Rising to the Challenge – Casey Peaking at Right Time
Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The standard is there for Aaron Casey, his standard, what he expects from himself, what he demands from himself, as a leader, as a standout player on an Indiana football team driven to make the postseason.
Take, for instance, tackling.
“I feel I should make 100 percent of the tackles,” he says.
Given the quality of Big Ten running backs, and even quarterbacks and receivers, that won’t happen. Still, it indicates the mindset that makes Casey one of the conference’s best linebackers and Week 10's Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week.
“He’s a consistent guy who practices hard every day, does the little things right on and off the field,” head coach Tom Allen says.
Casey has done that since arriving in Bloomington in 2018 after an all-state career at Georgia’s Alexander High School, and if it took four years to become a difference-making college player, good things sometimes really do come to those who don’t just wait, but persevere.
That includes making the most of IU resources.
“We have a test every Friday night before a game, and one of them is our goals for the game,” Casey says. “Mine is no missed tackles. I try to concentrate on that every week. Focus on tackling, wrapping up, lassoing the legs, and getting them to the ground. Make sure it gets done.”
Casey was a get-it-done beast during last Saturday’s must-win victory over Wisconsin. He totaled nine tackles, seven in the fourth quarter when the Badgers pushed for a comeback that never came.
Casey refused to let it.
He had 4.0 tackles for loss, the most by a Hoosier since 2016. All four, which included two sacks, came in the second half, three in the fourth quarter. He also forced a crucial fourth-quarter fumble that the Hoosiers recovered. It was their first fumble recovery of the season.
“He was very impactful,” Allen says. “He willed us to win. We had to have those stops.”
The result was Casey’s first Big Ten weekly honor. He gets the chance at a repeat on Saturday when IU (3-6) plays at Illinois (4-5).
“It’s cool,” he says. “I haven’t had that before. I haven’t been close to that before.
“But work still needs to be done. We play Illinois and we have to make sure our defense is where it needs to be.”
Casey’s high-impact presence is exactly what co-defensive coordinator Matt Guerrieri wants from his best player.
“Aaron is a great teammate. He cares about other people. He’s selfless. He’s a lead-by-example guy. He’s not a big rah-rah person.
“He’s going to prepare to the best of his ability to hold his teammates accountable. What you see there is what we see every day in practice. He’s put in the work. He brings guys along.”
Casey rises to the challenge -- even when he doesn’t.
Take last month’s sub-par performance against Rutgers.
It bothered him then. It bothers him now, fuels him now.
“I wasn’t commanding the defense as well as I should, as linebackers should,” he says. “I wasn’t getting guys where they needed to go. I had too many missed tackles. My eyes weren’t at the right place all the time. I had to clean that up.”
The Scarlet Knights hammered IU with their rushing attack, and a big reason was poor linebacker play in general, Casey’s in particular.
“It took a while to get over,” he says.
How long?
“All week. It gave me extra motivation throughout the week. I didn’t want to have that feeling again. Putting in the work to make sure we don’t have that same defensive performance.”
Casey is a passionate player, a caring player, a player driven to do his best at all times.
That includes accountability.
“I texted Coach Allen after the Rutgers game that I would do whatever I could to make sure we don’t have this feeling again,” Casey says. “The feeling after that game hit differently than the other losses.”
As a team captain and leader, Casey is held to a higher standard, by himself and his coaches.
“When you're a captain as a linebacker, you've got to lead that side of the ball just by default because that's what linebackers do,” Allen says, “but when you're the captain, you've got to lead the team.
“We weren't afraid to hold him accountable. He's expected to play at a high level every week. He didn't do that, and he knew it.”
The result -- Casey had 10 tackles and a pass breakup at Penn State before his dominating performance against Wisconsin.
That gives him a team-leading 78 tackles, including team highs in tackles for loss (13.5), sacks (5.5), and forced fumbles (two, shared with Louis Moore).
“He's always been a good practice player,” Guerrieri says, “but he’s stepped up his preparation. He’s a high-level practice player.”
Casey and the Hoosiers will face an Illinois offense that ranks fourth in the Big Ten in passing (233.9 yards per game), eighth in scoring (21.1 points), and ninth in rushing (132.2 yards). It has won two of its last three games.
IU ranks eighth in pass defense (199.4 yards allowed), 12th in scoring defense (28.0 points), and last in rushing defense (161.6 yards).
“We have to prepare better, be better with the details and we’ll have a better outcome,” Casey says.
With bowl prospects depending on winning the final three games, including Michigan State (3-6) and Purdue (2-7), Casey has to lead the way.
“We’re going to need his leadership down the stretch,” Allen says. “We know what’s at stake. We know where we’re at and what we have to do each week. It’s a 1-0 mindset, and he’s the leader of that group.”