Indiana Football Position Preview: Middle Linebackers Following Aaron Casey's Lead

Indiana lost team captain and linebacker Cam Jones to the NFL, but returns 2022 leading tackler Aaron Casey. Under coach Chad Wilt, the middle linebacker room also adds transfers Jacob Mangum-Farrar and Josh Rudolph, who are expected to contribute this season.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Chad Wilt enters his second season as Indiana's linebackers coach and defensive coordinator.

While Indiana head coach Tom Allen handed off defensive play-calling duties to new co-defensive coordinator Matt Guerrieri, Wilt remains heavily involved with the defense. Guerrieri and Wilt will share defensive scripting duties, with Guerrieri sitting in the press box during games and Wilt on the sideline. 

Allen said in order for him to be the best head coach he can be, it was important to bring in Guerrieri, who's also the safeties coach. Wilt remains the linebackers coach, and he has the luxury of returning the team's leading tackler from 2022, Aaron Casey. Add transfers Jacob-Mangum Farrar and Josh Rudolph, and Wilt is excited about the position group's potential.

"Aaron has really gained that confidence from his own demonstrative performance, but also the guys saying ‘Hey, you’re the guy,'" Wilt said. "Because they have confidence in who he is as a player and who he is as a person. He has felt the backing from his team."

Personnel

• #7 Jacob Mangum-Farrar: redshirt senior, 6-foot-4, 240 pounds, 26 games at Stanford
• #8 Jared Casey: redshirt senior, 6-foot-3, 225 pounds, 24 games at Kentucky, eight games at IU
• #14 Kaiden Turner: redshirt freshman, 6-foot-2, 230 pounds, four games at IU
• #26 Joshua Rudolph: junior, 5-foot-11, 230 pounds,
• #27 Xavier Trueblood: redshirt junior, 5-foot-11, 215 pounds,
• #34 Jeff Utzinger: redshirt freshman, 6-foot-2, 225 pounds
• #42 Darryl Minor Jr.: senior, 6-foot, 230 pounds,
• #43 Matt Hohlt: redshirt sophomore, 6-foot-2, 225 pounds,
• #44 Aaron Casey: redshirt senior, 6-foot-2, 235 pounds,
• #46 Isaiah Jones: redshirt senior, 6-foot-2, 225 pounds,
• #48 Sam Tallen: redshirt freshman, 6-foot-1, 225 pounds,

Top expected contributors: Aaron Casey, Jacob Mangum-Farrar, Matt Hohlt, Joshua Rudolph, Kaiden Turner

Indiana's Aaron Casey (44) celebrates a goal-line stop during the Indiana versus Illinois football game at Memorial Stadium on Friday, Sept. 2, 2022 :: Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

Leading tackler returns

Indiana lost nine of its top 10 tacklers from last season, but just so happens to return the category's leader, Aaron Casey. Now entering his sixth year in the program, Casey is one of the undisputed leaders of the team, both on and off the field. In 2022, he paced Indiana with 86 total tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss and four quarterback hits. 

It will help a defense with new faces at every position to have a veteran like Casey in the. Casey was named to the All-Big Ten third team by Pro Football Focus last year, and Wilt challenged him to maintain the upward trajectory his career has followed.

Since taking over as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach last year, Wilt has seen Casey grow in his preparation and the mental side of football.

Behind Casey, returners like redshirt sophomore Matt Hohlt, who recently earned a scholarship, and Kaiden Turner, who made 15 tackles across the final four games last season, are expected to add depth at middle linebacker.

"Matt Hohlt, he's probably like one of the most mature guys I know," Casey said. "He's intelligent as far as the way he plays and how he does things, the way he moves at the backer position. He's been really doing good for us."

Impact transfers

With Casey as Indiana's Stinger, or weak-side linebacker, Jacob Mangum-Farrar has been playing the Mike, or strong-side linebacker, throughout fall camp. Due to the Big Ten's emphasis on the run game compared to more common air-raid offenses in the Pac-12, Mangum-Farrar said he's added weight since joining Indiana this spring as a transfer from Stanford.

Teammates have pointed out Mangum-Farrar's leadership despite never having played at Indiana, and the 6-foot-4 linebacker has made a strong impression on Allen.

"Jacob is a guy that I trust," Allen said. "He’s big and physical, he can run. Very intelligent young man, obviously, a Stanford graduate. Just is a guy that has come in here and has earned the respect of his teammates by how hard he’s worked, how much time he’s put in the film room and how much he studies and prepares."

Another notable transfer joining Indiana is Joshua Rudolph, who was a team captain at Austin Peay last season. Rudolph made 73 total tackles and 7.5 tackles for loss during his sophomore season at Austin Peay. 

Rudolph said he wanted the opportunity to showcase is ability on a bigger stage, and he felt Allen believed in him more than any coach while he was in the transfer portal. Since joining the Hoosiers, he said learning a larger playbook and opponents' speed have been the biggest adjustments. 

"He might not look like the biggest, best thing out there," Casey said of the 5-foot-11, 230-pound Rudolph. "But the way he works is different. You can tell he wants it, you can tell he plays with an edge, he plays with intensity."

The bottom line

Despite all Indiana lost on defense from last season, it helps to have the veteran presence of Casey in the middle. Mangum-Farrar has been a stand-out player throughout the spring and fall, creating a strong duo with Casey. Indiana allowed the fourth most rushing yards in the Big Ten last year, but the Hoosiers should improve in that category with Casey, Mangum-Farrar and an improved defensive line. 

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