Fryfogle Back in the Hunt a Long Way From Home
10/19/2018 3:01:00 PM | Football
By: Andy Graham
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - He did it 14 times as a high school senior but hadn't done it since.
And then when he did, he was 714 miles away from home.
But when Mississippi native Ty Fryfogle caught at touchdown pass last Saturday, his first collegiate career TD pass as an Indiana Hoosier, he had come a long way in more than one respect.
Sophomore wideout Fryfogle has emerged as a legitimate weapon in IU's arsenal, and has done so when his team really needed it.
And that TD catch, a 33-yarder with 12:17 left in the first half, was a very bright spot for Indiana against Iowa.
Fryfogle got a step on Hawkeye cornerback Riley Moss down the west sideline as IU quarterback Peyton Ramsey did a good job of looking the safeties off before throwing a perfect strike to the end zone.
But Moss had recovered well enough when the pass arrived to stick his right hand and arm right between Fryfogle's chest and the ball. Fryfogle kept his focus – and both hands on the ball as the players went down.
Not just any receiver would have completed that catch. But Ramsey has seen Fryfogle develop into a receiver who can provide the Hoosiers advantageous matchups.
"I just saw he had a good matchup that I thought I could take advantage of," Ramsey recalled this week. "He ended up taking it deep and he went up and made a play …
"I just think his confidence is continuing to grow. Having played inside and outside receiver now, just his total understanding of our scheme and of our offense has grown and I think that's giving him a lot of confidence. And that's allowing him to play fast because his athletic ability is off the charts. He's just starting to bring it all together now."
Fryfogle played in eight games as an IU freshman but had just one catch, a 13-yarder in the win over Georgia Southern, but he now has 21 catches for 238 yards during the Hoosiers' 4-3 start this fall.
His development and versatility came in especially handy for the Hoosiers in recent weeks.
Slot receiver standouts Luke Timian and Whop Philyor have both missed multiple games this month due to injury and Fryfogle, having spent his Indiana career out wide, moved inside to help.
"When we lost Luke and Whop both, in previous weeks, he had to go in and play slot … and that's not an easy job," Indiana offensive coordinator Mike DeBord said of Fryfogle this week. "The slot position is one of the harder positions to learn in any offense. And he's done a great job of working at that.
"So now he's created flexibility for us and himself, for being able to play inside or outside. I just saw him really take a step forward this week … that was a great (TD) catch. It was a 50/50 ball that he came up with. So we're really encouraged with where he is right now."
Fryfogle played extensively at the slot in both the Rutgers and Ohio State games and acknowledged it was an adjustment.
"Slot is a very challenging position," Fryfogle said. "It's different than outside. You block bigger guys, linebackers, safeties. And it's more reading. You find holes, as a slot, whereas at wideout you know the routes you're running, specifically.
"It's just way more challenging. But they all did a great job helping me figure it out – Luke, Whop, J-Shun (Harris), they all took me to the film room and showed me defenses, showed me how to read defenses from the slot."
IU receivers coach Grant Heard also coaches all his troops to understand multiple positions in case personnel situations require a shift.
"I try to teach my guys the whole concept of a whole play, so when we do have injuries he might not know how to do something, but at least he'll know what to do," Heard said. "Then with practice you can teach them, this is how you do this, this is how you do that.
"It was easy. He's a smart kid. He knew what to do. It was just a matter of getting him taught up on how to do it."
Fryfogle figured to be taught by Heard all along, but initially thought that would happen at Ole Miss, where Heard coached before joining Tom Allen's IU staff.
"When he took the job, he called me and said he'd went to Indiana," Fryfogle recalled. "I was like, 'Let me come up on a visit up there.' He said, 'Are you serious?' I said, 'Yeah.' He said, 'It's really cold up here.' "
Fryfogle grinned at the memory, but noted he and his family were undeterred by climactic considerations.
"(We) talked about setting up a visit and I brought my mom, my stepdad, my real dad, and they liked it," Fryfogle said. "They thought it was the best place for me and so did I."
Fryfogle's family already knew all about Heard, who had played with Fryfogle's father at Ole Miss. When Ty came along, he impressed Heard at camp even before becoming George County High School's career leader in catches and receiving yardage.
"He was a good player and he came up to camp and had a good workout," Heard said. "I offered him at Ole Miss originally. Then when I got here I contacted him and said, 'Hey, would you want to come to Indiana?'
