The Indiana Hoosiers will be without All-American offensive tackle Carter Smith this spring due to surgery to repair a torn labrum.

Smith confirmed the rumors that started when he was seen wearing a sling at an IU Women’s basketball game earlier this year. While this may be a blow to Smith – he’s expected to be a full go by fall camp – it is a blessing in disguise for the Hoosiers.

“I had a labrum tear on my left shoulder, so I was put in a sling after my surgery. I had a good repair done by a lot of doctors back at home.” Smith said after the Hoosiers’ third practice of the spring.

This is the first time Smith has been hurt during his college career and is a big reason why he chose to come back to IU in 2026 rather than head to the NFL.

“I wanted to be able to put on film that even after an injury like this, where I need to have a full repair, is that I can still put the same stuff on film. Because sometimes that can pop up as a red flag for some programs. And with it being my first time being like this, I have to prove that I can still go out and do all the same things.” Smith added.

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Who Does This Open the Door For?

With every injury comes opportunity and while it is certainly a blow to lose an All-American for spring practice, the opportunity for Indiana’s young offensive lineman gets bigger.

Baylor Wilken, Tackle

The biggest beneficiary of this development is redshirt freshman Baylor Wilkin who will now be thrust into action with the first team.

“Another guy that I kind of see stepping up is Baylor Wilkin.” Smith said. “He’s going to be doing our left tackle work with the ones all spring. I see him as a really fast dude who can connect bodies really fast. He’s got a good strike. He might be a little bit on the shorter side, but he makes up for it in this length.”

Austin Liebfried, Interior OL

Liebfried has played in 13 games for the Hoosiers and will be a redshirt sophomore in 2026. With the graduation of Zen Michalski and several other offensive linemen after the 2025 season, Liebfried’s role will be the swing player along the line to fill in anywhere. With Wilkin moving to left tackle for the spring, this opens up repetitions along the interior for Liebfriend.

What Will Spring Be Like For Carter Smtih?

If Carter Smith could be out on the practice field, he would be.

He admitted to “always itching to put the pads on and go crack some dude on the other side scrimmage.” However, that will not be possible this spring.

Smith is still limited in the weight room, but his impact can still be felt.

“I would say that taking a step back and being able to see the game from a wider range,” Smith said. “I think it’s a good moment for me to be able to see it, especially for our young guys, since we have three early and early freshmen to be able to see what they do on the field and once they come out, to be able to coach them up,” Smith said.

COLUMBUS, Ind. (WISH) — A search is underway for an 11-year-old child after going missing in East Fork White River on Tuesday.

According to a release sent by the Columbus Fire Department, at approximately 6:39 p.m. firefighters and the Bartholomew County water rescue team responded to Mill Race Park on reports of a missing child who went under the water and did not resurface.

Responders deployed numerous boats to search the last known location of the child and down stream portion of the river.

The fire department says operations are ongoing at this time and have not released any further information.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH-TV) – Warm and windy conditions today. We will see rain chances increase throughout the week. Several rain chances along with even some strongest severe thunderstorms could be possible. Temperatures remain above normal for this time of year through the weekend.

TODAY: Partly to mostly cloudy conditions expected during the day. It will be windy once again. Winds will be out of the south and may gust a little higher than yesterday around 30 to  40 mph.

High temperatures will be right around 81 degrees. The record for today is 85. 

There may be a scattered shower that could develop after the lunch hour. But a better chance of showers and storms later this evening

TONIGHT: Showers and thunderstorms could be possible across parts of North Central and northern sections of Indiana. Some of those could be on the stronger side with some gusty winds and heavy rainfall. Low temperatures will fall right around 58.

TOMORROW: More showers and thunderstorms will be possible on Wednesday. A boundary will be set up right across parts of Central Indiana. This will bring us more rain chances on and off throughout the day. Look for temperatures to be right around 65. North of Indianapolis temperatures will be a bit cooler and south of Indy temperatures will be a bit warmer.

7 DAY EXTENDED FORECAST: Much of the day on Thursday will be dry with partly to mostly cloudy skies. It’s going to be warm with high temperatures soaring near 78 degrees. Showers and thunderstorms will develop later in the evening on Thursday as a cold front moves across the state. This will bring us a chance for some strong to maybe even severe thunderstorms late Thursday.

More scattered showers and thunderstorms are possible on Friday. With highs right around 76. Could also see some rain and thunderstorms for the first part of the weekend on Saturday with highs near 73. Easter Sunday does look dry and with some sunshine, but it will be much cooler. Highs will be in near 56.