No Knock on Wideouts to Knock on Wood
8/10/2018 4:30:00 PM | Football
By: Andy Graham
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Nick Westbrook was always the mathematical, analytical type.
So he knows the odds are in Indiana football's favor regarding wide receiver health to start the 2018 season.
The football gods aren't likely to deprive Indiana of its leading returning receiver on a first play of a season for the third straight fall.
Two years ago, it was Simmie Cobbs Jr. sustaining a season-ending knee injury on his first snap from scrimmage. Last fall, it was Westbrook sustaining a season-ending knee injury on the campaign's opening kickoff.
Chances are, with the average incidence of such injuries, IU will be spared a repeat of that particular misfortune when the 2018 campaign kicks off Sept. 1 at Florida International.
(Though Hoosier fans are hereby encouraged, before reading any further, to knock on wood for the benefit of returning receiver Luke Timian).
Math currently on Westbrook's mind includes the computations of IU "speed specialist" Dr. Matt Rhea, whose ministrations have sped the Hoosiers up since January.
Especially, it seems, Westbrook, Timian and redshirt freshman linebacker Thomas Allen.
"Our biggest speed improvements have come with Nick Westbrook, Thomas Allen and Luke Timian," Rhea reported during IU's Media Day. "All three have worked incredibly hard this offseason and their speed improvements have shown it."
Last season's injury left Westbrook especially hungry to not only recover but improve.
"It definitely humbled me," Westbrook said about getting so suddenly sidelined for the season. "It gave me the perspective that this could all be taken away at any moment. It was an ACL. People get through that. It could have been something far worse. There is life beyond football.
"So I went and had more experiences, some internships … but it all put in perspective that I really love this game and I've got to do all I can while I can play, right now, and make sure I'm doing everything the right way."
Westbrook figured he had to do everything exactly how Rhea and new Director of Athletic Performance David Ballou requested to be able to fairly judge the new strength and conditioning program they inaugurated over the winter.
"I didn't really have to buy in," Westbrook said. "I'm the big analytical guy. I saw the numbers from the start, the whole presentation from when they first got here. Some of the numbers showed how it worked for these guys in the league (NFL).
"If I don't do what they say 100 percent, I can't actually say if it works (or not). I tried to give it my all from the start and definitely feel it has paid off. I've definitely noticed the difference. And I feel really great running.
"Dr. Rhea really got us going. Right when we started working with him … he does his scientific stuff … took some readings … and I think he has me faster than last year. Faster than I've ever been before. When I first started with Dr. Rhea, I was running about 20 miles per hour. Now I'm at 22. So pretty big increase.
(And) under Coach Ballou this offseason, there have been tremendous jumps in my strength."
Westbrook said a goal throughout his playing career is to increase his number of receiving yards each season he plays. If he does that, he'll go over 1,000 yards this fall, because his sophomore campaign in 2016 saw him haul in 54 passes for 995 yards and six TDs.
Sophomore receiver Whop Philyor, asked what a healthy Westbrook could mean to IU's aerial attack, replied:
"We're 10 times better. Have you seen him? He's on the Biletnikoff Watch List. That's going to help us. Oh, my God. And he's way faster (than he was)."
Philyor noted that Donavan Hale, a talented 6-foot-4 redshirt junior who was a prep quarterback at Largo, Fla. (where he teamed with IU senior safety Jon Crawford), is also coming back from injury to augment the receiving corps.
"He's doing great," Philyor said of Hale. "He's looking way better. As athletic as he looked last year, maybe even more. He's doing great right now. He was doing amazing (before he got hurt).
Philyor, injured himself during fall camp last season, came on late in the year to finish with 11 catches for 335 yards as a true freshman, behind only Timian's 68 for 589 among the returnees.
While Timian and Philyor spent a lot of time running routes from the slot position, IU receivers coach Grant Heard doesn't categorize them that way.
"In my mind, if you play wideout, you play wideout," Heard said at Media Day. "(Pittsburgh Steeler All-Pro) Antonio Brown, he plays everywhere. He plays inside, he plays outside. Is he slot? What is he?
"To me I want to put the best players on the field and who give us a chance to be successful. You might be inside this play and the next play you may be outside.
