2022 Countdown to IUFB Kickoff: 70 Days (Luke Haggard)

Written by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)

The 2022 Hoosier Huddle Countdown is now 30 percent complete. Each day, we will take a look at one (or two) players on the current roster and highlight the players role in the upcoming season. Today, we continue the tour through the offensive line with a stop at left tackle to get to know returning veteran Luke Haggard.

Name: Luke Haggard

Hometown: Petaluma, California (Santa Rosa Junior College)

Position: Offensive Line

Year: Senior+

Height/Weight: 6’7”/303 pounds

Hoosier Huddle and every other media outlet or website that covers Indiana University football has extensively covered the struggles of IU’s offensive line over the past couple of years. We have rehashed those struggles in previous countdown profile pieces. There is no point in continuing down that path yet again. Just know, the offensive line has been bad and if IU is to succeed at any level in 2022, it must improve. Luke Haggard chose to return for his final season of eligibility and try to lead that charge.

Haggard is a California kid, through and through. He grew up in Petaluma, California and played at Petaluma High School as an offensive lineman. He was a team captain and earned all-league honors while also playing lacrosse and rugby. He moved to junior college, staying in California and attending Santa Rosa Junior College which is located in Santa Rosa. Santa Rosa is in Sonoma County, just like Petaluma. Again, he was a team captain and earned all-league distinction while playing for the Bearcubs. Haggard was viewed as a depth piece when he committed to Indiana prior to the 2020 season. However, he impressed the coaches and earned time as a left tackle. By November, he was starting games and he ended up making four starts at left tackle. 2021 brought more expectations and he started the final 11 games after missing the season opener against Iowa with an injury.

While the campaign was a nightmare for Indiana, Haggard was solid. He earned the team’s Chris Dal Sasso Award, a designation given by the coaches to the team’s outstanding lineman. The performance was not good enough as a unit and Haggard chose to return to try and make 2022 better. Tom Allen sees a change in the senior from California.

“The leaders of that group are Bedford and Haggard. Luke has really stepped up in his leadership even though he’s a quiet guy,” Allen said to the media in April.

Luke Haggard is expected to start at left tackle with Matthew Bedford at right tackle. Zach Carpenter is healthy and the favorite to start at center while the guard positions are very much up for grabs. We know there is a new offensive coordinator and that person, Walt Bell, has been very involved with his vision for the offensive line and how that unit should be playing. The hope is that newfound leadership and development from Luke Haggard combined with new blocking schemes that better utilize the assets of these linemen will help the offensive line hold up under the pressures of the Big Ten East.

The countdown continues with a new profile each and every day so come back to hoosierhuddle.com daily!