With Cobbs on the Shelf, Who Can IU Look at to Pick Up the Slack?

Nick Westbrook (15), Ricky Jones (4), and Mitchell Paige (87) will have to pick up the slack left by Simmie Cobbs' injury. Image: IUHoosiers.com

Written By Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)

The Indiana Hoosiers came into the 2016 season with an inordinate amount of depth at the wide receiver position, after just two games that depth is going to be put to the test. After one offensive play Saturday, the Hoosiers lost Simmie Cobbs to a significant ankle injury that he underwent surgery to repair on Tuesday morning and will land him on the sidelines a significant amount of time, if not the rest of the season. So with Cobbs’ future in doubt whom should IU fans look for to step up and fill the role?

The Logical Answer

The logical answer here is sophomore Nick Westbrook, who has picked up the slack over the first two contests when Cobbs missed the first game due to suspension and was injured early on in the second.

Westbrook, out of Lake Mary, Florida, is similar in size to Cobbs at 6’3” and can play much of the same style as Cobbs as well. Through two games so far this season Westbrook has nine catches for 203 yards and two scores. He probably has more speed than Cobbs, but Wilson said Westbrook is “just maturing. He was more physical (Saturday). Last week he had better maybe numbers as far as catches but he wasn't as physical. Today he physically played a lot more competitive and played harder, and that was good to see.”

Westbrook looks to be ready to step up saying “Coach is always saying next guy up, someone always has to be there whenever somebody is down or somebody gets hurt. I took the most out of my opportunity and did the most of what I could do” after the game Saturday.

The Elder Statesmen (Ricky Jones and Mitchell Paige)

Indiana loses one of its starters, however the other two starting wide outs are not too shabby. Redshirt seniors Ricky Jones and Mitchell Paige have both proved themselves to be quality Big Ten receivers. 

Paige, while a different style of receiver than Cobbs, can make up for some of the production lost. He is a go-to-guy in the slot and has started to become more comfortable with quarterback Richard Lagow. So far on the 2016 season, Paige has eight catches for 105 yards. He can become a much bigger part of this offense if necessary.

Ricky Jones, however, needs to use this opportunity to prove that last year was not just a flash in the pan. Jones finished second on the team a year ago in receiving yards with 906 and found himself on the preseason Bilitkinoff Award watch list, but has yet to get going this year. Through two games Jones has just three catches for 18 yards. That just is not good enough. Jones does posses the ability to be both a possession receiver and a player who can stretch the field over the top.

From The Bench (Donavan Hale, Luke Timian, Marqui Hawkins and Mike Majette)

These are three names that Hoosier fans should be familiar with, but who have not seen as much of the field as others. All three of these players bring their own skill set to the receiver or running back position.

Donavan Hale is a tremendous athlete with great hands, who deserves a shot to get the ball more often. So far he has one catch for 18 yards in 2016. He is a bigger body who can muscle up defensive backs and run past linebackers.

Luke Timian has made himself a legend in Bloomington despite just two career touchdowns and a seven catches, but this kid can play and play well when the lights are brightest. He’s not afraid to go over the middle and can catch the deep ball as well. Currently, Timian is the third leading receiver behind Westbrook and Paige.

Hopes were high surrounding Marqui Hawkins when he transferred to Indiana from UAB, but injuries and a lack of production has buried him on the depth chart. He has appeared in both games this season, but has yet to catch a ball as a Hoosier. Is he ready to step up or will he continue to be passed up by players around him?

Running back Mike Majette has looked very good this season catching the ball out of the backfield with two catches for 54 yards. IU may not want to move him into the slot, but he can be a real weapon on screen and swing passes out of the backfield with his ability to make defenders whiff and get up the field.

Do You Burn A Redshirt Year? (Kiante Enis, Phil Benker, Jonah Morris, and Taysir Mack)

Indiana brought in a bunch of talented freshman receivers as part of the 2016 signing class. The biggest question is, does the staff want to burn a year of eligibility. There are many factors that go into answering that question. A couple of them is, how much will said player actually help the team and are they ready to handle life in the Big Ten?

Kiante Enis came to Indiana as a running back, but moved to slot receiver during fall camp to shore up depth there. He is a tremendous athlete and can be a difference maker if given a chance.

Phil Benker is more of an outside receiver who can stretch the field and give IU a shot at the homerun ball. Physically at 6’2” 203-pounds, Benker looks ready to be given a shot, but will it worth is year to be eased into playing time.

Jonah Morris missed some time during camp with a lower body injury, which set him back. Before the injury he looked like one of the true freshmen that could crack the lineup. I would expect him to be a last resort of sorts for the staff.

Taysir Mack, out of New York, has big play ability and good hands. He had a very good fall camp, but at only 187-pounds is he physically ready for the 10-game grind IU has to close out the season.

Waiting in The Wings (Camion Patrick)

There is one player that Hoosier Nation has been clamoring to see more than any other and that is Camion Patrick. The player Wilson called the best on the team after last year’s win at Purdue. Patrick was supposed to start the year at running back, but suffered a knee injury that required surgery early in spring practice. He is still nursing his way back to full-health, but when he is ready he will likely see more time at receiver than running back in order to avoid the pounding on his knee. If and when Camion comes back, he will add a home run threat to the offense, a guy who can make a play anytime it is needed. If he lives up to the billing, Patrick will take this offense to a new level and give them another playmaker on the outside.

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