Indiana football's newest addition to its roster is former Kentucky linebacker Jared Casey, who announced he is transferring to IU on Saturday afternoon.
The former Rivals four-star recruit ranked No. 17 at linebacker in the 2019 class, first committed to Oregon before he flipped to Kentucky.
He was initially recruited as an outside linebacker but switched to inside linebacker after his first year at Kentucky. The Wildcats already had an experienced edge defender at outside linebacker, so Casey switched positions, presumably to see more playing time.
However, on the depth chart, he was still behind upperclassman and inside linebacker DeAndre Square, meaning Casey didn't play as many snaps or see the field as often.
As a redshirt freshman in 2020, Casey played in all 11 games and recorded 20 total tackles, 13 of which were solo. He also had 2.0 tackles for loss.
The sophomore played in 12 games this past season, including Kentucky's appearance in the Citrus Bowl against No. 17 Iowa, where he recorded one solo tackle in the 20-17 victory.
Though he appeared in one more game this past season, Casey had nine tackles in 2021 and zero tackles for loss, a decline statistically from his 2020 performance. The step backward could have been partly due to freshman Kentucky linebacker Martez Thrower appearing in seven games and playing snaps over Casey despite being listed third on the depth chart.
Casey will be entering a linebacker group at IU that has already suffered a loss and is still riding a wave of uncertainty. Team captain and senior Micah McFadden declared for the NFL Draft, and upperclassmen Cam Jones and Thomas Allen haven’t decided if they will return for next season.
IU has compensated for this potential loss by digging into the transfer portal and adding former Miami (FL) linebacker Bradley Jennings Jr., who has one year of eligibility remaining. Jennings Jr. played in 19 games, totaling 53 tackles in the past two seasons.
Casey has up to three years of eligibility remaining, his junior and senior seasons and an extra year due to COVID. His experience could help bridge the gap between upperclassmen departing the program and helping younger players develop.
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