The All-Kevin Wilson Team After Five Years at Indiana: Part I

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Kevin Wilson has been at IU for five years. Who have been his best offensive players?

Kevin Wilson has been at IU for five years. Who have been his best offensive players?

Written By Nick Holmes (HoosierHolmes)

The Hoosiers are now entering year six of the Kevin Wilson regime, giving us five years to look back on in review. But instead of looking at the collective effort of his teams, which we and everyone else has done ad nauseam, let’s take a closer look at some of the best players that Coach Wilson has had under his tutelage during that half-decade. It’s quite clear that his Indiana teams are as talented as any that we have seen in recent history, so we decided to put together the fifth anniversary All-Kevin Wilson team. This list only includes players that were recruited by Coach Wilson, both scholarship and walk-ons are eligible.

Quarterback- Nate Sudfeld 

Through the ups and downs of injuries, position changes and transfers, Nate Sudfeld is the only real option and logical answer for who has been the best quarterback at Indiana under Wilson. The California native led the Hoosiers to their first bowl game in over eight years this past season, while rewriting the Indiana record books in the process. During his four seasons at quarterback he accumulated a program-best 61 passing touchdowns and 7,879 passing yards. He was recently selected by the Washington Redskins in the sixth round of the NFL draft, the first Hoosier quarterback to be drafted since Gibran Hamdan in 2003.

Running Back- Tevin Coleman  

Few teams can come close to replicating the talent and productivity the Hoosiers have had from the running back position the last five years. Indiana has had a 2,000 (Tevin Coleman), 1,500 (Jordan Howard), and 1,000 (Devine Redding) yard rusher the past two seasons. That does not even include Stephen Houston’s career contributions of 2,304 rushing yards and 26 rushing touchdowns. However, despite all the competition, Coleman has to be the pick for a couple of reasons. First, he eclipsed the 2,000-yard mark on the ground and was named one of the nation’s top three running backs. Second, what makes it even more impressive is that he was able to do that despite the team lacking anything that resembled a legitimate passing attack. Moral of the story here, if you are a high school running back looking for a place to shine, Bloomington looks to be a good, no great option.

Wide Receiver- Cody Latimer

Denver Bronco and Super Bowl Champion wide receiver Cody Latimer, has a nice ring to it no? The Ohio native was a member of Kevin Wilson’s very first recruiting class and was largely unheralded, his only Power Five Conference offer coming from the Hoosiers. However, that only made Latimer even more hungry, while making the rest of the Big Ten regret the day they decided not to recruit the versatile athlete. After a fairly uneventful freshman season with just 12 catches for 141 yards and 2 touchdowns, he made a combined 123 catches for 1901 yards and 15 touchdowns during this sophomore and junior seasons. He was named second-team All-Big Ten by the Coaches and Media both seasons. Forgoing his final season with the Hoosiers, Latimer was drafted 56th overall in 2014 draft by the Broncos and has been with the team ever since, working hard to garner additional playing time within a deep receiving corp.

Wide Receiver- Shane Wynn

What more can be said about Shane Wynn that hast not already been said. The small, shifty athlete from Ohio made life miserable for linebackers and nickel backs alike when he was lining up in the slot for for the Hoosiers. He could easily turn a five-yard crossing route into a 35-yard gain or more. As a freshman he made an impact mostly on special teams, accumulating 1,015 yards on 48 kick returns with a touchdown. As a sophomore became a more prominent piece of the Hoosiers offense, leading the team with 68 catches. His junior season he made 11 touchdown grabs, three coming against Purdue in Kevin Wilson’s first Old Oaken Bucket victory. As a senior, he took on a new role with the team, not only as a captain but learning how to play outside receiver. While it may not have been quite the season he was hoping for, he still managed to record a career-high 706 receiving yards. Not bad considering the Hoosiers’ limited passing attack that season. Wynn is currently a member of the Saints practice squad.

Wide Receiver- Simmie Cobbs

Simmie Cobbs was a late add to Hoosiers 2014 recruiting class, a somewhat under-the-radar prospect. but for those who were paying attention, could see that he was oozing with potential. After an underwhelming freshman campaign, which was largely out of his control, Cobbs came into his second season with a ferocity to ensure that his potential did not go to waste. Now sporting the number one for the Hoosiers, a number often reserved for playmakers. He certainly lived up to the billing in his second season with the Hoosiers he led the team in receiving, eclipsing the century mark with 1,035 yards and 60 receptions. Not bad for a former hoops star who was being recruited by the Boilermakers to play safety.

