Aaron Casey Earns First-Team All-Big Ten Honors; Five Hoosiers Receive Accolades

The Big Ten announced all-conference defense and special teams awards on Tuesday, which included Indiana's Aaron Casey, Andre Carter, Kobee Minor, Jaylin Lucas and James Evans.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana linebacker Aaron Casey had a massive senior year, and he was honored for his accomplishments on Tuesday.

The media selected Casey to the first-team All-Big Ten defense, while the conference's coaches picked him to the second team.

Casey was one of four linebackers named to the first-team All-Big Ten defense, along with Iowa's Jay Higgins, Ohio State's Tommy Eichenberg and Penn State's Abdul Carter. Eichenberg won the Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year Award in the Big Ten.

Here's the full first-team defense.

1st-Team Defense 🔒#B1Gtoday pic.twitter.com/Rj2j9Q7ep8

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) November 28, 2023

Casey was picked as a team captain heading into his sixth year at Indiana, and he led the Hoosiers in a variety of ways. Casey recorded a team-high 109 total tackles, which is the most tackles in a single season by a Hoosier since Tegray Scales in 2016. It's also the second consecutive year that he led Indiana in tackles. 

Casey led the Big Ten and ranked second nationally with 20 tackles for loss, which is tied for fourth in Indiana history in a single season. For his career, Casey made 36 tackles for loss, which ranks eighth in program history and one shy of his former teammate, Micah McFadden.

Along with Casey, four other Hoosiers received All-Big Ten honors.

Return specialist Jaylin Lucas received an All-Big Ten honorable mention by the coaches, and the media picked him to the third-team All-Big Ten. Lucas finished the year with 22 kick returns for 572 yards, including a 100-yard kick-return touchdown against Purdue.  

Defensive end Andre Carter received an All-Big Ten honorable mention by the coaches and media. Carter finished fourth on the team with 49 total tackles, second with 11 tackles for loss and third with two sacks. He also broke up three passes and posted a team-high four quarterback hurries. Carter had the second-highest Pro Football Focus (PFF) defensive grade on the team, behind safety Louis Moore.

Cornerback Kobee Minor received an All-Big Ten honorable mention by the media. He finished eighth on the team with 29 total tackles and tied for second with four pass breakups. Minor had the fifth-highest PFF defensive grade on the team. 

Punter James Evans received an All-Big Ten honorable mention by the coaches, and the media picked him to the third-team All-Big Ten. He averaged 45.8 yards per punt, which ranked third in the Big Ten. Evans' 15 punts inside the 20-yard line ranked 11th, and he was tied for sixth in total punts with 57.