"(Ty is a) big athletic guy that can go make catches down the field. He was raw coming out of high school … but I knew, athletically, he had it in him to be a good player. Just through his hard work, he's turning out to be a really good player."
The sort who can utilize athleticism and a very solid 6-foot-2, 212-pound frame to win one-on-one battles with defensive backs. The sort of wins that can produce TDs downfield.
Ramsey trusted Fryfogle in that regard and was rewarded Saturday.
"We practice those (50/50) balls time after time," Fryfogle said of his tussle with Moss for the football Saturday. "We work on those balls. We put in extra work after practice. Whop, Luke, J-Shun, the whole receiving corps.
"Coach Heard preaches about 50/50 balls. We've got to come down with them to get quarterbacks to trust us and keep throwing them. I take a lot of pride in that, just putting a lot of effort into it. Everybody does … we're just trying to get them to trust us as much as they can."
Fryfogle admitted he prefers to earn that trust playing outside instead of the slot, and he'll likely spend more time outside now that Timian and Philyor are on the mend. "But I just do whatever they ask me to do to help out," he said.
Heard can feel comfortable putting Fryfogle at any receiver spot now.
"He had to get comfortable in the offense, get comfortable being this far from home," Heard said. "There's a lot of factors.
"Now, after that first year's over, he knows the offense, he knows what to expect in practice. He's used to not being at home. He's just comfortable. He can just cut loose and play fast."
Fryfogle doesn't speak as fast as he plays. He's got a soft-spoken, southern tilt to his speech and is scrupulously polite. His replies during interviews often start with either "yes, sir," or "no, sir." He is not loquacious, but is friendly and easy-going.
"He's a man of few words, but he is fun to be around," Heard said. "He does have a good personality. A lot of people don't get to see it until you're around long enough. ... He's just an old country boy from Mississippi that likes to fish and hunt."
Fryfogle hasn't had much time for recreational activity since matriculating at Indiana, but said he has taking a shine to Bloomington not that he's adjusted to the cooler climate somewhat.
"Bloomington is kind of similar to where I live," Fryfogle said. "I do love to hunt and fish. I just really haven't had a chance to do much since I got here. But it's still cool."
And now Fryfogle is officially back to hunting touchdowns.
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - He did it 14 times as a high school senior but hadn't done it since.
And then when he did, he was 714 miles away from home.
But when Mississippi native Ty Fryfogle caught at touchdown pass last Saturday, his first collegiate career TD pass as an Indiana Hoosier, he had come a long way in more than one respect.
Sophomore wideout Fryfogle has emerged as a legitimate weapon in IU's arsenal, and has done so when his team really needed it.
And that TD catch, a 33-yarder with 12:17 left in the first half, was a very bright spot for Indiana against Iowa.
Fryfogle got a step on Hawkeye cornerback Riley Moss down the west sideline as IU quarterback Peyton Ramsey did a good job of looking the safeties off before throwing a perfect strike to the end zone.
But Moss had recovered well enough when the pass arrived to stick his right hand and arm right between Fryfogle's chest and the ball. Fryfogle kept his focus – and both hands on the ball as the players went down.
Not just any receiver would have completed that catch. But Ramsey has seen Fryfogle develop into a receiver who can provide the Hoosiers advantageous matchups.
"I just saw he had a good matchup that I thought I could take advantage of," Ramsey recalled this week. "He ended up taking it deep and he went up and made a play …
"I just think his confidence is continuing to grow. Having played inside and outside receiver now, just his total understanding of our scheme and of our offense has grown and I think that's giving him a lot of confidence. And that's allowing him to play fast because his athletic ability is off the charts. He's just starting to bring it all together now."
Fryfogle played in eight games as an IU freshman but had just one catch, a 13-yarder in the win over Georgia Southern, but he now has 21 catches for 238 yards during the Hoosiers' 4-3 start this fall.
His development and versatility came in especially handy for the Hoosiers in recent weeks.
Slot receiver standouts Luke Timian and Whop Philyor have both missed multiple games this month due to injury and Fryfogle, having spent his Indiana career out wide, moved inside to help.
"When we lost Luke and Whop both, in previous weeks, he had to go in and play slot … and that's not an easy job," Indiana offensive coordinator Mike DeBord said of Fryfogle this week. "The slot position is one of the harder positions to learn in any offense. And he's done a great job of working at that.
