2022 Indiana Football Positional Preview: Wide Receivers

Written by Matt Smith

The Hoosier Huddle position preview continues as we head into the Wide Receiver core. The wide receiver room struggled mightily last season with getting separation. This was also due to the offense not providing big plays. So the Hoosiers are going into this season losing a few key receivers such as Ty Fryfogle and tight end Peyton Hendershot. With new offensive coordinator Walt Bell, the Hoosiers will look to revamp their air game through their wide receivers. 

The Starters

DJ Matthew Jr.

Matthews was recently named to the Paul Hornung award watch list for the preseason. This award is given to the most versatile player in college football. As a wide receiver and a kick returner, Matthews is sure to help the Hoosiers score points in many different ways this season. However, he is coming off of an ACL tear and it is not certain that he will be ready to go week 1 against Illinois. Matthews totaled 148 all purpose yards and a touchdown against Cincinnati. To continue, Matthews will look to have a Deebo Samuel type role with the Hoosiers, with rushing as well as receiving this season once he is healthy. 

Javon Swinton

Swinton will be placed into a much larger role than he had the past two seasons. Last season he was a key special teams player for the Hoosiers, which was one of their most consistent units as well. Swinton hauled in 15 passes for 115 yards. Swinton is taking first team reps and will be battling for the starting position as training camp continues.

Cam Camper

Camper is a transfer for junior college that the Hoosiers added to their offense this season to try and replace Marshall and Fryfogle. Camper had over 500 receiving yards last season. Camper will look to start for the Hoosiers this season as well.

Depth

Emery Simmons

Another transfer from North Carolina recruited by Tom Allen. Simmons was not the first target for the Tar Heels offense, so the numbers don’t show the talent at the position. However, he still totaled 30 receptions for over 500 yards and three touchdowns. Simmons is another player that will be battling for the starting position and targets under the new offense.

Donaven McCulley

Now here is one of the most interesting players in the room. McCulley was a highly touted quarterback recruit last season, as he came in as a four star. The transition for McCulley will be a lot of hard work so it is not expected for him to receive much playing time early in the season. However, McCulley is a terrific athlete and he can be used in the offense in many different ways.

Omar Cooper Jr

The No. 22 overall wide receiver in this class comes in with a lot of upside and a lot of speed. It is always difficult for a true freshman to win the starting job or see a lot of playing time, but the four-star recruit will look to develop this season and add some depth to role and make the most of when his name is called.

David Baker

Baker is a redshirt sophomore that has not seen any playing time on the offense or special teams side of the ball. Baker is listed in the preseason depth chart as one of the players that can battle for the starting position at the WR 3 spot. Baker will be one of the upperclassmen that will provide some leadership in the position room as well. 

Jaquez Smith

Smith is one of those names to remember this season in my opinion. Smith was the No. 26 overall wide receiver coming in last season and was the number 18 player in Georgia. Smith redshirted last season, but is a super athletic receiver with a lot of upside. Smith will look to battle for playing time this season alongside the other young members of this group. 

Malachi Holt-Bennett

Holt-Bennett was another four-star recruit from last season who didn’t receive much playing time, except for making one catch against Penn State. To continue, Holt-Bennett is another one of those players like Smith who has a lot of talent and upside and could be a huge name to look out for in the future. While his time might not be right now, Holt-Bennett can be a huge piece of the Hoosiers offense in the very near future.

Andison Coby

Coby is a transfer from Tennessee. Coby didn’t receive many targets from the Volunteers due to all of the talent that they had on their roster. However, prior to his time on the Volunteers, Coby attended junior college and caught 24 passes for 422 yards. 

Kamryn Perry

Perry is an incoming freshman that caught over 1,000 yards in high school. The Georgia product will look to grow as a player as the season progresses.

McCall Ray

The redshirt junior is a walk-on to the program. He was also an All-Academic big ten selection. While Ray won’t see much playing time this season, he will look to add a veteran presence to the young locker room. 

Christian Harris

Harris is another walk-on on the team and will look to have a bigger role on special teams this season as he made one tackle last season.

Eli Jochem

Another walk-on in the program, who hasn’t seen the playing field yet in his career, but will look to grow this year and help the Hoosiers in practice on the scout team.

Overview

The Hoosiers wide receiver core is mostly new players starting, and there will be a plethora of players that can be plugged into the office. Walt Bell will look to add these young players to the new revamped Hoosiers offense. The offense will be a lot of DJ Matthews Jr, who is the most versatile player in the Hoosiers offense. There are a lot of new faces in the receiver room and also some old faces. Javon Swinton saw a decent amount of playing time last season, but will look to add a bigger role. It is looking more and more like Jack Tuttle will be the starting quarterback, so hopefully this group can make players for Tuttle and have a more dynamic offense than last season.