Former Indiana Walk-On Matt Hohlt Earns Scholarship

Matt Hohlt joined the Indiana football team as a walk-on linebacker, but he earned a scholarship from coach Tom Allen ahead of the 2023 season.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – “That kid is going to be a really good football player here."

That's what coach Tom Allen told Chad Wilt during a 2022 offseason workout, shortly after Wilt was hired as Indiana's defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. Allen was pointing to walk-on Matt Hohlt, a 6-foot-2, 225 pound linebacker from Greenwood, Ind., who was fighting to earn his place on the team. 

Hohlt's on-field play in 2022 already established his place on the roster, but Allen further solidified it on Thursday when he told the entire Indiana team that Hohlt had been placed earned a scholarship. 

👊 You earned it, @HohltMatt. pic.twitter.com/To2kB6boUC

— Indiana Football (@IndianaFootball) August 18, 2023

A product of Center Grove High School just under 40 miles north of Bloomington, Hohlt walked on to the team during 2021 fall camp and gradually worked his way up. He was redshirted during his first year, but did see action in games against Rutgers and Minnesota. He twice earned recognition as a scout team player of the week during his true freshman season. 

In 2022, Hohlt became a regular in the linebacker rotation, playing in 10 games and racking up 19 total tackles, as well 1.5 tackles for loss. His role expanded after a season-ending injury to Cam Jones, and Hohlt made the most of his opportunities.

Alongside players such as Aaron Casey, Jacob Mangum-Farrar and Josh Rudolph, Hohlt already figured to be a key piece in the 2023 Indiana linebackers room before he was put on scholarship. As the son of Eric Hohlt, who played at Indiana from 1982-85, Matt has long been dreaming of and fighting for a spot with the Hoosiers. He's willing to do whatever it takes, both on the field, and off. 

"I'll do anything to help the team," Matt said Thursday, talking about his role this year. "I'm playing Stinger right now, but I can jump in and play Mike if I need to."

Everyone in the building, from Allen to Wilt, and even former Indiana linebacker Cam Jones, has noticed how hard Hohlt works. They believed that he was due for a moment just like this. 

“When [Hohlt] first got here, I kind of saw something special in him,” Jones said during the 2022 season. “I just told him to keep working, his time is going to come, and his time is here, and he’s making the best of it.”

Hohlt worked his tail off for the past two seasons at Indiana, first to earn playing time and now earning a scholarship. It's something he deserves, and something that every Indiana fan should be happy about.  

“Every time we would scrimmage, it was, ‘Okay, this guy has a knack for the ball,’” Allen said during the 2022 season. “And to play linebacker, it's about leadership and production. He just produced.”

Now entering 2023 as a Big Ten scholarship athlete, Allen and Indiana trust that they'll get even more fantastic leadership and production from Matt Hohlt. 

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