Tight End- Michael Cooper

After the graduation of Ted Bolser in 2013, who was a Bill Lynch holdover, the Hoosiers have taken a position-by-committee approach at tight-end. Injuries have plagued the position the last couple of seasons, but the one player who has made a consistent impact is Michael Cooper. Those numbers put up by Coleman, Howard and Redding on the ground would not be nearly as high if it not for the Indiana tight-ends and Cooper was among the best at blocking in the group. His 17 catches for 205 yards and two touchdowns were all best among the position group in 2015. He earned Honorable Mention All-Big Ten from both the coaches and media and was the recipient of the team’s Ted Verlihay “Mental Attitude” Award. Cooper will be joining Sudfeld in Washington as an undrafted free agent.

Left Tackle- Jason Spriggs

A recent second-round draft pick by the Green Packers, Jason Spriggs is arguably one of the program’s greatest offensive lineman of all-time. A starter at left tackle from the moment he stepped on campus, the former high school tight-end and standout basketball player quickly grew into one of the conference’s best blindside protectors. In his four seasons with the team he played in 48 games, starting in 47 of those contests. His accolades were many the last four seasons, including being named First-Team All-American by the Football Writers Association of America. Not bad for a player whose offer list included primarily MAC teams in addition to his Indiana offer.

Left Guard- Bernard Taylor 

Of the all the positions along the offensive line, this was easily the most difficult to select. Left guard has been the most plug-and-play of any along the front the last couple of seasons, with both Jacob Bailey and Wes Martin seeing time there this past season and David Kaminski seeing a bulk of the action in 2014. However, the one player who saw extensive time at the position and played quite well before injuries started affecting his mobility was Bernard Taylor. The Detroit native played in 27 games for the Hoosiers, starting in 25, most of which came at left guard. He played a key role in some of Indiana’s most prolific offenses. As a true freshman he started in 10 games and played in 11 at left guard, earning as spot on the Yahoo Sports, BTN.com and ESPN.com Big Ten All-Freshman teams. His sophomore season was cut short due to injuries, but he bounced back as a junior, playing in 10 games, starting in nine for Indiana offense that set single-season records with 6,102 total yards, 508.5 total yards per game, 461 points, 38.4 points per game, 36 passing touchdowns, 62 total TDs and 300 first downs.

Center- Jake Reed

Since Wilson’s first season with the program he has mostly relied on three players to start at center, Will Matte, Colin Rahrig and Jake Reed, the former two which Wilson inherited from Bill Lynch’s program. In fact, Reed was also a Lynch recruit, however was a member of Wilson’s very first recruiting class in 2011. As such Reed is really the only candidate, but he’s certainly not a bad choice. After moving from defensive end to tight end as a freshman, and then to the offensive line, Reed made the most of his final three seasons with the team. He started at guard five times as a sophomore, at center four times as junior and this past season he started in all 13 of the Hoosiers games at center. While he did not get drafted this past April, he was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Falcons, joining Rahrig and Coleman.

Right Guard- Dan Feeney

This, like left tackle, was a no-brainer. Who else but Dan Feeney would you want blocking for your quarterback, or pulling around on plays for your running back? I could not think of anyone else either. Entering his fifth and final season with the Hoosiers, the Illinois native has been absolutely phenomenal ever since stepping foot on campus back in 2012. The accolades awards are almost too numerous to count. His freshman season he was an honorable mention on practically every publication’s Freshman All-America teams. After a particularly spectacular 2015 campaign, Feeney was selected as an ESPN.com first team All-American and was named to the Outland Trophy and Rotary Lombardi Award Watch Lists. Expect another big season for Feeney during his curtain call with the Hoosiers and final audition for the NFL.

Right Tackle- Ralston Evans

Two logical options come to mind when selecting the best right tackle under Kevin Wilson, Ralston Evans and Dimitric Camiel. A couple of considerations to take in mind when I made my selection, durability, grit and productivity. Both players have played critical roles in both pass and run-blocking. Camiel has not missed a game his entire career, starting at right tackle in all 13 this past season. Evans overcame a devastating knee injury to begin his collegiate career and was major part of Indiana’s record setting offenses in 2013 and ’14. So you really cannot go wrong with either. However, I’ll give the slight edge to Evans for now, with the slight caveat that with another solid season, Camiel could move into that number one spot. 

What do you fans think, who do you feel like should be on the list that I left off? Leave your comments below.