Hoosiers Now

Indiana Football Position Preview: Wide Receivers

Indiana lost its top two receivers from 2021 – Ty Fryfogle and Miles Marshall – and coach Grant Heard left for UCF. D.J. Matthews returns to Indiana after tearing his ACL in week four, Donaven McCulley is making the switch from quarterback to receiver, and transfers Cam Camper and Emery Simmons have stood out in fall camp.

Jack Ankony

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Editor's note: In our nine-part "Position Preview" series, we'll break down the entire Indiana football roster leading up to the Hoosiers' season opener against Illinois on Friday, Sept. 2 at 8 p.m. ET at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Ind. In our fourth installment, let's break down the new-look wide receivers room led by coach Adam Henry.

Indiana finished 13th in points per game among Big Ten schools in 2021, which signaled significant changes in offensive personnel and coaching. Ty Fryfogle signed with the Dallas Cowboys and Miles Marshall transferred to Miami (OH), leaving Javon Swinton as Indiana's leading returning wide receiver at 15 catches for 115 yards and a touchdown.

Wide receivers coach Grant Heard took the same job at Central Florida, making way for Adam Henry to transition from the NFL back to college. Henry made stops with the Oakland Raiders, Dallas Cowboys, Cleveland Browns, New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers where he coached Pro Bowl wideouts Odell Beckham Jr., Anquan Boldin, Amari Cooper, CeeDee Lamb and Jarvis Landry.

Henry spent the first 10 years of his coaching career at his alma mater, McNeese State, and he has additional collegiate experience from 2012 to 2014 at LSU. He's now in charge of a wide receivers room at Indiana full of new faces.

"We still have a long way to go," Henry said. "It's a lot of different guys where they work hard and they do what they're asked, and the next stage is to kind of take it above the x's and o's."

Newcomers Impressing in Fall Camp

With the loss of Fryfogle and Marshall, Indiana coach Tom Allen needed to add immediate-impact receivers through the transfer portal. So far, Emery Simmons and Cam Camper are the top newcomers expected to fill that void. 

Simmons, a Parkton, N.C. native, was originally committed to Indiana out of high school, but he opted to stay closer to home and play for the North Carolina Tar Heels. The 6-foot-1, 186-pound Simmons played in 30 games with 14 starts across three seasons at North Carolina. In 2021, he caught 11 passes for 243 yards and one touchdown. The bulk of his production came against Georgia Tech on Sept. 25 when he hauled three receptions for 110 yards.

"He wants to be great," Indiana quarterback Connor Bazelak said of Simmons. "He's tough, he catches the ball well, he's fast. He's really everything you want in a receiver, great teammate, great leader, I can't say enough about him."

Another incoming transfer that has caught the attention of coaches and teammates is Cam Camper, who is taking a step up from Trinity Valley Community College to Big Ten football. Camper has gained the nickname 'Coach Cam' by his peers at Indiana because he can always be found in the film room studying the details of Indiana's offense.

Camper is a 6-foot-2, 202-pound native of Lancaster, Tex. A self-proclaimed late-bloomer, Camper nearly stopped playing football after spending a semester as a walk-on special teams 'dummy' at Sam Houston State. And since joining Indiana, Allen said Camper brings good length to the receiving corps, and he’s an effective runner after the catch. 

"I love throwing to him," Bazelak said of Camper. "He's really smooth, a smooth catcher, great soft hands, big target, fast, great separation on the outside and a great teammate.

Like Camper, Andison Coby began his collegiate football career at Northeast Mississippi Junior College in 2020 before transferring to Tennessee for the 2021 season. Coby, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla. native, appeared in five games but caught just one pass for the Volunteers. 

As for true freshmen, Allen recognized Kamryn Perry for his impressive burst and acceleration. Perry is a 5-foot-9, 170-pound, three-star recruit out of Marietta, Ga. Omar Cooper Jr., a four-star recruit from Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis has also received praise throughout fall camp. At 6-foot-1, 193 pounds, Cooper was the No. 155 player in the class of 2022, according to Rivals. 

