Indiana University Athletics
Making It Personal Has Hoosier Receivers Ready
10/15/2020 5:57:00 AM | Football
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Personal? Of course it is. Whop Philyor makes that crystal clear.
Big Penn State hits cost Indiana's thousand-yard receiver basically two games last season.
It burned him then. It burns him now, especially with the No. 9 Nittany Lions coming to Memorial Stadium for the Oct. 24 season opener.
The 5-11, 177-pound senior lets the Hoosiers know it.
"I tell them all the time, 'Man, them boys knocked me out. I'm going to need you all to bring that dog. You already know I'm going to bring that dog.'"
The "dog," in this case, is the ferocious intensity needed to down Penn State, and beyond.
IU might have done it last season if Philyor had played the entire game.
Early on he caught two passes for 50 yards against the Nittany Lions, including a 42-yard reception, but got knocked out of a game the Hoosiers lost, 34-27. He missed the Michigan contest the next week before bouncing back with an eight-catch, 138-yard, two-touchdown effort at Purdue.
So, yes, Philyor is motivated, but then, the hyper-animated Florida native always is. Such passion is among the reason why he rates among the Big Ten's best receivers, and is on the watch lists for a pair of national honors -- the Maxwell Award (to the nation's best player) and the Biletnikoff Award (to the nation's top receiver).
"I tell (teammates) all the time, this game is real personal to me," Philyor says. "I need you to make it personal to you, too."
One of those receiving teammates, senior Ty Fryfogle, is positioned to have a career season.
The 6-2, 214-pounder has 75 catches for 998 yards in his career. That includes last season's 45-catch, 604-yard, three-touchdown effort.
"He is exactly where he needs to be," receivers coach Grant Heard says. "He worked his butt off in the offseason. Even though he was not (on campus during the pandemic shutdown), down in Mississippi they did not really think (COVID-19) was real, so he was there working out. He got his work in.
"Every day I talked with him when he was at home. He was outside working out. He is exactly where I need him to be and I expect big things out of him this year."
Just because Fryfogle wasn't at IU's facilities during the shutdown didn't mean he couldn't get in the necessary work.
"I was trying to keep the same routine," he says. "At the time the season was postponed, we were in spring ball, so I just tried to stay in shape and catch balls.
"I never knew what was going to happen or if we were going to get called back. I was trying to keep the same work ethic and not get out of shape. Once you get out of shape, it is hard to get back into shape, football wise."
Fryfogle worked with teammates and other college players.
"We have a few quarterbacks down where I live. All of the receivers got together, receivers and defensive backs, and we got some good work in," he says.
"We went through the route tree. We were just being active. Of course, we were social distancing and wearing masks, but we were trying to stay active and not get out of shape. We were getting good work in every day."
Fryfogle is positioned to join Philyor and redshirt sophomore receiver Miles Marshall as position leaders.
"Fry and Miles have been here just as long as I have," Philyor says. "They already know how it is going.
"Mainly, we have to get the younger guys right. Those two have played in big games and made plays in big games. It is just the young guys, we have to bring them along. We are going to need them.
"The Big Ten is a rough league. People go down. It is mainly the young guys that we are developing, getting them right and getting them ready to go."
Redshirt sophomore Jacolby Hewitt and true freshman Javon Swinton are among the young receivers with impressive potential.
"(Jacolby) had the setback with the ACL last year, so he is getting back into the swing of things," Heard says. "As long as he keeps progressing, hopefully he has a chance to get in there and help us, add some depth in that room."
As for Swinton, Heard says, "The biggest thing is that he is a smart kid. He has come in and picked up the offense. He has his freshman moments where it starts to pile up on him quickly, but for the most part, he knows what to do.
"We are trying to clean up some of his technique and trying to get him to understand that the pace of the game he is about to get into is a lot different from what he had in (high school).
"He has the ability to make plays. It is not always pretty, but he finds a way to get to the ball and he has really good hands. We are trying to get him to understand the pace of the game, how physical the Big Ten can be, and as he progresses, I think that he is going to be really, really good."
Ultimately, receiving success depends on the chemistry with quarterback Michael Penix Jr.
It's looking good, Fryfogle says.
"The chemistry is great. It has become really good over time. We can never say that the chemistry is perfect because you always have room to get better. We have been practicing and getting in extra work together. The chemistry is going day-by-day. We are getting better. I am confident."
So is Philyor.
He has put in plenty of off-season work with Penix and fellow quarterbacks Jack Tuttle and Dexter Williams II.
"We always found the time for us to get a little bit of work in," Philyor says. "We found places to get in and throw so we could all create chemistry. We found time so we could get the chemistry down.
"You never know. Mike went down last year. God forbid that happens again, but the next guy has to come up. I could go down, Fry could go down. Everyone has to be ready, so we all have to work on the chemistry together."
Philyor insists Penix, a redshirt sophomore, will take charge as never before.
"Mike is always going to be cool, calm and collected. He will take control of everything because he is the big dog, obviously.
