When Indiana football’s offense takes the field for its season opener Aug. 31 against Florida International University in Memorial Stadium, it will do so without starting right guard Nick Kidwell.
One of several transfers who followed head coach Curt Cignetti from James Madison University to Bloomington this past winter, Kidwell suffered a season-ending knee injury during fall practice, according to ESPN.
The 24-year-old Kidwell was entering his seventh collegiate season. He received an additional year of eligibility for 2024 after missing the final eight games of 2023 with a leg injury but has now succumbed to familiar fate.
Cignetti, who has coached Kidwell since 2019 at James Madison, said last year he felt “terrible” watching Kidwell get carted off the field. In a cruel twist of Deja vu, Cignetti uttered similar words inside the Hoosiers’ team room Monday afternoon.
“On a personal level, it’s really hard,” Cignetti said. “He’s a good player. He really put a lot of time in, rehabbing, coming back. Was rounding back into form [and] was a big part of our initial plans. I feel bad for him because I know what his goals were coming into the season.”
Kidwell brought a wealth of experience to Indiana’s offensive line, playing in 52 games with 34 starts at James Madison. Cignetti noted the extensive action Kidwell has seen in college — but Kidwell has also seen Cignetti and staff adjust when losing key players to injuries.
Across five years coaching the Dukes, Cignetti said the team lost at least one, if not two, all-conference or All-American players each year in camp or early in the season. The injury bug often bit the offensive and defensive lines, and while Kidwell’s injury is less than ideal, Cignetti is confident the Hoosiers will adapt.
“We had to overcome those [injuries], and we have,” Cignetti said. “So, it’s a next-man-up mentality.”
Redshirt sophomores Bray Lynch and Drew Evans and fifth-year senior Tyler Stephens encompass the Hoosiers’ replacement options. Cignetti noted it’s a triangle, with three players competing for two spots — both of Indiana’s guard spots are now up for grabs.
Lynch, a 6-foot-5, 307-pounder from Austin, Texas, played in four games for the Hoosiers in 2022 and five in 2023, spending time on both offense and special teams. Evans, who stands 6-foot-4, 306 pounds, transferred from Wisconsin to Indiana after the 2022 season and has yet to take the field at the collegiate level.
Lynch is a year older than Evans, but each are ripe in experience.
Stephens, conversely, has 36 appearances and 31 starts under his belt. Versatility is the name of the game for Stephens, who earned second-team All-Sun Belt Conference honors in 2023 after starting five games at left tackle and four apiece at left guard and right tackle.
Cignetti believes all three can handle starting responsibilities, but Indiana needs them to step up over the next two weeks.
“Both of those guys have played limited football up to this point, but it’s their time,” Cignetti said about Evans and Lynch. “Drew Evans is a real smart guy, has got good natural strength. Bray Lynch has good movement. Tyler Stephens has started a lot of games at tackle, guard, he’s working some center now.”
In other injury news, Indiana’s secondary has been without several players in recent practices but is getting healthier by the day.
Sophomore D’Angelo Ponds and redshirt junior Jamier Johnson each returned to the field at John Mellencamp Pavilion on Monday. Redshirt senior Nic Toomer, who has alternated between corner and safety but is at corner now, was held out of Monday’s session for injury purposes.
Capping an injury-laden room, the Hoosiers expect redshirt junior JoJo Johnson to return from an undisclosed ailment suffered during the team’s first scrimmage Aug. 10.
Indiana will also be without freshman defensive back Josh Philostin and redshirt freshman defensive end Andrew Depaepe for “a while” due to injuries from the spring game.
The Hoosiers’ injury woes are extensive, but perhaps none are more impactful than Kidwell, from his on-field experience to his off-field leadership.
Still, Kidwell’s college career is not officially over. He may receive another medical hardship due to his latest injury, meaning an eighth year of eligibility could be on its way. But for now, the only certainty is Indiana’s offensive line being without a crucial component entering Cignetti’s first season on the sideline.
“We’ll see what the future holds for Nick,” Cignetti said.
Daniel Flick covers Indiana football and men’s basketball for the Indiana Daily Student. Follow him on X @ByDanielFlick or reach him via email at DanFlick@iu.edu.
