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Written by Matt Smith
Welcome to the 2022 edition of the Hoosier Huddle Countdown! We are now officially underway as we countdown from 100 to the beginning of the 2022 Indiana University football season. Each day, we will take a look at one (or two) players on the current roster and highlight the players' role in the upcoming season. Number 14 on the list is freshman Kaiden Turner.
Read MoreWritten by Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)
The Hoosiers are four practices into their spring session and have hit spring break with 11 practices to go. We continue our look into the position battles happening all over the field for IU. After losing All-American linebacker Micah McFadden to the NFL Draft, IU will have a hole to fill at the middle linebacker position. IU does get Cam Jones back at stinger and there is no battle there. The spring should go a long way into determining who starts the opener against Illinois in the middle of the Hoosiers’ defense.
Read MoreWritten by Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)
The Indiana Hoosiers will have to replace the heart and soul of their linebacker room and defense as Micah McFadden is off to chase his NFL dreams. The Hoosiers will also be under the new direction of defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Chad Wilt. While Wilt has not exclusively coached linebackers, he has been a coach for over 20 years and will have Tom Allen calling the plays on defense.
Read MoreImage: Danny West 247 Sports
Written by Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)
The Indiana Hoosiers landed their first commitment of the 2022 recruiting class in three-star Arkansas linebacker Kaiden Turner. Turner is ranked as the 35th best inside linebacker in the country by 247Sports and has a composite rating of 83.16. Turner had 14 total offers and his list included Cal, Kansas State, Louisville, Wake Forest, Washington State, Arkansas, Nebraska, Kansas and more.
As a junior at Fayetteville High School Turner had 70 tackles, 35 solo, six sacks, three interceptions, 12 tackles for loss, seven quarterback hurries and six total touchdowns (one defensive, two special teams and four rushing).
He draws comparisons to current Hoosier linebacker Micah McFadden who has led IU in tackles the past two seasons. Turner is listed at 6-2 and 218 pounds. Turner is physical and uses his instincts to make up for a little lack in speed, just like McFadden. A couple seasons in the Hoosier program will do wonders for Turner.
In an interview with Matt Weaver of Peegs.com in January, Turner said he likes “the way Coach Allen runs things, I love that he builds his team and the football program around God and the spiritual aspect of it because we both believe in a lot of same things, and I respect that a lot. The way that he runs the team means a lot to me and it just really sticks out to me. The first time I talked to Coach Allen he told me what he believes and how he believes things should be done and I really respect him for that.”
Turner is the first commit for the Hoosiers 2022 class.