"He will always have a poised look on his face. Mike will take control. He is the big dog. We will fall behind him. He is going to lead us."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Personal? Of course it is. Whop Philyor makes that crystal clear.
Big Penn State hits cost Indiana's thousand-yard receiver basically two games last season.
It burned him then. It burns him now, especially with the No. 9 Nittany Lions coming to Memorial Stadium for the Oct. 24 season opener.
The 5-11, 177-pound senior lets the Hoosiers know it.
"I tell them all the time, 'Man, them boys knocked me out. I'm going to need you all to bring that dog. You already know I'm going to bring that dog.'"
The "dog," in this case, is the ferocious intensity needed to down Penn State, and beyond.
IU might have done it last season if Philyor had played the entire game.
Early on he caught two passes for 50 yards against the Nittany Lions, including a 42-yard reception, but got knocked out of a game the Hoosiers lost, 34-27. He missed the Michigan contest the next week before bouncing back with an eight-catch, 138-yard, two-touchdown effort at Purdue.
So, yes, Philyor is motivated, but then, the hyper-animated Florida native always is. Such passion is among the reason why he rates among the Big Ten's best receivers, and is on the watch lists for a pair of national honors -- the Maxwell Award (to the nation's best player) and the Biletnikoff Award (to the nation's top receiver).
"I tell (teammates) all the time, this game is real personal to me," Philyor says. "I need you to make it personal to you, too."
One of those receiving teammates, senior Ty Fryfogle, is positioned to have a career season.
The 6-2, 214-pounder has 75 catches for 998 yards in his career. That includes last season's 45-catch, 604-yard, three-touchdown effort.
"He is exactly where he needs to be," receivers coach Grant Heard says. "He worked his butt off in the offseason. Even though he was not (on campus during the pandemic shutdown), down in Mississippi they did not really think (COVID-19) was real, so he was there working out. He got his work in.
"Every day I talked with him when he was at home. He was outside working out. He is exactly where I need him to be and I expect big things out of him this year."
Just because Fryfogle wasn't at IU's facilities during the shutdown didn't mean he couldn't get in the necessary work.
"I was trying to keep the same routine," he says. "At the time the season was postponed, we were in spring ball, so I just tried to stay in shape and catch balls.
"I never knew what was going to happen or if we were going to get called back. I was trying to keep the same work ethic and not get out of shape. Once you get out of shape, it is hard to get back into shape, football wise."
Fryfogle worked with teammates and other college players.
"We have a few quarterbacks down where I live. All of the receivers got together, receivers and defensive backs, and we got some good work in," he says.
"We went through the route tree. We were just being active. Of course, we were social distancing and wearing masks, but we were trying to stay active and not get out of shape. We were getting good work in every day."
Fryfogle is positioned to join Philyor and redshirt sophomore receiver Miles Marshall as position leaders.
"Fry and Miles have been here just as long as I have," Philyor says. "They already know how it is going.
"Mainly, we have to get the younger guys right. Those two have played in big games and made plays in big games. It is just the young guys, we have to bring them along. We are going to need them.
"The Big Ten is a rough league. People go down. It is mainly the young guys that we are developing, getting them right and getting them ready to go."
Redshirt sophomore Jacolby Hewitt and true freshman Javon Swinton are among the young receivers with impressive potential.
"(Jacolby) had the setback with the ACL last year, so he is getting back into the swing of things," Heard says. "As long as he keeps progressing, hopefully he has a chance to get in there and help us, add some depth in that room."
As for Swinton, Heard says, "The biggest thing is that he is a smart kid. He has come in and picked up the offense. He has his freshman moments where it starts to pile up on him quickly, but for the most part, he knows what to do.
"We are trying to clean up some of his technique and trying to get him to understand that the pace of the game he is about to get into is a lot different from what he had in (high school).
"He has the ability to make plays. It is not always pretty, but he finds a way to get to the ball and he has really good hands. We are trying to get him to understand the pace of the game, how physical the Big Ten can be, and as he progresses, I think that he is going to be really, really good."
Ultimately, receiving success depends on the chemistry with quarterback Michael Penix Jr.
It's looking good, Fryfogle says.
"The chemistry is great. It has become really good over time. We can never say that the chemistry is perfect because you always have room to get better. We have been practicing and getting in extra work together. The chemistry is going day-by-day. We are getting better. I am confident."
So is Philyor.
He has put in plenty of off-season work with Penix and fellow quarterbacks Jack Tuttle and Dexter Williams II.
"We always found the time for us to get a little bit of work in," Philyor says. "We found places to get in and throw so we could all create chemistry. We found time so we could get the chemistry down.
"You never know. Mike went down last year. God forbid that happens again, but the next guy has to come up. I could go down, Fry could go down. Everyone has to be ready, so we all have to work on the chemistry together."
Philyor insists Penix, a redshirt sophomore, will take charge as never before.
"Mike is always going to be cool, calm and collected. He will take control of everything because he is the big dog, obviously.
"He will always have a poised look on his face. Mike will take control. He is the big dog. We will fall behind him. He is going to lead us."
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