Indiana football player preview: Running back Kaelon Black
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - A number of transfers have made the jump from Harrisonburg to Bloomington this offseason to follow head coach Curt Cignetti.
One of those James Madison transfers is running back Kaelon Black, a leader both with his voice and his play on the gridiron.
Ahead of Black's first campaign with the cream and crimson, recap the tail back's 2023 season with the Dukes and preview the season ahead for the new Hoosier.
2023 Season Recap
Black's 2023 season at James Madison was quite the productive campaign.
The 5-foot-10, 210 pound running back appeared in all 13 of the Dukes' games a season ago, starting in 12 of them. Black carried the ball just over 10 times a games and rushed for 637 yards over the course of the season. He found the end zone once on the ground.
The lone 100-yard rushing game for Black came in early September against Bucknell, where he carried the ball 12 times for 125 yards on the ground.
Through the air is were Black separated himself amongst the rest of the back at James Madison a year ago.
The native of Virginia Beach, Virginia reeled in 24 passes last season, accumulating 254 receiving yards out of the backfield. Black also hauled in four passes for touchdowns in 2023 at James Madison.
After catching 27 passes during the 2022 season, Black has developed into a tail back capable of making big plays in the passing game as well as the running game.
Now in Bloomington, Black will look to continue to build off of a career year in 2023.
Check out TheHoosier.com's other 2024 Indiana football player previews:
2024 Season Outlook
While Black may not be coined as the Hoosiers' "starter" entering the 2024 season, the Salem High School product will certainly be a part of a two-headed attack at the running back spot for Indiana.
Both Black and Ellison are similar in the strength and size department, but Black's skillset lends itself to more of a receiving back role. That's not to say Black won't see plenty of carries over the course of the season with the Hoosiers.
Because of Black's capabilities as a pass catcher, Ellison -- who started the first series of the spring game for the Hoosiers -- will likely garner a slightly higher workload in the ground game this upcoming season. Meanwhile, it's likely that Black features more often in the passing game.
Combine his ability in pass protection with that receiving ability and Black seems like the likely candidate to handle third down duties for the Hoosiers this upcoming season.
Black has noted this offseason that in the past, he's struggled with his vocal leadership. However, in a new place and surrounded by new faces, Black has had to become much more of a vocal presence in the locker room this offseason.
Heading into his fifth season of college football, Black is expected to be at the forefront of Indiana football's change in culture, both on and off the field.
From Cignetti
While Cignetti has yet to comment specifically on Black this offseason, the Hoosiers' head coach has addressed the running back room as a whole.
"Our running back corps looked deep," Cignetti said coming out of the spring. "That group definitely caught my eye. Our running back room is faster, more dynamic, good at pass protection, good at catching the ball out of the backfield, can break tackles. We have more speed and athleticism back there. All three of those guys just love football. They're football nuts. Tough guys.”
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