Former Indiana Football Player Marcelino McCrary-Ball Signed to New York Jets Practice Squad

The New York Jets have signed former Indiana football player Marcelino McCrary-Ball to their practice squad for the 2023 NFL season. McCrary-Ball played for both Kevin Wilson and Tom Allen at Indiana from 2016-21.

Indiana football player Marcelino McCrary-Ball has been signed to the New York Jets practice squad. 

McCrary-Ball played for coaches Tom Allen and Kevin Wilson at Indiana from 2016-21, and after going undrafted out of college, he spent the 2022 NFL season on the San Francisco 49ers' practice squad. 

The Niners waived McCrary-Ball on Tuesday, as he did not make the team's final 53-man roster, to the dismay of San Francisco fans and media.

"The 49ers waived Marcelino McCrary-Ball, who is good enough to start for some teams," Grant Cohn wrote for the San Francisco Sports Illustrated/FanNation page. "A smart organization will claim him. It's too bad the 49ers kept four subpar backup offensive lineman and not him."

Well, it turns out the New York Jets are that smart organization that Cohn was talking about. They scooped up the defensive back-turned-linebacker from Indiana shortly after he was released by the Niners. 

Jets LB Marcelino McCrary-Ball returning a pick.

Not many LBs move like that pic.twitter.com/wE2BUI9rG1

— Jets Blackout (@JetsBlackout) August 31, 2023

McCrary-Ball arrived in Bloomington as a three-star safety out of Roswell, Ga., in 2016. He immediately made an impact for Indiana, racking up 75 tackles as a true freshman and mere 17 year-old, the third best mark of anyone on the team in 2016. For his efforts, McCrary-Ball was named a True Freshman All-American by 247 Sports, and to the honorable mention All-Big Ten team by coaches and media.

Unfortunately, that's when the injuries stared to pile up for McCrary-Ball. He only played three games in 2017 before he suffered a season-ending injury, and prior to the magical 2020 season, he suffered a torn ACL in fall camp.

He would still return to play again for Allen and the Hoosiers through it all in 2021. In his final season at IU, he appeared in all 12 games, and started in six at the Husky position.

McCrary-Ball left Indiana with 241 tackles, 16.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks and four interceptions during his collegiate career. He also finished his tenure at IU with seven career kick returns that netted 144 yards, good for an outstanding 20.6 yards per return. 

The Jets do not currently roster a great number of linebackers, the position McCrary-Ball has fully transitioned to during the past year. 

CJ Mosley, Quincy Williams, Jamien Sherwood, Zaire Barnes and Chazz Surratt are the only five linebackers the team kept on its 53-man roster. McCrary-Ball never made the 49ers' roster like he proclaimed that he would in the 2022 preseason, but with the Jets taking another chance on him in 2023, it seems that his football journey is far from over. 

Related Stories on Indiana Football:

• IU IN THE NFL: Eight different former Indiana Hoosier football players made active 53-man rosters in the NFL, while one is on the Injured Reserve and several others were waived. CLICK HERE
• CAM JONES MAKES CHIEFS' ROSTER: Former Indiana Hoosiers' linebacker Cam Jones has made the 53-man roster for the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. CLICK HERE
• SUDFELD TEARS ACL: The all-time leading passer in the history of Indiana football sadly tore his ACL in an NFL preseason game on Friday. He's now been placed on the Injured Reserve list by the Detroit Lions. CLICK HERE