Kaelon Black

● Muscled-up for his size, with defined bulk in his quads, mid-section and arms ● Physical ball carrier and keeps his legs pumping at contact (Maryland’s Jalen Huskey: “He runs extremely hard. … I felt every hit.”) ● Runs low and balanced to keep his feet between the tackles ● Fleet-of-foot athlete who can make sudden, abrupt cuts ● Pairs his eyes with his feet and trusts his vision ● Despite sharing carries, he had at least one run of 10-plus yards in 15 of 16 games in 2025 ● Squares and takes on blitzers to get the job done in pass pro 52 Back to table of contents -- 56 of 629 -- ● “Freaks List” alum (415-pound bench press, 500-pound squat) ● Scouts say he isn’t a vocal leader but works his tail off and has the respect of the locker room

● Shorter legs — second-level speed is average at best ● Will attack before blockers have a chance to set things up ● Saw just 12 targets in 29 games at Indiana (but didn’t drop any of them) ● Always part of a backfield committee (averaged 11.9 offensive touches per game in 2025) ● Torn ACL in right knee (Sept. 2021), which required season-ending surgery ● Older player — will turn 25 during his rookie season

A part-time role player at Indiana, Black shared running back duties with Roman Hemby in offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan’s balanced run scheme. After four seasons at James Madison, he followed Curt Cignetti to Bloomington, where he emerged as a vital part of Indiana’s national title run. He and Hemby each topped 1,000 rushing yards in 2025, making them the only FBS pair to accomplish that feat, and Black led the Hoosiers in rushing yards in each of Indiana’s final four games (Ohio State, Alabama, Oregon and Miami). A short, well-built back, Black runs balanced, low to the ground and consistently finds cracks at the line of scrimmage. Instead of gearing down ahead of impending contact, he bursts to accelerate into flat-footed defenders, and his physical run style helps him maximize each touch. Though mashing the gas pedal helps him produce, he could benefit from added patience to eliminate false-stepping cuts. Overall, Black runs with light feet and punches above his weight class to consistently get more yards than expected. Once in an NFL camp, his ability to prove himself as a pass catcher will be critical to carving out a part-time role.