Best Indiana Football Players Of The 2020s So Far: No. 2 Micah McFadden

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – As you’ll see when they’re published, the No. 1 choices for the best Indiana players of the 2020s in men’s and women’s basketball were relatively straightforward choices.

Not so for football.

The data for football is more disparate, and comparing positions is always challenging. There is also the conundrum that has come up often in this series of comparing single-season excellence to multi-season staying power.

Indiana linebacker Micah McFadden is part of this dynamic. A very good case can be made that he was the best player of the 2020s for Indiana football.

Yet he is No. 2 on our list of players. It’s not for lack of production.

McFadden is one of the recruiting success stories of the Tom Allen coaching era. A Tampa, Fla., native, Allen coaxed McFadden north and it paid major dividends for the Hoosiers.

McFadden turned heads in 2019 when he was named Indiana’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player of the Year as a sophomore. He started 12 of the 13 games that season at middle linebacker and led the Hoosiers in tackles.

It portended big things to come, and 2020 proved to be a watershed season for the 6-foot-2 McFadden. He led the Big Ten with six sacks in eight games and had 58 tackles, including 11 for a loss. Those 11 tackles for loss would allow McFadden to have double-digit TFL totals in his final three seasons, despite one of those seasons being shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

McFadden helped Indiana achieve a 6-2 record as the defense allowed 20.8 points per game, ranked top 20 in scoring defense. McFadden was a unanimous first team All-Big Ten and a second-team All-American by Phil Steele. He was named MVP of the 2020 team – a high honor considering the talent on that team.

Optimism was high that Indiana could take another step toward a Big Ten championship in 2021, but the Hoosiers went backward and finished with a 2-10 record. McFadden mostly maintained his level of excellence. He had a career-high 77 tackles, including 16 for a loss, and 6.5 sacks.

Some still believe Indiana’s 2021 season turned for the worse when McFadden was called for a targeting penalty in the first half against Cincinnati in the third game of the season.

Probably due to Indiana’s slippage down the standings, McFadden was only a second-team All-Big Ten player in 2021.

McFadden could have returned to Indiana in 2022 with a COVID-19 amnesty year available, but he chose to go pro instead. He was drafted in the fifth round by the New York Giants and continues to play for the Giants as their starting right inside linebacker.

How good was McFadden in the 2020s for the Hoosiers? He is the only Indiana player who averaged 80 or more (80.3) on their Pro Football Focus grade who played for more than one season for the Hoosiers. His peak PFF grade of 85.8 is the second-best of any defensive player of the decade, only trailing Mikail Kamara.

McFadden earned his spot near the top of the Indiana 2020s rankings, and he takes the crown as the most impactful defensive player of the decade.

Previous football top 16 players of the 2020s

No. 3 - Michael Penix Jr.
No. 4 - Mikail Kamara
No. 5 - Peyton Hendershot
No. 6 - D'Angelo Ponds
No. 7 - Tiawan Mullen
No. 8 - Aaron Casey
No. 9 - Carter Smith
No. 10 - Donaven McCulley
No. 11 - Aiden Fisher
No. 12 - Jaylin Williams
No. 13 - Jailin Walker
No. 14 - CJ West.
No. 15 - Ty Fryfogle.
No. 16 - Mike Katic.

Previous football top 16 players of the 2020s

Related stories on Indiana football