2024 was a milestone and memorable season for the Indiana Hoosiers. Curt Cignetti’s first season in Bloomington resulted in a stunning 11-1 regular season record with the lone loss coming in Columbus against eventual National Champion Ohio State. Indiana made the College Football Playoff and battled Notre Dame before falling in South Bend and ending the season at 11-2. It was a school-record for wins and Curt Cignetti was honored as the National Coach of the Year. As IU begins preparations for the 2025 campaign, there is an unprecedented amount of attention on the program.

Hoosier Huddle is gearing up for the spring with individual position group previews. Today, we examine the linebacker room. Defensive coordinator Bryant Haines is also in charge of this position group and James Madison transfers Aiden Fisher and Jailin Walker were the top two tacklers for the Hoosiers as the defense significantly improved and both players earned recognition for stellar play. Walker is gone but Fisher returns as the leader of the defense.

Jailin Walker – 82 tackles including 10 tackles for loss

Jamari Farmer – FR from Mooresville, NC

PJ Nelson – FR from Cincinnati, OH

Amari Kamara – FR From Ashburn, Virginia

Indiana’s most often used formation had two linebackers on the field and the vast majority of the time in 2024, that meant Fisher and Walker were on the field and in the middle of the action. There were certainly times when the Hoosiers utilized a third linebacker but they are typically going to continue using two linebackers at a time.

Starter – Aiden Fisher – Senior

Feel free to list Aiden Fisher in permanent marker as a starter on your projected depth chart. The returning All-American will be one of the best linebackers in America in 2025 after his fantastic 2024 campaign. Fisher led the Hoosiers with 118 tackles, third-most in the Big Ten. His value extends well beyond his numbers as Fisher leads the defense as the “Green Dot” player that communicates with coordinator Bryant Haines before each play. In short, he’s the “quarterback” of the defense and his return was a gigantic boon early in the offseason.

Starter – Rolijah Hardy – Sophomore

The competition for the second starting linebacker position is going to be on of the big storylines of the spring. IU chose not to add any linebackers via the transfer portal (the only position on the roster in which that was the case). That gives strong credence to the belief that the coaches feel very good the options they have returning. Rolijah Hardy is my pick to emerge as the starting weakside linebacker opposite of Aiden Fisher. Hardy appeared in all 13 games in 2024 after being a surprise late addition to the recruiting class after spending a year at Naval Prep Academy. Hardy did not have a great recruiting ranking but he flashed every single time he was on the field as a big hitter that found himself around the ball. He often served as Jailin Walker’s backup and should only get better with more experience.

Rotation – Isaiah Jones, Quentin Clark, Kaiden Turner

Isaiah Jones was an afterthought entering the 2024 season but he impressed the new coaching staff and earned his first real shot at playing time as a redshirt sophomore, playing in all 13 games and securing 42 tackles on the season (7th-most on the team). Jones is now a veteran and he’s clear number two at the strongside position behind Aiden Fisher. It appears likely that he will see plenty of time in three-linebacker sets. If Rolijah Hardy is beaten for the other starting spot, it will Quentin Clark that snags the spot. Clark was injured in the early part of the 2024 campaign before returning to be an important and impressive practice player that consistently grabbed the coaching staff’s attention in the back-half of the season. He is not quite as athletic as Jailin Walker (very few are) but he does have a very similar skillset and build and looks like a future star in the making. He’s definitely a player to keep an eye on. Kaiden Turner has not seen the field much at all during his three seasons in Bloomington and this spring is critical for him to make an impression. He really needs to impress Bryant Haines and show some progress if he wants to do anything beyond playing special teams.

Depth/Development – PJ Nelson, Jamari Farmer, Jeff Utzinger, Amari Kamara

If IU’s linebacker corps stays healthy, it is extremely unlikely that anyone beyond the top five would be in the rotation in anything more than blowout opportunities. However, the Hoosiers do feel good about the players they brought in at this position for the future. Jamari Farmer is a 6’0” and 210-pound tank from North Carolina and PJ Nelson is 6’1” and 212 pounds and from Cincinnati. Both players were well-regarded recruits and highly-productive in high school. They project as contributors in 2026 and beyond. Amari Kamara is the younger brother of standout defensive lineman Mikail Kamara and he joins IU as a freshman from Virginia. He’s a bit undersized but IU fans should know to never underestimate a Kamara.

Aiden Fisher is a stud but the position next to him is an unknown. I believe Rolijah Hardy and Quentin Clark both have the potential to turn into special players. My bold prediction is that Quentin Clark will emerge as a force and he will reach eight tackles for loss in 2025. That number would have placed him third on the team in that category in 2024 and I believe his athleticism is going to be utilized to cause disruption by Bryant Haines.

Until proven otherwise, I believe it is unwise to doubt a unit led by Aiden Fisher and guided by Bryant Haines. Yes, there is a question mark at the weakside linebacker spot but the candidates to fill that hole are talented and will have a full offseason to get up to speed. Beyond them, I really like what Isaiah Jones showed last season and believe him to be very quality depth. This unit should be very good once again.