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Indiana Football Position Preview: Linebackers Led By James Madison Transfer Duo

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Indiana Football Position Preview: Linebackers Led By James Madison Transfer Duo


BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – New faces are sprinkled throughout the 2024 Indiana football roster, and linebacker is no exception.

Aaron Casey was a multi-year leader at the position, ranking third nationally with 20 tackles for loss and earning first-team All-Big Ten honors last season. But he’s off to the NFL, and Jacob Mangum-Farrar, who started alongside Casey in 2023, is transitioning to Indiana’s stud position on the defensive line. 

That leaves close to zero returning production at linebacker, so new head coach Curt Cignetti brought two starters with him from James Madison, Aiden Fisher and Jailin Walker, to fill the void. 

Bryant Haines steps in as Indiana’s new defensive coordinator and linebackers coach after years on Cignetti’s staffs at James Madison, Elon and Indiana University of Pennsylvania. In 2023, Haines guided a James Madison defense that led the nation with 114 tackles for loss and run defense, allowing just 61.5 rushing yards per game.

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Here’s a full breakdown of Indiana’s linebacker room heading into the 2024 season.

Personnel

Notable departures from the 2023 roster: Aaron Casey, Jared Casey, Matt Hohlt

Jailin Walker

Indiana’s Jailin Walker (2) during fall practice at the Mellencamp Pavilion on Thursday. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

James Madison transfer duo

The top candidates to lead Indiana’s linebacking corps are Aiden Fisher and Jailin Walker, who transferred from James Madison to Indiana during the transfer portal’s winter cycle. After making just five tackles in 2022, Fisher had a breakout sophomore season in 2023, leading the Dukes with 108 total tackles, including a career-high 17 in their bowl game. He earned third-team All-Sun Belt honors and was James Madison’s leadership award winner. 

Walker brings more experience than Fisher, having started 20 games and playing in 32 over the last three seasons. He was second on the team with 61 total tackles in 2023 and earned All-Sun Belt honorable mentions each of the last three seasons. Walker was recently named to the College Football Freaks list by Bruce Feldman of The Athletic for his speed and explosiveness, reportedly running 22 miles per hour. Walker did not practice in the spring due to postseason surgery to address a torn labrum, but he has been on the field for fall camp.

“That’s a good team. They’ve got a lot of reps together, and they’re both good players,” Cignetti said of Fisher and Walker. “You can see J-Walk’s athleticism on the practice field. Sideline to sideline, he can really run. He’s one of the fastest guys on the team.”

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Although they’re at a new school, the transition shouldn’t be too drastic for Walker and Fisher due to their experience playing together under Haines and Cignetti. 

“It’s fun,” Walker said about playing in Haines’ defense. “The motto is fast, physical, relentless. So Haines’ defense relies on speed and blitzes. He says freedom equals discipline, so he just lets us fly around, make plays and just enjoy it with the guys.”

Returning linebackers

With Jacob Mangum-Farrar changing positions, Joshua Rudolph is the most experienced Indiana linebacker returning for the 2024 season. He played 116 snaps in the box last season as a backup for Casey and Mangum-Farrar, and he could have a similar role behind Walker and Fisher this season. Rudolph transferred to Indiana before the 2023 season after two years at Austin Peay, where he was second on the team with 73 tackles in 2022. 

Along with Rudolph, Indiana could look to returners like Kaiden Turner and Isaiah Jones for depth at linebacker. Turner only played special teams in 2023, but he logged 75 snaps in the box in the final four games of Indiana’s 2022 season. Jones has even less in-game experience than Turner, but he has good size and could be ready for a bigger role in his third season with the Hoosiers.

The bottom line

The biggest question for Indiana’s linebackers in 2024 is whether Fisher and Walker can replicate their Sun Belt play in the Big Ten. There’s reason to believe they can, as Fisher stood out as much as anyone during Indiana’s spring game and Walker is athletically gifted and experienced. Their familiarity with Haines’ system definitely helps. But we won’t know that answer until several weeks into the season, which naturally creates some uncertainty with this position group.

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Depth is a potential concern, and Indiana will need at least one player from the group of Rudolph, Turner, Jones or UMass transfer Nahji Logan to step up as a third capable linebacker alongside Walker and Fisher. In a backup role, Rudolph’s 60.2 defense grade ranked 24th out of 35 Indiana defenders in 2023, per PFF, and the other returning Hoosiers are even less proven. Logan is perhaps the most likely to fill that role, as he has 39 games and 17 starts under his belt and made 59 tackles last season on his way to second-team All-Independent honors from College Football Network.



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Is ‘The Bachelorette’ happening? This Carmel contestant weighs in

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Is ‘The Bachelorette’ happening? This Carmel contestant weighs in


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Should ABC air the canceled-for-now season of “The Bachelorette”? A Carmel man who was set to compete on it seems to think so.

Matt Carroll, a 43-year-old Purdue basketball alum and Carmel resident, took to social media over the weekend to address the cancelation of season 22 of “The Bachelorette,” on which he appeared. Public opinion on whether the show should see the light of day is split, but the former Boilermaker forward and industrial real estate broker hopes the footage makes it to air.

