The Indiana football program received a significant lift on the offensive line on Wednesday night as left guard Mike Katic announced his decision to return to Bloomington.
Katic had initially announced his intention to enter the NFL Draft following the departure of former head coach Tom Allen. Katic was part of the entire starting offensive line to either enter the transfer portal or NFL Draft.
Now, Katic is one of two players to return to Indiana alongside Carter Smith.
Not only is it critical for the offensive line because of his production, he’s also extremely experienced. Katic had started 37 games for the Hoosiers since 2019, including all 12 last season. In total, he’s made 39 appearances for Indiana football.
He’s also started at both left guard and center in his career.
Katic returns as the best rated pass blocking lineman from last season with a rating of 75.8, per Pro Football Focus. He gave up just two sacks and had one penalty all season.
The news of Katic and Smith returning come on the heels of new head coach Curt Cignetti keeping offensive line coach Bob Bostad — the only coach to remain from the previous staff.
“The intensity he brings to the group,” Katic said this fall of what’s different with Bostad. “When he walks into the room, it’s go time, pen and paper out, get ready to go, lock in. He also has that NFL experience, so he has a lot of experience coaching good offensive lines.”
Katic and Smith return to Indiana as seven additional lineman were signed last week in the 2024 class — including two James Madison transfers Tyler Stephens and Nick Kidwell with over 30 starts each and Wisconsin transfer Trey Wedig, who has over 30 appearances in his career.
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