NFL Draft profile: Micah McFadden, Indiana linebacker

The NFL Draft begins Thursday at 8 p.m. ET, and a Hoosier that could hear his named called is two-year captain and middle linebacker Micah McFadden, who led Indiana in tackles for three consecutive seasons.

If you watched Indiana's defense at all the past three seasons, there's a strong chance Micah McFadden was making the tackle.

McFadden was the heart and soul of the Indiana defense dating back to his sophomore season in 2019, as he led all Hoosiers in tackles for three consecutive seasons. As a sophomore, McFadden was named IU's Most Outstanding Defensive Player of the Year, and during his junior and senior seasons he took home Indiana’s Anthony Thompson Most Valuable Player Award. 

McFadden was selected to the third-team All-American by the Associated press as a junior. In his final season of college, McFadden was named to the watch lists for the Chuck Bednarik Award, Butkus Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Rotary Lombardi Award. 

Indiana head coach Tom Allen said McFadden developed into a verbal leader for Indiana's defense as a senior and always displayed relentless intensity. McFadden was a reliable run stopper throughout his career, but he was also one of the top blitzing linebackers. During his junior and senior seasons, McFadden posed 12.5 sacks and 26 tackles for loss.

And after four seasons as a Hoosier, McFadden declared for the NFL Draft, which begins on Thursday night at 8 p.m. ET.

Allen recruited McFadden out of Plant High School in Tampa, Fla., where he was  teammates with Allen's son, Thomas. McFadden made 211 tackles on his way to being named Florida Player of the Year as a senior at Plant, which is known as one of the premier football programs in the state.

But McFadden was still overlooked by many college programs. His only Power Five offers came from Boston College and Indiana, and McFadden was ranked as the No. 1,985 in his class. 

McFadden now stands at 6-foot-1, 240 pounds and received a 5.81 prospect grade by NFL's Next Gen Stats, which projects McFadden as "an average backup or special-teamer." 

The biggest knock on McFadden right now, according to NFL analyst Lance Zierlein, is that he is undersized for an inside linebacker in the NFL and his speed and athleticism are only average. McFadden ran a 4.63 40-yard dash at Indiana's Pro Day. Zierlein listed limited range outside the box, limited lateral agility and borderline speed for man coverage duties as some of McFadden's weaknesses. 

Zierlein said McFadden showed passivity and indecisiveness against Iowa, Michigan and Ohio State, which seemed out of place compared to other games. Because of this, Zierlein projects McFadden to be drafted in the sixth or seventh round. 

"There's so many players who have made money in the league, won Super Bowls and been starters," McFadden said in an interview with the Bloomington Herald-Times. "They're not the most athletic or talented dude, but they know the game, They understand where they fit in the scheme and how to find the ball. That's what I'm going to bring to whatever team I end up on. Teams know that I understand ball." 

But after two years as Indiana's team captain, there is also reason to believe McFadden can succeed as a pro. Zierlein compared McFadden's ability to read block development to a running back looking for a lane. 

He praised McFadden's knack for trusting his eyes, instinctive reading and peripheral visions. And perhaps one of the more important traits for a linebacker, Zierlein wrote that McFadden drives his chest through runner's hips and wraps to finish.

McFadden has been a standout performer and vocal leader in high school and college, and as he awaits his name being called on draft night, all he wants is a chance. 

"I don't really care about the round," McFadden said. "Obviously, I'd love to be drafted. That's an important piece of it, not only for my position but where I am in this draft class. For me, I just want to go out there and play ball again. I want to find out whose team I'm going to be on and where I'm going to be playing ball this fall."

Related stories to Indiana football:

• MEET ADAM HENRY: Tom Allen hired Adam Henry, who spent the last seven seasons coaching wide receivers in the NFL, to replace Grant Heard as Indiana's co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach. Henry inherits a receiving corps that lost top 2021 wideouts Ty Fryfogle and Miles Marshall. CLICK HERE
• MEET PAUL RANDOLPH: Paul Randolph replaces Kevin Peoples as Indiana's defensive line coach, bringing 24 years of coaching experience that includes 17 bowl game appearances. Randolph's coaching philosophy is based around helping young men accomplish their dreams and immediately meshed with Tom Allen's coaching style. CLICK HERE
• MEET WALT BELL: There's been a lot of change to Indiana's football coaching staff this offseason, with five new faces now part of the daily teaching routine. In the first part of our ''Meet The Coaches'' series, meet Walt Bell, the Hoosiers' new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.CLICK HERE