When a high-caliber transfer visits Bloomington, Curt Cignetti and Indiana roll out the red carpet. When offensive lineman Joe Brunner visited in January, he received the five-star treatment. Beyond that, he learned about Indiana’s culture from guys he was already familiar with.
He hung out with former Wisconsin Badgers tight end Riley Nowakowski, who hosted him during his visit and offensive lineman Drew Evans. In addition to those in Bloomington, Brunner reached out to former lineman Trey Wedig for insight into the program he was soon to be visiting.
“They had nothing but good things to say, and obviously, I trust them,” Brunner said last week after a spring practice. “They’re great human beings, great football players and they were a huge factor.”
Former Badger ties didn’t end with teammates.
Indiana offensive line coach Bob Bostad recruited Brunner, Evans and Wedig to Madison before joining Tom Allen’s staff in Bloomington in 2022. The 59-year-old, known for his old-school coaching style, has been an integral part of making the Indiana offensive line one of the best during his tenure.
On his January visit, there wasn’t much Bostad could say that Brunner didn’t already know. It was the same pitch from four years prior. Bostad’s demeanor, though in a different location, is the same. It’s a sense of security and familiarity that Brunner sought. He committed to Indiana the week before the national championship game on January 14th, reuniting with Bostad.
“Same old coach and he’s been the same for many years and that’s the reason why I chose this place,” Brunner said. “Seeing what he did with the guys when I was at Wisconsin. There wasn’t much to say to me; I knew who he was.”
Though his connections in Bloomington are largely rooted in prior relationships, Brunner chose Indiana over Texas for play style and culture. The buy-in with players, in his eyes, was second to none.
Before the perfect season was complete, Brunner saw something different during his visit — the foundation Cignetti and his staff were building in Bloomington stood apart from anything he had experienced.
Fast forward to the first few weeks of spring practice, and none of the returning players are talking about last year’s 16–0 record. That’s in the past now. The focus has shifted entirely to the season ahead, as veterans have welcomed freshmen and transfers with a businesslike approach, leaving the 2025 team behind.
“This is one of the best cultures in college football, if not the best, right?” Brunner said. “And that makes it super easy to transition. You’re around a bunch of guys who played a lot of football. They know how to welcome guys with open arms and how to bring them into a culture and let them develop themselves.”
The 6-foot-5, 317-pound Brunner will play an integral part on the Indiana offensive line. At Wisconsin, he was among the best guards in the Big Ten, allowing zero sacks in more than 1,500 career snaps at left guard over three seasons.
With Carter Smith and Bray Lynch missing spring practices with injuries, Brunner and Evans are the lone veterans on the offensive line. In practice, he’s learning from Evans just as much as Adedamola Ajani, Baylor Wilkin and Austin Leibfried are learning from him.
For Brunner, it’s all about building rapport with his new teammates.
“There’s no staying the same, you’re either getting worse or getting better every day,” Brunner said. “It starts with consistency and knowing what you need to work on.”
His approach is defining his role entering his redshirt senior season.
Brunner is expected to play right guard in the wake of Lynch’s likely move to fill Pat Coogan’s vacated role at center.
“I’m comfortable moving to left or right [guard]; it’s whatever [Bob Bostad] wants me to do,” Brunner said. “I’m here to make the team better.”
(Photo credit: IU Athletics)
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