"(Timian and Philyor are) two talented guys and we have to figure out a way to get the ball in their hands. They gave us a chance last year, and at the end of the day that is all you want. Playmakers give yourself a chance."
Heard noted Philyor was most definitely a playmaker once he recovered physically and got up to speed with IU's offense last fall. In addition to Westbrook, Heard is happy to have Philyor and Hale healthy.
"When it all clicked on," Heard said of Philyor, "he was phenomenal. (And) I think Donavan is a good player. I really do. Before he got hurt, he was making plays and our offense was rolling."
And then there is fifth-year senior J-Shun Harris II. He has overcome three ACL injuries at IU to be full-go entering this fall. Heard, who had an ACL injury his senior season at Ole Miss, acknowledged he'd not have chosen to try to rehabilitate three such injuries, as Harris has.
Harris was one of the key teammates Westbrook found inspirational during rehab.
"J-Shun – yeah, that's one of motivating factors during this whole process," Westbrook said. "Going through my knee surgery, just seeing him – because he's coming back again.
"On some days, it might seem that you just can't do it that day, but I had J-Shun and (graduated linebacker) Chris Covington and guys who have been through it. And all it is is a surgery. He's done it. So many people in the NFL have bounced back from it. It's part of the game, now, and just get through it."
IU head coach Tom Allen said there are no physical limitations on Harris.
"Watching him practice here, you see he's made a lot of plays at the receiver spot," Allen said. "As long as his knee holds up, we'll use him as much as we can. Obviously, punt returner is such a huge role for us and he did such a great job there, so that's a constant. But if he can physically handle playing receiver, then we'll play him as much as we can."
Heard is glad to see all of his receivers -- including redshirt junior Chris Gajcak, sophomores Ty Fryfogle and Justin Berry and freshmen, Miles Marshall, Jacolby Hewitt, David Felton, Luke Shayotovich and Bradley Ellis – healthy and fit coming off the offseason work with Ballou and Rhea.
"I'm just excited to see them out there, because we look like a different team right now, physically, Heard said. "I like to see it because our kids feel confident, and I firmly believe confidence helps your play."
And it's a different season, now, -- one perhaps due to physically treat Westbrook and the other IU wideouts a bit better.
The football gods owe them big time.
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Nick Westbrook was always the mathematical, analytical type.
So he knows the odds are in Indiana football's favor regarding wide receiver health to start the 2018 season.
The football gods aren't likely to deprive Indiana of its leading returning receiver on a first play of a season for the third straight fall.
Two years ago, it was Simmie Cobbs Jr. sustaining a season-ending knee injury on his first snap from scrimmage. Last fall, it was Westbrook sustaining a season-ending knee injury on the campaign's opening kickoff.
Chances are, with the average incidence of such injuries, IU will be spared a repeat of that particular misfortune when the 2018 campaign kicks off Sept. 1 at Florida International.
(Though Hoosier fans are hereby encouraged, before reading any further, to knock on wood for the benefit of returning receiver Luke Timian).
Math currently on Westbrook's mind includes the computations of IU "speed specialist" Dr. Matt Rhea, whose ministrations have sped the Hoosiers up since January.
Especially, it seems, Westbrook, Timian and redshirt freshman linebacker Thomas Allen.
"Our biggest speed improvements have come with Nick Westbrook, Thomas Allen and Luke Timian," Rhea reported during IU's Media Day. "All three have worked incredibly hard this offseason and their speed improvements have shown it."
Last season's injury left Westbrook especially hungry to not only recover but improve.
"It definitely humbled me," Westbrook said about getting so suddenly sidelined for the season. "It gave me the perspective that this could all be taken away at any moment. It was an ACL. People get through that. It could have been something far worse. There is life beyond football.
"So I went and had more experiences, some internships … but it all put in perspective that I really love this game and I've got to do all I can while I can play, right now, and make sure I'm doing everything the right way."
Westbrook figured he had to do everything exactly how Rhea and new Director of Athletic Performance David Ballou requested to be able to fairly judge the new strength and conditioning program they inaugurated over the winter.
"I didn't really have to buy in," Westbrook said. "I'm the big analytical guy. I saw the numbers from the start, the whole presentation from when they first got here. Some of the numbers showed how it worked for these guys in the league (NFL).
