Curt Cignetti expects Indiana linebacker Jailin Walker to play against Nebraska

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana has remained largely healthy during its 6-0 start to the 2024 season and appears to have avoided a serious injury to starting linebacker Jailin Walker.

Walker left the Hoosiers’ game at Northwestern on Oct. 5 in the second quarter and did not return to action. But after Indiana’s bye week, coach Curt Cignetti gave a positive update on Walker’s upcoming game Saturday against Nebraska.

“J-Walk is a guy you never discount and I expect him to be at full throttle on Saturday,” Cignetti said Monday.

According to Pro Football Focus, Walker has started all six games for Indiana this season and is eighth on the team with 272 total snaps. The 6-foot, 218-pound linebacker is second among the Hoosiers with 34 total tackles, trailing starting linebacker and James Madison transfer Aiden Fisher with 55.

Walker also has three pass breakups, two tackles for loss, one quarterback hit and one assisted sack. He came to the Hoosiers as one of 13 transfers from James Madison, where he played in 32 games with 20 starts over three seasons. Walker received All-Sun Belt honorable mentions in the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

Walker and Fisher have played a combined 600 snaps, making up the majority of playing time at linebacker. Indiana has certain defensive packages that utilize three linebackers, and Cignetti named Isaiah Jones and Rolijah Hardy as two developing depth players behind Walker and Fisher.

Jones, who is listed at 6-foot-1 and weighs 220 pounds, is in his third season with the Hoosiers. Jones has played 134 snaps in six games and made 21 tackles this season.

He originally committed to Indiana under former head coach Tom Allen as a three-star recruit from London, Ohio, where he was named first-team All-Ohio Division II-III as a senior.

Hardy joined Indiana before the 2024 season. From Lakeland, Florida, he signed with the Navy and spent his first college season at the Naval Academy Preparatory School. Hardy appeared in four games at Indiana this season and played 40 snaps. He made nine tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack, one forced fumble and returned an interception for a touchdown against Western Illinois.

Kickoff between Indiana and Nebraska is scheduled for Saturday at noon ET on FOX at sold-out Memorial Stadium.