Countdown to 2019 IUFB Kickoff: 22 Days (Whop Philyor)

Written by Amanda Pavelka (@amandapavelka3)

COUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF: 22 DAYS (#1 WHOP PHILYOR)

Height: 5’11’’

Weight: 178 pounds

Hometown: Tampa, Florida (Plant)

Year: Junior

Position: Wide Receiver

Just over three weeks remain until the 2019 Indiana football season kicks off at Lucas Oil Stadium. The Hoosiers will make their season debut on August 31st at noon as they take on the Ball State Cardinals. Today we wll re-introduce the wide receiver who wore the No.22 jersey in the 2017 and 2018 seasons as No. 1 Whop Philyor.

Whop Philyor is one of Indiana’s first players gained from the Florida recruiting pipeline Tom Allen developed to Bloomington. Philyor joins three of his high school teammates on the Indiana football roster for his junior year—linebacker Thomas Allen, defensive back Juwan Burgess, and linebacker Micah McFadden all hail from Plant High School in Tampa, Florida. 

Philyor had a “whopper” of a freshman season, recording 335 yards and three touchdowns on 33 catches that earned him a slew of honors in 2017. Philyor earned Big Ten Freshman Player of the Week and IU Offensive Player of the Week for his 127 yards and a touchdown on 13 catches against Maryland, just to name a couple. 

The bar was set high for Philyor going into his sophomore year and perhaps one of the largest letdowns on Hoosier offense was that Philyor battled injuries that forced him to sit out for almost half of the 2018 season. A high ankle sprain costed him five games and seven starts, yet he still managed to post 23 receptions for 235 yards and a 65-yard touchdown against nationally-ranked Michigan State. 

Joined by Nick Westbrook, Donovan Hale, and Ty Fryfogle, Philyor is expected to be a key component in Kalen Deboer’s offensive system and will make his speedy comeback with his switch to the No.1 jersey his junior year.