Countdown to IUFB Kickoff: 82 Days (Luke Timian and Logan Justus)

Written by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)

#82

The Hoosier Huddle Countdown to Kick-off rolls along as we move to number 82! That means there are now only 82 days until the Indiana Hoosiers kick-off the 2017 season by hosting the mighty Buckeyes of Ohio State. The countdown today features a look at two very different players that happen to share the same number: Logan Justus and Luke Timian.

Luke Timian

-Height: 6’0”

-Weight: 195 pounds

-Hometown: Southlake, Texas

-Position: Wide Receiver

The Indiana Hoosiers are well-known for having an explosive offense that spreads the ball to multiple weapons. However, the offense didn’t quite click the way it was expected to in 2016 and the offensive staff was completely overhauled when Tom Allen took over for Kevin Wilson. New offensive coordinator Mike DeBord and new receivers coach Grant Heard have plenty of returning weapons to work with but the Hoosiers do need to replace a couple of key receivers after the departure of Ricky Jones and Mitchell Paige. One of the players expected to step into a larger role and fill the holes left by Jones and Paige is Luke Timian, the redshirt junior from the Lone Star State.

Timian starred at storied Southlake Carroll High School, earning an all-state selection in Texas. He redshirted the 2014 season at Oklahoma State University before deciding to transfer to Bloomington and join the Indiana Hoosiers. As a redshirt freshman in 2015, Timian appeared in six games and caught two passes for 51 yards. He stepped up in 2016 and had 19 receptions for 277 yards. He had more than 30 receiving yards in five different games and his play earned him the honor of being named Indiana’s “Outstanding Walk-On Player of the Year”.

Timian is a very interesting player to project. He’s not lightning-quick and he’s not as tall or as long as you’d ideally like for an outside receiver. That being said, he is a very strong route runner and he has tremendous hands. When the ball gets thrown near Luke Timian, you are extremely surprised if he doesn’t wind up with the catch. The Hoosiers have a couple of couple of surefire studs in Simmie Cobbs and Nick Westbrook but playing time after those two is very much up for grabs and Timian is one of several wideouts that will be vying for snaps. Timian’s ability to contribute in the slot or as a third receiver outside means he will certainly be in the rotation but this unit figures to be even deeper than it was a season ago. Jonah Morris, Phil Benker and Taysir Mack are all talented and ready to roll after redshirting in 2016. Simmie Cobbs and J-Shun Harris both return from injury. Isaac James is now focusing only on offense and a couple of potential impact freshman playmakers will arrive on campus this summer. In short, this is a very deep group and Luke Timian will need to continue to excel if his production is continue to improve as it has in his first two seasons on campus. I think it is very reasonable to expect Timian to be a steady contributor at both slot and on the outside and total somewhere around 25 catches for the season.

Logan Justus

Height: 5’11”

Weight: 180 pounds

Hometown: McCordsville, IN (Mount Vernon High School)

Position: Kicker

The other #82 on the Indiana roster is walk-on kicker Logan Justus. The redshirt sophomore came to Indiana after a terrific high school career as a three-year letterwinner in football, hockey and soccer at Mt. Vernon High School. He joined the IU program during the 2015 season and redshirted. Griffin Oakes handled the kicking duties all of last season so Justus didn’t see any game action during the 2016 season.

He enters the 2017 season behind redshirt seniors Griffin Oakes and competing with redshirt freshman Nathanael Snyder. Oakes is going to be the number one option so, it’s unlikely Justus will see anything other than scout team special teams work.

Please share any comments or thoughts in the comments section or in our message board. The countdown continues each and every day so make sure to check Hoosier Huddle daily as we roll towards the 2017 season!