"So now he's created flexibility for us and himself, for being able to play inside or outside. I just saw him really take a step forward this week … that was a great (TD) catch. It was a 50/50 ball that he came up with. So we're really encouraged with where he is right now."
Fryfogle played extensively at the slot in both the Rutgers and Ohio State games and acknowledged it was an adjustment.
"Slot is a very challenging position," Fryfogle said. "It's different than outside. You block bigger guys, linebackers, safeties. And it's more reading. You find holes, as a slot, whereas at wideout you know the routes you're running, specifically.
"It's just way more challenging. But they all did a great job helping me figure it out – Luke, Whop, J-Shun (Harris), they all took me to the film room and showed me defenses, showed me how to read defenses from the slot."
IU receivers coach Grant Heard also coaches all his troops to understand multiple positions in case personnel situations require a shift.
"I try to teach my guys the whole concept of a whole play, so when we do have injuries he might not know how to do something, but at least he'll know what to do," Heard said. "Then with practice you can teach them, this is how you do this, this is how you do that.
"It was easy. He's a smart kid. He knew what to do. It was just a matter of getting him taught up on how to do it."
Fryfogle figured to be taught by Heard all along, but initially thought that would happen at Ole Miss, where Heard coached before joining Tom Allen's IU staff.
"When he took the job, he called me and said he'd went to Indiana," Fryfogle recalled. "I was like, 'Let me come up on a visit up there.' He said, 'Are you serious?' I said, 'Yeah.' He said, 'It's really cold up here.' "
Fryfogle grinned at the memory, but noted he and his family were undeterred by climactic considerations.
"(We) talked about setting up a visit and I brought my mom, my stepdad, my real dad, and they liked it," Fryfogle said. "They thought it was the best place for me and so did I."
Fryfogle's family already knew all about Heard, who had played with Fryfogle's father at Ole Miss. When Ty came along, he impressed Heard at camp even before becoming George County High School's career leader in catches and receiving yardage.
"He was a good player and he came up to camp and had a good workout," Heard said. "I offered him at Ole Miss originally. Then when I got here I contacted him and said, 'Hey, would you want to come to Indiana?'
"(Ty is a) big athletic guy that can go make catches down the field. He was raw coming out of high school … but I knew, athletically, he had it in him to be a good player. Just through his hard work, he's turning out to be a really good player."
The sort who can utilize athleticism and a very solid 6-foot-2, 212-pound frame to win one-on-one battles with defensive backs. The sort of wins that can produce TDs downfield.
Ramsey trusted Fryfogle in that regard and was rewarded Saturday.
"We practice those (50/50) balls time after time," Fryfogle said of his tussle with Moss for the football Saturday. "We work on those balls. We put in extra work after practice. Whop, Luke, J-Shun, the whole receiving corps.
"Coach Heard preaches about 50/50 balls. We've got to come down with them to get quarterbacks to trust us and keep throwing them. I take a lot of pride in that, just putting a lot of effort into it. Everybody does … we're just trying to get them to trust us as much as they can."
Fryfogle admitted he prefers to earn that trust playing outside instead of the slot, and he'll likely spend more time outside now that Timian and Philyor are on the mend. "But I just do whatever they ask me to do to help out," he said.
Heard can feel comfortable putting Fryfogle at any receiver spot now.
"He had to get comfortable in the offense, get comfortable being this far from home," Heard said. "There's a lot of factors.
"Now, after that first year's over, he knows the offense, he knows what to expect in practice. He's used to not being at home. He's just comfortable. He can just cut loose and play fast."
Fryfogle doesn't speak as fast as he plays. He's got a soft-spoken, southern tilt to his speech and is scrupulously polite. His replies during interviews often start with either "yes, sir," or "no, sir." He is not loquacious, but is friendly and easy-going.
"He's a man of few words, but he is fun to be around," Heard said. "He does have a good personality. A lot of people don't get to see it until you're around long enough. ... He's just an old country boy from Mississippi that likes to fish and hunt."
Fryfogle hasn't had much time for recreational activity since matriculating at Indiana, but said he has taking a shine to Bloomington not that he's adjusted to the cooler climate somewhat.
"Bloomington is kind of similar to where I live," Fryfogle said. "I do love to hunt and fish. I just really haven't had a chance to do much since I got here. But it's still cool."
And now Fryfogle is officially back to hunting touchdowns.
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