this to say about Hanna taking over for the injured Bedford:

"“It’s his (Parker Hanna) spot. He played 44 snaps (on Friday) and I feel like he did a lot of positive things. He’s played a lot of football, though not at this level.”"

Many players left the game at some point against the Illini, but the only big blow for Indiana football is Bedford, at the current moment. James Head is “day-to-day and won’t be out long term”, while Cam Jones, which was one of the primary focuses for this Monday press conference, “is going to be fine”.