Leaning on two important Indiana relationships, Aaron Casey ready to join them as his career takes the next step — the NFL

Micah McFadden, Cam Jones and now Aaron Casey. Come Saturday night, Casey’s career will take the next step — on to the NFL. As the NFL Draft begins on Thursday night, Casey looks to become the third-straight linebacker from the Indiana football program to take the field on Sunday’s, joining the two previous IU standouts that molded the way for him.

While he waited his time, Casey closely examined the play and detail-oriented approach that McFadden and Jones brought to the field, and locker room.

Now, with his day coming up and throughout the entire draft process, he’s been leaning on both of them and taking in as much advice as possible as he heads into the next phase of his career.

“I get on the phone with Cam every week. He’s pretty much my bother. Micah, I talk to him every now and then especially early in the process, how he handles certain things,” Casey said at Indiana’s Pro Day last month. “They are two guys I look up to. Two guys that set the path, do things the right way. I can feed off of them.”

Casey is projected as a sixth or seventh round pick in this year’s NFL Draft. But, that’s not an example of his season — and career — at Indiana.

Casey led Indiana this season with 109 total tackles and became the first Hoosier with 100 tackles in a season since 2016. He also became the first Indiana player to win multiple Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors in a career.

His production on the field goes beyond his 109 tackles, however. He led the Big Ten and ranked third nationally with 20 tackles for loss. He was also the lone FBS player to record multiple games with at least four tackles for loss in a season. He also led the FBS with 19 solo tackles for loss on the year.

Those stats equate to very specific skills that the NFL is intrigued by.

“Instincts,” Casey said of what NFL teams like about his skill. “The way I can move and find the ball in the backfield. That was one of the main things, how aggressive I am in in putting contact.”

“I would give credit to the defenders that came before me,” Casey added in an interview with The Draft Network. “I wanted to emulate the things they did that made them better football players. From there, I developed my own habits and preparation.”

While Casey’s production on the field is what will see him make an NFL roster, his time at Indiana may be better known for the impact he made off the field.

Casey was also chosen by the Indiana coaching staff to wear No. 44 in honor of George Taliaferro, the first African American drafted in the NFL in 1949 and an Indiana graduate, in both 2022 and 2023.

“He’s showed tremendous just diligence and being true to himself,” Former Indiana head coach Tom Allen said at the end of last season. “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.”

So, while Casey prepares for the biggest few days of his career up to this point, his love for Indiana never wavered. The hard work that he put in over the course of his career in Bloomington is in part to the relationships he had with McFadden and Jones, two guys he’s been trying to emulate throughout his career. Now, he’ll most likely be joining them by the end of the weekend — in the NFL.

“Competing with Micah and Cam during my time here (at Indiana) allowed me — pushed me to grow, go harder and do other things and I’m really grateful for them throughout my journey,” Casey said. “It’s a long time that I put in work here. Making friendships, connections … I grew up here for the most part.”

The NFL Draft begins Thursday night with the first round at 8:00 pm ET. Friday follows with rounds two and three beginning at 7:00 pm ET. Then, Saturday finishes rounds four through seven beginning at Noon.

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