Aaron Casey Hopes to be Next Indiana Linebacker in NFL

Former Indiana head coach Tom Allen recruited linebackers Micah McFadden, Cam Jones and Aaron Casey in the same 2018 class. McFadden and Jones have already reached the NFL, and now Casey hopes to join them after his first team All-Big Ten senior season with the Hoosiers.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – A former linebacker himself, Tom Allen always ensured his Indiana teams had a defensive anchor in the middle of the field. 

No recruiting class played a bigger role in that than his 2018 group, which has already produced two NFL linebackers and a 2024 draft hopeful. Allen, Indiana’s head coach from 2017-23 and now the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Penn State, recruited Micah McFadden, Cam Jones and Aaron Casey in the same class.

"That's where my eyes go on that side of the ball,” Allen said during his introductory press conference at Penn State. “That's where my heart is, on that side of the football, and I sat in pretty much every linebacker meeting at Indiana as the head coach. I love, love that position.”

McFadden became a first team All-Big Ten and third team All-American linebacker under Allen before being selected in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft by the New York Giants. During his second NFL season in 2023, McFadden was third on the Giants with 101 total tackles and tied for the team lead with 12 tackles for loss.

His teammate and successor, Jones, was a three-time team captain and earned two All-Big Ten honorable mentions with the Hoosiers. Jones went undrafted in 2023, but he signed with the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent and played in 18 games on their way to a Super Bowl victory.

As a team captain in 2023, Casey earned first team All-Big Ten honors after finishing third in the nation and leading the Big Ten with 20 tackles for loss. He was also chosen by the coaching staff to wear No. 44 during the 2022 and 2023 seasons in honor of George Taliaferro, an Indiana graduate who became the first African American drafted by the NFL in 1949.

Indiana's Aaron Casey celebrates a backfield tackle against Western Kentucky.

Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY

Now, Casey hopes to be next up among Indiana linebackers to reach the NFL as the lone Hoosier invited to the 2024 NFL Draft Combine. Casey said at Indiana’s Pro Day in March that he talks to Jones, who’s “pretty much my brother,” on a weekly basis, and that he reached out to McFadden for advice on the pre-draft process.

“They’re both two guys that I look up to,” Casey said. “Two guys that set the path, do things the right way.”

Casey also credited former Indiana linebackers Raekwon Jones and Dameon Willis Jr. for helping him during the early stages of his college football career. 

“Those guys really took me in and they showed me how things are supposed to be done,” Casey said. “I feel like that really allowed me to be the type of leader I am and the type of guy I am in my last year at IU. Also, competing with Micah and Cam the whole time here pushed me to go harder, pushed me to do better things, so I’m really grateful for those guys along my journey.”

The 2024 NFL Draft begins Thursday at 8 p.m. ET with the first round, followed by rounds two and three on Friday at 7 p.m. ET and rounds four through seven on Saturday beginning at Noon ET.

According to NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein, Casey is projected to be a seventh-round pick. At 6-foot-1 and 231 pounds, Casey recorded a 4.75-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, in addition to a 1.59-second 10-yard split, a 30-inch vertical jump, a 9-foot-9-inch broad jump and 16 repetitions on the 225-pound bench press.

NFL’s Next Gen stats give Casey a 5.88 prospect grade, which equates to an “average backup or special-teamer.” His production score is 75, which ranks ninth among linebackers at the combine, followed by a 61 athleticism score, ranking 20th, and a total score of 71, good for 12th.

Feb 29, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana linebacker Aaron Casey runs the 40-yard dash during the 2024 NFL Combine.

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

“Casey looks like and hits like an NFL inside linebacker but doesn't always seem to see the game like one,” Zierlein wrote. “The instincts and play recognition fall below par, but the production still stands out. His high number of solo tackles displays an ability to work through blocks and hammer ball-carriers or pass catchers. Casey will take shots downhill when he reads his keys but needs to balance that aggression with more patience to keep from running himself into traffic. He's not the best fit for pass coverage, but he's an instant "yes" for special teams. If he runs well enough, Casey could find a home as a backup inside linebacker and special teams ace.”

Casey had to wait his turn behind McFadden and Jones at Indiana, but now he hopes to join them as the next Indiana linebacker in the NFL. Casey led Indiana with 109 total tackles in 2023 and became the first Hoosier to win multiple Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week awards in a career.

Heading into his final game as a Hoosier in 2023, Allen gave a long response about what Casey meant to the program throughout his six seasons.

“It hasn't been easy for him to just come here and become the guy right away,” Allen said. “It took several years. Most guys aren't willing to do that. They're not willing to wait. He's shown tremendous diligence and being true to himself. He's been very consistent on and off the field. He's never been a guy that's ever caused any issue whatsoever, even when he was young and wasn't getting to play. Just always where he's supposed to be, doing what he's supposed to do, and just growing, growing step by step.”

“It's just been such a neat process to see him just grow and develop gradually over time, and then to be able to play his best football in his final season is just what you want. You want guys to come here and be developed as men and as football players, and that's what he's done. Through all that, he's been consistently taking care of his business in the classroom and representing his family in a first-class way in all that he does. 

“That, to me, is to see a young man come here and fulfill his full potential, maximize that, that's what you want for your guys. We had a vision for him as a player when he got here, and he's stayed true to that, he's stayed with us, and it's neat to see him rewarded for that.”