Indiana Has An Arsenal of Weapons at Wide Receiver, But What Will the Rotation Look Like?

Written by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)

The Indiana Hoosiers enter the 2016 season with one of the best wide receiver groups in the conference. Indiana returns three receivers that snagged at least 50 passes and gained more than 650 yards during the 2015 campaign. In addition to the three returning “sure things”, IU has an abundance of talented pass-catchers waiting to rotate in and make an impact. While we aren’t sure who’s going to end up tossing them the ball, wide receiver is one of the strongest units on this team and it will be exciting to watch the rotation develop throughout practice and the early parts of the season. 

The Starters

Simmie Cobbs (Junior), Ricky Jones (Senior), Mitchell Paige (Senior)

Simmie Cobbs is the star of this group and it’s not a stretch to say he could develop into the best wide receiver of the Kevin Wilson era. Last season, we saw him take steps forward and continuing his evolution from “tall target” to “legitimate number one option”. He led the Hoosiers in targets (110), catches (60) and yards (1,035). Cobbs needs to improve a bit on his catch rate (54.5%) and consistency but there’s reason to be optimistic that he is ready to breakthrough as a top receiver in the Big Ten and an All-Big Ten caliber player. Another 1,000-yard plus season and an improvement in his ability to consistently make the “routine” plays without drops could see him think about heading to the NFL a year early. 

After a couple of years of frustrating injuries, Ricky Jones was able to stay healthy and he made sure he took advantage of his opportunity. Jones hauled in 54 passes for 906 yards and an impressive 16.8 yards per catch. He started the season incredibly strong but wasn’t as much of a factor in the latter stages so it will be interesting to see if he can return to his first half of the season form. 

The final starting receiver will be slot receiver Mitchell Paige. Paige, now sporting a bleached-blonde dome, is a former walk-on and fan favorite that seems to catch everything that hits his hands. His catch rate of 71.2% was tops among IU receivers with more than 10 targets and, despite his 5’7” frame, he always found a way to get open and make the play. In addition to his ability as a slot receiver, Paige stepped up as a punt returner. He’s a blast to watch and Kevin Wilson recently called him “the most self-assured and self-confident player we have” and offensive coordinator Kevin Johns called him, “easily the most determined and driven player I’ve ever coached”. Wilson and the rest of the coaching staff often tout the merits of a strong walk-on program and the continued success of Mitchell Paige is a great example of why that can be so important.

The Next Guys Up

Nick Westbrook (So.), J-Shun Harris II (R-So.), Luke Timian (R-So.), Isaac James (R-Fr.), Donavan Hale (So.), Marqui Hawkins (R-Jr.), Isaac Griffith (R-Jr.), Chris Gaicak (R-Fr.)

This is an extensive list and not all of these “next guys up” are going to see the field much, if at all, in 2016. However, the Hoosiers expect to play nine or ten players at wide receiver during the coming season so a lot of players are going to need to step up and contribute.

Sophomore Nick Westbrook is the player perhaps most poised to breakthrough and become a big-time contributor. He’s a 6’3” target that flashed his potential during last season’s Pinstripe Bowl as he hauled in a couple of nice catches and secured his first career touchdown reception. Westbrook doesn’t have top-end speed but he’s drawn rave reviews throughout the offseason and recent practices and he’s expected to see plenty of action spelling Cobbs or Jones on the outside. After the big three of Paige, Cobbs and Jones, no IU wide receiver had more than ten catches in 2015 (only TE Michael Cooper and RB Devine Redding were the only two other players with more than ten catches). I don’t expect that to be the case in 2016 and I think Westbrook will be the first guy to exceed the ten catch benchmark.

J-Shun Harris is an intriguing player that feels like a newcomer after he missed all of 2015 with a knee injury suffered during the summer. He’s a 5’8” speedster that caught 18 passes during his true freshman season and he’s shown during camp that he’s 100% healthy. I expect Harris to be the primary slot receiver right behind Mitchell Paige and we could see some four wide receiver sets that feature both he and Paige lining up together in the slot. Harris is also a candidate to return kickoffs. 

Another potential slot man is redshirt freshman Isaac James. The Carmel, IN. native suffered a shoulder injury that sidelined him for the entirety of the 2015 season but he’s healthy and ready to go. James is a tremendous athlete that showed great ball skills while at Carmel High School and his 5’11” and nearly 200-pound frame allows him to play inside or outside. 

