Indiana football's season opener against Florida International has continued to creep closer and closer as each day comes and goes. With the season less than a month away, TheHoosier.com's staff predicts who will be Indiana's leading tackler for the 2024 season.
ZACH BROWNING
Aiden Fisher led James Madison in tackles last season by a significant margin. His 108 total tackles were 47 tackles more than the Dukes' second-leading tackler, Jailin Walker, during the 2023.
Additionally, it was the Hoosiers' middle linebacker Aaron Casey, that led the team in tackles a season ago.
Because of both of those facts, as well as the idea that linebackers typically are the leading tacklers for most defenses, I have a hard time thinking anyone other than Fisher will lead Indiana in tackles in 2024.
Fisher has the keys to the defense in his hands, and after an all-conference campaign a season ago, I expect him to have a big season in Bloomington -- a season that includes Fisher being Indiana's leading tackler.
JOSH POS
JMU transfer Aidan Fisher is the clear cut favorite in my eyes to be Indiana’s leading tackler this season.
This wasn’t a relatively hard choice to make. Last season with the Dukes, Fisher led the way with 106 tackles en route to a third-team All-Sun Belt nod.
During the spring availability, Curt Cignetti gave Fisher high praise for his talent at the linebacker position and marked him as a leader and it makes sense that Fisher will once again lead his team in tackles this season, even playing in a higher level conference in the Big Ten.
There aren’t many players in the country that have the ability to record multiple double-digit tackle games in their career, let alone a single season. Fisher is going to lead the defense both on and off the field and make the Hoosier defense much better than what we have seen in recent seasons in Bloomington.
COLIN MCMAHON
The question to who will be Indiana's leading tackler in 2024 is a tricky one. Last season, senior Aaron Casey stepped up and played a huge role, racking up the most tackles with 109 a season ago. Casey, though, now is with the NFL's Cincinnati Bengals, leaving a hole for who could be this year's leading tackler, who I think be Aiden Fisher, a junior transfer from James Madison.
Casey had far and away the most tackles for the Hoosiers in 2023, with the next leading tackler, Louis Moore, having 26 less than Casey. Moore, like Casey, will not be a part of the 2024 Hoosier defense, after he transferred to Ole Miss. Once agin, that's where Fisher will step in as the new leader in this reshaped IU defense under Curt Cignetti.
Fisher had 108 total ta kles in 2023, which would have put him just under Casey's mark a season ago. Fisher did this in just his second year in collge football and his first as a starter, showing he still has plenty of room to grow this season in Bloomington.
Fisher should be the leader of the defense and I exect him to take a leap that will not only make him IU's leading tackler in 2024, but one of the top linebackers in all of the Big Ten.
–––––
Like this content? Join the conversation on TheHoosier.com's premium message boards and subscribe today!
– Follow TheHoosier on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook!
– Subscribe to TheHoosier on YouTube for more content
– Interact with fellow fans on TheHoosier's Premium Football Board and Premium Hoops Board
