Written By David Sugarman (@David_Sugarman2)

Indiana’s best receiver went down in his first game of the season in 2016. Indiana had the second best passing offense in the Big Ten in 2016. Those two sentences look odd next to each other, but it’s true. Despite losing Simmie Cobbs to an ankle injury for the season on the opening series of an early season game with Ball State, Indiana was able to put together a very formidable receiving core. Nick Westbrook was able to step out of the shadow of Cobbs for a big season, going for nearly 1,000 yards after being used sparingly in 2015. Complimentary receivers like Mitchell Paige and Luke Timian proved to be consistent targets all season long for Richard Lagow as well. With a now healthy Cobbs and young talent waiting in the wings, the Indiana receiving core has a chance to be one of the best in the Big Ten, but will also have the tall task of replacing the production of Paige and Ricky Jones.