After a Michigan State performance that senior guard Simon Stepaniak said was impressive, true freshman left tackle Matt Bedford used the bye week to get a head start on the mental catch-up he must do to become a seamless part of the starting offensive line unit.

When senior left tackle Coy Cronk went down with a season-ending ankle injury early in the Connecticut game in week four, true freshman left tackle Matt Bedford was suddenly thrust into a preparation experience unlike any he’s ever had.

When practice rolled around Monday and the Hoosiers began gearing up for a statement conference game against Michigan State, Bedford found himself playing catch-up at one of the most inopportune times – a position that the recent bye week should provide a cushion against heading into the remaining Big Ten season.

“He was dialed in,” Senior guard Simon Stepaniak said of Bedford. “He was dialed in before, but it’s different when you’re running with the ones.”

The difference between running with the starters and running with the backups, Stepaniak said, is the intensity derived from the pursuit of perfection as a unit. When someone in team drills makes a mistake, the drill is stopped, and whoever made the mistake is “yelled at” until the mistake is corrected. It’s not procrastinated until individual position drills.

That isn’t necessarily the case for backups that run with the twos because, obviously, twos aren’t on the field as one unit, but rather inserted when needed along the starting line, like Bedford was when Cronk went down. That pursuit of perfection is why offensive line coach Darren Hiller stressed that it takes time to mold together as a group when asked about struggles in the running game earlier in the season.

And when Bedford was in the game against Michigan State, even though he received low grades, the line as a whole put together a better-than-expected performance, allowing running back Stevie Scott to break off several chunks of yardage against what was statistically one of the best run defenses in the country.

Even with Bedford on the left side, Indiana offensive coordinator Kalen DeBoer called for eight of 27 rushing plays to be ran in Bedford’s direction, according to Pro Football Focus. That’s far more than any other gap along the line. The second-longest carry of the season, a 12-yard rush by Scott, was ran between Bedford’s left shoulder and the tight end.

“A freshman coming into that environment – that’s a Big Ten house, an away game – I thought he did good,” Stepaniak said. “Honestly, better than I thought he was going to do. It’s really promising, and it kind of makes me happy and excited to see where this offensive line is going to end up at the end of the year.”

That sentiment came from a fifth-year senior in Stepaniak, who is staring the end of his career in the face with each passing game. After Cronk’s injury, the guard said he pulled the linemen together and told them every one of them needed to be locked in before Michigan State and for the rest of the season afterward.

Bedford reacted with a jump in his game in the last two weeks, Stepaniak said, which starts with the extra film study the freshman has been doing in an effort to eliminate the learning curve between Cordova, Tennessee star and starting Big Ten offensive tackle.

“His game has jumped tremendously, mentally,” Stepaniak said. “The dude has so much talent. We’re not worried about him getting the job done physically.”

What can take much of the burden of Bedford, head coach Tom Allen said, is the fact that Bedford knows that now he is the starting left tackle. He isn’t preparing for the possibility of playing, but the guarantee of playing.

“You've got that whole week of prep that he was forced into, and now you add a week after that where he gets a chance to just – fundamentals, fundamentals, fundamentals,” Allen said. “And now he knows that he's the starting left tackle. So just the sense of urgency that creates and a week to do it when you don't have the pressure of a game. I thought it was really good for him.”

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