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Disney and ABC pulled season 22 of “The Bachelorette” because its lead, “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” star Taylor Frankie Paul, faces an ongoing domestic violence investigations. The network announced the decision March 19 after TMZ leaked a video from a 2023 domestic violence incident involving Paul and her ex Dakota Mortensen.

Neither Carroll nor the show have officially commented on the cancelation, but that doesn’t mean he and other contestants haven’t hinted at their feelings on social media.

Carroll’s Instagram reel — in which he struts through the streets of Carmel, rose in hand, RAYE’s “Where the Hell is My Husband” soundtracking it all — breaks the ice. “So…about that,” he joked, tagging both “The Bachelorette” and Bachelor Nation, the franchise’s official hub for news and content.

The reel has garnered comments from fellow Carmel residents wishing Carroll well, even offering to set him up with local singles. Notably, though, some of Carroll’s followers have called for the season to air — and he agrees.

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“Trying to manifest that they still air this,” one comment from model Brittany Mason reads. “America wants it the world wants it!”

“From your lips to God’s ears,” Carroll replied.

Another response from him put it more plainly:

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“I’m still hoping they decide to air it.”

Whether “The Bachelorette” will air is unclear. Disney Entertainment Television’s official statement only indicated that it was halting the season “for now,” so it’s possible the network could dust off the footage and air it after all.

Contact IndyStar Pop Culture Reporter Heather Bushman at hbushman@indystar.com. Follow her on X @hmb_1013.



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Game times announced for Saturday’s Final Four in Indianapolis

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Game times announced for Saturday’s Final Four in Indianapolis


INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – The 2026 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament’s Final Four is set.

Four teams have advanced to the Final Four and will compete for the national championship this upcoming weekend in Indianapolis.

The two national semifinal matchups will take place on Saturday. Tip times for the two games have been announced:

  • 6:09 p.m. EDT – No. 3 seed Illinois vs. No. 2 seed UConn
  • 8:49 p.m. EDT – No. 1 seed Michigan vs. No. 1 seed Arizona

The winners of Saturday’s games will then play in the National Championship Game on Monday, April 6.

Each game will take place inside Lucas Oil Stadium.

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Hundreds gather at Indiana State Capitol for ‘No Kings’ protest

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Hundreds gather at Indiana State Capitol for ‘No Kings’ protest


INDIANAPOLIS — Hundreds of Hoosiers gathered at the Indiana Statehouse Saturday morning as part of nationwide ‘No Kings’ events to voice their concerns about the current administration.

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Hundreds gather at Indiana State Capitol for ‘No Kings’ protest

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“I’m out here today because what’s happening in our government is completely trash,” Donna Sipes told WRTV. “It’s wrong. We need to do something about it.”

“I’m tired of every single day when the TV comes on to see what stupid thing he’s done next,” Lindi Marti said.

WRTV

Attendees noted the growing popularity of the demonstrations.

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“This is my fourth one to come to. I didn’t come to all of them when it was really cold, but I’m glad to see that they are getting a lot more people out here every time,” Marti added. “It seems like there’s more and more coming.”

Demonstrators highlighted specific foreign policy concerns, including the administration’s handling of the war in Iran.

“We’re bombing the heck out of them. We’re killing civilians,” Marti’s husband said. “We’re getting ready to send our Marines.”

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WRTV

Others focused on the administration’s handling of immigration.

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“That’s what I’m concerned about,” Reverend Kenny Little told WRTV. “Little kids, they’re taking them away from their family. And I’m just one of those people, I think everyone got rights.”

Indiana medical students also attended the rally to speak out against changes to the healthcare system.

“We’re really worried about the attacks on the health care system in general, but with Medicaid… current estimates range from anywhere from 325,000 to 450,000 Hoosiers will lose coverage by 2032,” Wade Catt said with concern.

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WRTV

With midterm elections approaching later this year, attendees emphasized the importance of now taking action at the ballot box.

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“If we don’t vote, then things are gonna not, they’re gonna stay the same,” a protester said.

Meanwhile, Indiana Lieutenant Governor Micah Beckwith says he’s happy to see Hoosiers exercise their First Amendment right to protest.

However, he takes issue with the idea that President Trump is acting like a king. Beckwith says the fact that people have the freedom to protest is proof that the president is not acting like a tyrant.

He acknowledges that bridging the gap between the sides is probably an uphill battle, but believes communication is key.

“I think when you sit down with people face to face, you’re confronted with humanity. There’s another human sitting across that table from you and talking to you. And so, all I have to say, I think that’s probably the thing I would encourage all Hoosiers to do is say, ‘Hey, if you don’t agree with somebody or if you don’t like somebody, why don’t you try grabbing coffee with them? And give it 30 minutes, and just see what happens.’ I bet most of the time people will walk away with a much softer heart and spirit towards that person before they came in,” Beckwith said.

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Beckwith is currently on a 92-county tour of the state. He says all sides are welcome to attend his events.

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