Indiana football standout Aaron Casey Runs a 4.75 40-Yard Dash at the NFL Combine

Most teams use the NFL Combine to validate what they see on tape. For standout linebacker Aaron Casey, the combine is a way to overcome stereotypes and prove scouts wrong. Casey is the lone Hoosier to receive an invite to the combine. He's an older prospect at 23 years old.

“I want to go here and do the best I can do,” Casey said during his press time at the combine. “Representing IU as a school [and] team. I want to put on the best to show that we got players there that ball and compete with anybody else.”

Before the combine, Casey was considered a day three or day four draft pick. However, the Georgia native raised some eyebrows with a stellar performance at the East-West Shrine Game. He led all defenders in tackles.

Casey's Combine Results

Casey did not surprise anyone with his performance at the combine. That could go one of two ways. While his 4.75 was not what he wanted to run -- Casey stated that he wanted to run between 4.5 and 4.6, so it was not a crash-and-burn situation. His other drills include the vertical jump, bench press, and broad jump.

His vertical was 30'', he did 16 reps on the bench, and his broad jump was 9'9". Numbers that were neither earth-shattering, nor earth-crumbling.

Where does that leave him?

What's ironic about Aaron Casey's journey to the NFL is every step he's taken has been to improve his draft stock. However, his stock has remained static since last season. Casey could have declared in 2023 but came back to improve his stock. Last season he was a 4th-6th round projection. Casey returned to Bloomington and had an outstanding season.

He turned heads at the East-West Shrine Bowl game but has had a relatively pedestrian combine thus far—his projection right now is 4th-6th round.

That said, Casey is one of those players who get to the league and find a way. He has a nose for the football and tackles well. Those type of defenders stick around the league for a long time.