Indiana’s offensive line, which had a tough time against Illinois on Friday night, will have to fight through even more adversity to turn things around.
Tom Allen broke the news on Monday that OT Matthew Bedford tore his ACL in IU’s 23-20 win over the Fighting Illini. Bedford walked off the field with some assistance after suffering the injury with 32 seconds left in the second quarter. Bedford had started 28 games in his career for IU.
Parker Hanna replaced Bedford in the game, and Allen tabbed Hanna as the lineman who will replace Bedford starting week two vs. Idaho. Measuring in at 6-foot-5, 302 pounds, Hanna is a senior who transferred in from Division II West Texas A&M University. After putting his name in the portal, he received offers from Sam Houston St., Rice, Tulsa, UNLV, and Louisiana Tech. He attended Stratford HS in Houston, the same high school as former Colts QB Andrew Luck.
Hanna took every snap at right tackle after Bedford’s departure on Friday, and PFF gave him a grade of 31.5, compared to Bedford’s 59.7 before the injury. “He’s played a lot of football, though not at this level,” Allen said on Monday. Other potential options for IU OL coach Darren Hiller at tackle would be Joshua Sales, Carter Smith, Bray Lynch, Luke Wiginton, and Randy Holtz.
Indiana’s (1-0, 1-0 B1G) next game is Saturday night at 8 PM ET vs. Idaho (0-1) on BTN.
Photo by Indiana Athletics