"If I don't do what they say 100 percent, I can't actually say if it works (or not). I tried to give it my all from the start and definitely feel it has paid off. I've definitely noticed the difference. And I feel really great running.
"Dr. Rhea really got us going. Right when we started working with him … he does his scientific stuff … took some readings … and I think he has me faster than last year. Faster than I've ever been before. When I first started with Dr. Rhea, I was running about 20 miles per hour. Now I'm at 22. So pretty big increase.
(And) under Coach Ballou this offseason, there have been tremendous jumps in my strength."
Westbrook said a goal throughout his playing career is to increase his number of receiving yards each season he plays. If he does that, he'll go over 1,000 yards this fall, because his sophomore campaign in 2016 saw him haul in 54 passes for 995 yards and six TDs.
Sophomore receiver Whop Philyor, asked what a healthy Westbrook could mean to IU's aerial attack, replied:
"We're 10 times better. Have you seen him? He's on the Biletnikoff Watch List. That's going to help us. Oh, my God. And he's way faster (than he was)."
Philyor noted that Donavan Hale, a talented 6-foot-4 redshirt junior who was a prep quarterback at Largo, Fla. (where he teamed with IU senior safety Jon Crawford), is also coming back from injury to augment the receiving corps.
"He's doing great," Philyor said of Hale. "He's looking way better. As athletic as he looked last year, maybe even more. He's doing great right now. He was doing amazing (before he got hurt).
Philyor, injured himself during fall camp last season, came on late in the year to finish with 11 catches for 335 yards as a true freshman, behind only Timian's 68 for 589 among the returnees.
While Timian and Philyor spent a lot of time running routes from the slot position, IU receivers coach Grant Heard doesn't categorize them that way.
"In my mind, if you play wideout, you play wideout," Heard said at Media Day. "(Pittsburgh Steeler All-Pro) Antonio Brown, he plays everywhere. He plays inside, he plays outside. Is he slot? What is he?
"To me I want to put the best players on the field and who give us a chance to be successful. You might be inside this play and the next play you may be outside.
"(Timian and Philyor are) two talented guys and we have to figure out a way to get the ball in their hands. They gave us a chance last year, and at the end of the day that is all you want. Playmakers give yourself a chance."
Heard noted Philyor was most definitely a playmaker once he recovered physically and got up to speed with IU's offense last fall. In addition to Westbrook, Heard is happy to have Philyor and Hale healthy.
"When it all clicked on," Heard said of Philyor, "he was phenomenal. (And) I think Donavan is a good player. I really do. Before he got hurt, he was making plays and our offense was rolling."
And then there is fifth-year senior J-Shun Harris II. He has overcome three ACL injuries at IU to be full-go entering this fall. Heard, who had an ACL injury his senior season at Ole Miss, acknowledged he'd not have chosen to try to rehabilitate three such injuries, as Harris has.
Harris was one of the key teammates Westbrook found inspirational during rehab.
"J-Shun – yeah, that's one of motivating factors during this whole process," Westbrook said. "Going through my knee surgery, just seeing him – because he's coming back again.
"On some days, it might seem that you just can't do it that day, but I had J-Shun and (graduated linebacker) Chris Covington and guys who have been through it. And all it is is a surgery. He's done it. So many people in the NFL have bounced back from it. It's part of the game, now, and just get through it."
IU head coach Tom Allen said there are no physical limitations on Harris.
"Watching him practice here, you see he's made a lot of plays at the receiver spot," Allen said. "As long as his knee holds up, we'll use him as much as we can. Obviously, punt returner is such a huge role for us and he did such a great job there, so that's a constant. But if he can physically handle playing receiver, then we'll play him as much as we can."
Heard is glad to see all of his receivers -- including redshirt junior Chris Gajcak, sophomores Ty Fryfogle and Justin Berry and freshmen, Miles Marshall, Jacolby Hewitt, David Felton, Luke Shayotovich and Bradley Ellis – healthy and fit coming off the offseason work with Ballou and Rhea.
"I'm just excited to see them out there, because we look like a different team right now, physically, Heard said. "I like to see it because our kids feel confident, and I firmly believe confidence helps your play."
And it's a different season, now, -- one perhaps due to physically treat Westbrook and the other IU wideouts a bit better.
The football gods owe them big time.
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