One of the more intriguing players on the offense is the uber-athletic Donavan Hale. Hale, a 6’4” sophomore from Largo, Florida, switched from quarterback to wide receiver before practice opened this season and he certainly has the ability to make a difference if he can learn the position’s intricacies. Injuries slowed him down a bit last season but he’s a tall target with large hands and a big catch radius and I’m very interested to see how much of an impact he can have.  

Luke Timian, a transfer from Oklahoma State, played in six games last season for the Hoosiers. He only had two catches on the season but both of them were memorable. His first reception was an important 24-yarder in IU’s comeback win at Maryland and the other was a 27-yard touchdown in the Hoosiers bowl game. He’s a solid option IU can lean on to play inside or outside if needed and I imagine he’ll be a part of the rotation. 

Marqui Hawkins, a transfer from UAB, is a formerly highly-touted recruit from Georgia that has yet to make a major impact at IU. He played in three games last season but had no receptions. However, he impressed on the scout team and was Scout Team Player of the Week on four occasions. Hawkins is 6’2” and 225 pounds so his size and physicality could be an asset.

The final two names in this group: Isaac Griffith and Chris Gaicak, are likely on the outside looking in as we head into the season. Griffith is suffering from knee problems that are likely to cost him his 2016 campaign. Gaicak is a walk-on from Illinois that will attempt to be a contributor on special teams but with so many options in this unit, it’s unlikely he’ll crack the rotation.

The Newcomers

Jonah Morris (Fr.), Phil Benker (Fr.), Taysir Mack (Fr.), Justin Berry (Fr.)

No one is sure exactly what to expect from the four guys on this list. The first three are well-regarded recruits while the fourth is a recently added walk-on from South Carolina. Jonah Morris appears to be the freshman most likely to crack the rotation and see the field in 2016. Morris was one of the highest rated recruits in the 2016 recruiting class and he’s physically ready to be a standout player in the Big Ten. He’s 6’4” with elite athleticism and he comes to IU after a tremendous high school career in a football rich area of Ohio. The Hoosiers could have played Morris on either side of the ball but they elected to have him at wideout so I’m guessing they see a lot of potential for him to succeed on offense right away. His frame, and what we’ve seen in practice, suggests he has a very bright future as an outside wide receiver.

The top wide receiver prospect in the 2016 class in the state of New York, Taysir Mack, flipped his commitment late to IU and the 6’2” freshman has good hands, decent size and plus-speed for an outside receiver. Mack has excelled thus far in camp. 

Phil Benker is yet another player to make the trek from the Sunshine State to Bloomington. He is also 6’2” and he had nearly 2,000 yards in his high school career in Jacksonville. Benker has elite speed that could put him in the rotation quickly. 

Finally, walk-on Justin Berry joined the Hoosiers as a preferred walk-on, who was being recruited by Arizona State, Temple and others. He was a dual-threat quarterback at South Carolina’s West Ashley High School and he was a rated a three-star prospect by 247sports. Berry is 6’0” and 180 pounds and his high school tape showed off good athleticism and speed. He’s listed on IU’s roster but is not included in the Media Guide and has not been at camp. We’ll update his status if information becomes available.

Predicted Rotation

It is very difficult to pick a rotation with a position group this deep. In addition, the Hoosiers will rarely do mass substitutions that will see each of the starters on the bench at the same time and they will run some four wide or two wide sets that will shake things up.  To make things even more complicated, the Hoosiers may line up the extremely talented Camion Patrick at wide receiver on occasion. However, the task is to predict what the depth chart will end up looking like so, here we go:

Starters – Simmie Cobbs, Ricky Jones, Mitchell Paige
Second Team – Nick Westbrook, Luke Timian, J-Shun Harris
Third Team – Jonah Morris, Donavan Hale, Isaac James, Marqui Hawkins
Redshirt (unless there’s injury issues that change things) – Taysir Mack and Phil Benker

Stay tuned as we continue the Hoosier Huddle countdown and the remainder of the most in-depth position previews available!

Other Positional Previews

 Quarterback Preview

Nine Indiana Players Suspended for Opener Versus SIU

Indiana Athletics Release

Bloomington, Ind.- The following students will not participate in today's football game against Southern Illinois: Tyler Burgett, Will Dawkins, Tim Gardner, Greg Gooch, Ralph Green III, Isaac Griffith, Darius Latham, Alex Rodriguez, and Tegray Scales.

They have not lived up to their responsibilities to the program. We will have no further comment regarding this manner.

Podcast: Inside The Huddle May 27th

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Co-Hosts Sammy Jacobs and T.J. Inman talk about the latest Indiana University Football news as well as whether or not head coach Kevin Wilson is on the hot seat. We also talk about what the Hoosiers need to improve upon in 2015.