Of all the transfers who followed Curt Cignetti from James Madison during the offseason, there’s probably no one who is likely to make a major contribution flying further under the radar than Jailin Walker.
One major reason, Walker suffered a torn shoulder labrum that impacted his 2023 season, and he missed all of Indiana’s spring practice sessions.
But the 6-foot-1 and 218-pound senior linebacker is back to full strength and on the field at Indiana’s fall camp.
And Walker has quickly reminded everyone why he has started 20 games over the last two seasons, earning All-Sun Belt honors each time.
“You can see J Walk’s athleticism on the field,” Cignetti said Monday. “Sideline to sideline, he can really run. He’s one of the fastest guys on the team.”
Another way to describe the Richmond, Va. product?
He’s a freak.
Well known college football analyst Bruce Feldman included Walker in his annual preseason list of college football “freaks” for 2024.
Here’s what Feldman said about Walker in his piece for the Athletic.
One of the players who followed Curt Cignetti to the Big Ten from James Madison, Walker earned honorable mention All-Sun Belt Conference last season after recording 61 tackles, 5.5 TFLs and forcing three fumbles. The 6-1, 220-pounder will bring the Hoosiers a lot of speed. He clocked a top speed of 22.5 mph on the GPS. He also vertical-jumped 40 inches this offseason.
“He consistently hits 21-22 mph every day,” IU linebacker Aidan Fisher said. “He can jump out of the gym. In all of his explosive efforts that we do, he comes in at No. 1 in all of ’em. It’s really impressive. He’s just so explosive.”
Both JMU transfers, Walker and Fisher look like strong contenders to start at linebacker for IU in week one.
The Hoosiers open the 2024 season on Aug. 31 against Florida International in Bloomington.
Watch Walker talk to the media last week in Bloomington:
Watch: IU football linebacker Jailin Walker Q&A after day two of fall camp
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