"[Cooper] has a good football IQ – better than I thought, I didn't really know," Henry said. "As far as picking up the offense, I'm very pleased with where he's at at this point ... He has a tremendous upside."

Another potential breakout candidate for Indiana is sophomore Malachi Holt-Bennett, whose only reception last season was a 29-yard touchdown against Minnesota on Nov. 30. Holt-Bennett is a 6-foot-3, 188-pound, four-star recruit out of Birmingham, Ala. Allen said Holt-Bennett has continually gotten better throughout fall camp, and he expects eight to nine players to contribute at receiver.

The Big-Play Threat Returns

Transferring in from Florida State before the 2021 season, D.J. Matthews was Indiana's go-to guy for explosive plays. He first flashed his big-play ability with an 81-yard punt-return touchdown against Idaho.

The following week, Matthews caught five passes for 120 yards while rushing twice for 28 yards and a touchdown against No. 8 Cincinnati, who'd go on to reach the College Football Playoff. But during Indiana's week four win at Western Kentucky, Matthews tore his ACL, sidelining him for the rest of the season. Matthews said he initially told his parents he was done with football, but being an inspiration to his children and his strong relationship with Allen led him to return for his fifth season.

"I never want to quit," Matthews said. "My children look up to me. I’m their hero, so when they get older, they’re going to see the trials and tribulations that their dad went through and all of the adversity that I faced. I don’t ever want them to see that I quit anything."

Matthews was nominated for the Paul Hornung Award before the 2022 season, which is given to college football's most versatile player. 

McCulley Making the Move

Donaven McCulley arrived last year as the highest-ranked quarterback recruit to ever commit to Indiana. The original plan was to use a redshirt season with McCulley in 2021, but after injuries to quarterbacks Michael Penix Jr. and Jack Tuttle, the true freshman McCulley was forced into action.

The raw athleticism was obvious from the second McCulley stepped on the field, but so was his inexperience and inaccuracy as a pocket passer. In his first career start at Maryland on Oct. 30, he threw for an Indiana true freshman record 242 yards on 14-of-25 passing with two touchdowns. In total, McCulley completed 35-of-85 attempts for 475 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, while rushing 64 times for 135 yards with two scores.

In the offseason, McCulley approached the Indiana coaching staff about a move to wide receiver.

“I’ve always wanted to play receiver," McCulley said. "That’s just always what I’ve seen myself as."

At 6-foot-5, 210 pounds, McCulley has the size and athleticism to be a serious red zone threat for Indiana, and Henry said he's working hard to help McCulley polish his footwork as a route runner. 

“A quarterback loves to throw to a big guy,” Henry said. “So he has an upside on that because he always looks like he’s open, but the details of getting in and out of breaks is going to help get more separation for him.”

Related stories on Indiana football:

  • 'COACH CAM': Cam Camper graduated Lancaster High School with zero scholarship offers, and he nearly stepped away from the game after being used as a 'special teams dummy' at Sam Houston State. But after grinding through junior college, 'Coach Cam' Camper is impressing his teammates and coaches at Indiana. CLICK HERE
  • DONAVEN MCCULLEY EMBRACING SWITCH TO RECEIVER: Donaven McCulley was the highest-ranked quarterback to ever commit to Indiana, but after one season, he's making the switch to receiver. Indiana wide receivers coach Adam Henry said McCulley has an impressive catch radius, and he's working to refine his footwork and learn the intricacies of the position. CLICK HERE
  • D.J. MATTHEWS EXPECTED TO PLAY WEEK ONE: Coming off an ACL tear that limited him to four games in 2021, D.J. Matthews is expected to be ready for Indiana football's Week 1 matchup against Illinois on Sept. 2 in Bloomington. After one week of fall camp, Allen is excited about the speed and savvy Matthews brings to the Hoosiers. CLICK HERE
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Jack Ankony
JACK ANKONY

Jack Ankony is a Sports Illustrated/FanNation writer for HoosiersNow.com. He graduated from Indiana University's Media School with a degree in journalism. Follow on Twitter @ankony_jack.

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