Linebackers McFadden, Jones Ready For One Last Ride Together

Indiana sophomore Micah McFadden has learned a lot from senior linebacker Reakwon Jones, and they'll need to be at their best Thursday night against Tennessee.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — It takes a different kind of mentality to play linebacker at a high level. Not only do you have to embrace the idea of car-wreck-line collisions on every play, but you also have to be the smartest guys on the defense, too.

And when you get a matchup like this one with Tennessee in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl, Indiana linebackers Micah McFadden and Reakwon Jones have to be ready to snap on those chin straps a little tighter. The Volunteers are a north-south running team with a big and powerful offensive line, so Thursday will be a night full of battles in and around the line of scrimmage.

"They're a heavy downhill running team, a big A-B gap type of running team,'' McFadden said. "They play big boy football for sure. Their O-line is an SEC line that can really move people. Our D-line will have to do a good job holding their gaps. We'll be up for the challenge.''

"This is what you dream about, fitting those gaps and doing that linebacker stuff.''

Tennessee has used three running backs much of the season — juniors Ty Chandler and Tim Jordan, and freshman Eric Gray — Chandler and Jordan got most of the work but Gray rushed for 246 yards in the season finale against Vanderbilt. 

They come right at you, and they won't stop. It's physical football, a common thread in the SEC and the Big Ten. It's physical football that Indiana's linebackers have grown up with. McFadden, Jones and Cam Miller are all Florida natives, and Cam Jones is from Tennessee and Husky Marcelino Ball is from Georgia. 

"You think about that (linebackers) room, there are a lot of southern guys on the roster in those positions, guys raised in SEC country,'' said Indiana coach Tom Allen, who's coached in both leagues, too. "For (McFadden and Jones), those guys were raised watching the Florida Gators play in this state and the Tennessee kids that you mentioned at linebacker, they've watched a lot, too.

"It's the Big Ten versus the SEC, which I think are the two best conferences in all of college football right now. Everybody can have their own opinions about that, but at the same time, our guys embrace that. They know it's a physical brand of football that both conferences play. Both leagues are known for their size and athleticism, just really good teams and good players that produce at the next level as well. Our guys have embraced that, and they know they are going to have to play our best football defensively.''

Sophomore linebacker Micah McFadden was Indiana's leading tackler this season. (Mandatory credit: USA TODAY SPORTS)

Allen is a head coach now, but he's cut his teeth as a defensive coordinator and a linebackers coach. This room is special to him, and the cherry on top, of course, is that his own son, Thomas Allen, is part of this group, too. The younger Allen was injured at midseason, though, and is out for the year.

Jones is the leader of this group, a fifth-year senior from Panama City, Fla., who's been through a lot since arriving in Bloomington in 2015. His story of his family losing their home during Hurricane Michael last year was well chronicled, but he never let that stop him. 

Because of it, he has the respect of all his teammates. And that respect runs very deep in their own linebackers room.

"Reakwon has been such a great mentor to me, and the rest of the linebackers as well,'' McFadden said. "We're such a tight group in that room. It's really like a family, and we have a close bond. He's obviously the oldest guy in the room, and we weren't experienced when we got here, but he took it on solely by himself to help us make all of us better collectively and be a leader. 

"He's made all of us better collectively. He's done a great job of bringing us all together. He's a great leader, and it's been so fun to play next to him. I can't wait to get this last one right by his side.''

That bond has made McFadden and Jones quite the dynamic duo. Allen sees it.

"The linebackers run the defense. That's what that position demands,'' he said. "It demands production and leadership, and those guys have risen up. They are the leaders of our defense and that's what that position has to be. I'm just really proud of them.

"Both Reakwon and Micah being Florida kids, they've both really come into their own as players and as leaders. And that never stops. Just yesterday, I was challenging Micah about being more verbal, being louder and just talking with more confidence. He's a quiet guy, but he plays with so much effort. I just love how hard he plays. He gives us so much. He's just growing and getting better every week it seems like. But those guys are both a really big part of our defense and they need to play their best football on Thursday night for us to have success. I expect them to do that.''

McFadden is really going to miss Jones when he's gone. He's really looked up to him during his two years with him in Bloomington.

"I hope to just be some of the man that he is,'' McFadden said. "He's been through so much stuff, and it's all been out there, and he shares it and embraces it, but there's never been a day where he complains about what he's been going through. He comes out ready to work and shows his love to all his teammates, and that's really good to see.''

Allen is going to miss Jones, too. They've both been there for each other,  through thick and thin, and they're both better for it. 

"Life, and the struggles of life, really help you appreciate what you have,'' said Allen, who was a huge force behind helping Jones get through the hurricane, even when he was so far from home and couldn't do anything about it. "The message is just to make the most of every moment, hug your family, love your family and not take any of it for granted. We are never promised tomorrow. He has been one of those guys that has really lived that out. He has been so consistent with his choices and the way that he has worked. He cares about his family so much and they have had a hard time. 

"My challenge to him is to keep to doing what he is doing so you can help your family the most and get his degree. If he is blessed enough to play professionally, then that is awesome. If not, he has a great degree that he can provide for his family, take care of them, and give them the things that he knows he wants them to have. His mom is proud of him and she should be. He is a special kid."