Meet the Indiana football players representing the program at the 2024 Big Ten Media Days

BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football is headed to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis this week for the 2024 Big Ten Media Days.

The event has expanded to three days this year with the conference adding Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington to the mix.

Indiana will be featured on Day 3 with a lineup that includes new coach Curt Cignetti , linebacker Aiden Fisher, running back Justice Ellison and offensive lineman Mike Katic. Katic is one of the team’s elder statesmen while Fisher (JMU) and Ellison (Wake Forest) are transfers.

Here’s more on IU’s player reps:

More: Indiana football’s highest rated players in EA Sports College Football 25

Meet Indiana linebacker Aiden Fisher

The linebacker position was one of the few bright spots for Indiana amidst all the turmoil of Tom Allen’s final few seasons. The Hoosiers transitioned from Mitch McFadden to Cam Jones to Aaron Casey with each of them having success.

Fisher is next in line after taking on a prominent role for a JMU team that ranked No. 30 in total defense (333.8 yards allowed per game) and No. 20 in scoring (19.5 points allowed) in 2023.

The 6-foot-1, 232-pounder spent his freshman year primarily playing special teams, but injuries opened up a spot in the lineup last fall. He was a key part of JMU’s success with a team-best 108 tackles (51 solo), six tackles for loss, seven pass breakups and 21 quarterback pressures.

“We allow our players to play fast and play free,” Fisher said, during spring practice. “I think that's what attracts so many players to play in this system."

Fisher was an unrated prospect coming out of Riverbend High School in Fredericksburg, Virginia in the 2022 signing class. The only scholarship offer he had coming out of high school was from JMU.

More: Projected 2024 Indiana football offensive depth chart after spring practice

That had an impact on Fisher when he entered the portal after the 2023 season.

“The biggest thing for me was continuing my development with coach (Bryant) Haines, him, coach Cignetti and the system they put me in,” Fisher said. “The way I've seen myself grow, not only as a person as a leader, I didn't see a reason to stop that. It's definitely something to keep chasing."

Cignetti is relying on Fisher to provide that same level of leadership in Bloomington.

"I think Bryant Haines sleeps a lot better at night with him (in the lineup)," Cignetti said, after IU's spring game. "He's like a quarterback of the defense. Knows it inside out, really studies, is really respected by his teammates too, and helps get others lined up."

The Hoosiers will have more JMU transfers in the starting lineup this fall — Fisher, Jaylin Walker, Mikail Kamara, James Carpenter and D'Angelo Ponds — than returning starters. The new staff is looking to Fisher to help build chemistry and establish the new staff’s winning culture.

Meet Indiana running back Justice Ellison

Ellison didn’t waste any time getting to Bloomington in December. He was one of the first verbal commitments the new staff landed after taking over and the first transfer to arrive on campus.

He’s had three words swirling around his head ever since.

“I think about being resilient, detailed and dominant,” he said, during spring camp.

Ellison’s second go-around on the recruiting trail wrapped up quickly thanks to the previous relationship he had with Indiana’s new offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan. One of the 14 offers Ellison had as a then-three star receiver at Flint Hill School came from Shanahan.

More: Projected 2024 Indiana football defensive depth chart after spring practice

The school located in Oakton, Virginia is less than two hours away from JMU’s campus.

"We had that connection and when I hit the portal, it almost felt like family,” Ellison said. “I wasn't going anywhere that was new, or that was brand new for me. I knew these guys before, they believed in me when no else did."

Ellison is expected to anchor a new look IU running back room that doesn’t feature a single returning scholarship player. The experienced Wake Forest transfer has 1,901 career yards (4.5 yards per carry) over four seasons (43 games). His best season came in 2022 when he earned Third Team All-ACC honors with 707 rushing yards and six touchdowns.

He described himself as a “downhill runner” who has mastered the art of making guys miss.

According to Pro Football Focus, he’s forced 59 missed tackles over the past two seasons and averaged 2.93 yards after contact during his career.

Meet Indiana offensive lineman Mike Katic

Katic had both feet out the door after the 2023 season. While many of his teammates were hitting the transfer portal, the veteran lineman was ready to test the professional waters.

“That's how I envisioned it since the beginning of the season last year,” Katic said.

What changed his mind?

It started with a phone call from Indiana offensive line coach Bob Bostad, who was the only assistant coach Cignetti retained from Tom Allen’s previous staff.

“Coach Bostad just threw it out there and said would you want to come back and maybe play center?" Katic said.

Katic originally signed with IU as part of the team’s 2019 signing class. He was a three-star offensive lineman — he was ranked 1,080 in the country — out of Pine-Richland High School outside Pittsburgh. He had a list of 19 scholarship offers including ones from Bowling Green, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Rutgers and Syracuse.

He jumped into a starting role during the COVID-shortened 2020 season and never left. He led the team in offensive snaps each of the past two seasons with most of those reps coming at left guard.

Katic saw Bostad’s offer as a way to achieve his NFL dream.

“If I'm going to play in the NFL, I'm kind of an  undersized lineman so center would most likely be my spot,” Katic said.

After discussions with his family and a phone conversation with Cignetti, he ended up as one of two returning starters (Carter Smith) on IU’s offensive line. During spring practice, he said the transition to center has gone smoothly.

He's also enjoyed getting to know the rest of the new staff.

"They are no BS guys, get in and do your job, and get out,” Katic said, with a smile.

Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here .

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Meet the Indiana football players representing the program at the 2024 Big Ten Media Days