Indiana University Athletics
Stepping Up – Simmons Makes Most of Receiving Opportunity
10/19/2022 10:00:00 AM | Football
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - It starts with trust. It has to. A quarterback has to know a receiver will run the right route, will make the big catch, will deliver the key block, especially when need is at its greatest.
Emery Simmons has earned that trust. He has become, with the injury to D.J. Matthews Jr. and Cam Camper's illness, a prime receiving target for quarterback Connor Bazelak.
The North Carolina transfer has started the last three games and totaled 19 catches for 213 yards with a touchdown at Nebraska. For the season, he has 28 catches for 305 yards.
"When the opportunity comes," he says, "I feel Connor trusts me from practice.
"I'm very reliable. When the time comes, make a play. If you do, like (receivers coach Adam Henry) says, the ball finds energy. When the ball comes your way, make a play and they'll keep coming back to you."
And so they have.
"He's super tough," Bazelak says. "He does well on the perimeter with screens and run blocking. He's great at that, too.
"He's reliable. He doesn't drop many passes. He stepped up when D.J. got hurt. It will be fun to have them in at the same time."
Here's an example of what fun can mean. Against Maryland last Saturday, Simmons had six catches for 99 yards.
This is what offensive coordinator Walt Bell was hoping for when Simmons became a Hoosier.
"I think the biggest thing is taking advantage of opportunities," Bell says. "He has had to play a bunch of plays and has done a nice job."
That's no surprise given Simmons' work ethic.
"That's a young man who prepares," Bell says. "If you saw the notes he takes in meetings … He prepares the right way. He's positioned himself to make the most of his opportunity. I couldn't be happier for him because he's a great kid."
Simmons has the speed to stretch a defense. He had a 40-yard catch against Maryland, a 24-yard reception against Illinois, and a 30-yarder against Western Kentucky.
And as he showed against Maryland, he's more than capable of making contested catches and big plays.
His 40-yard catch was the result of film work as much as execution.
"We talked about it in practice all week that they leave that open," Simmons says. "When I ran through and cleared, I hoped (Bazelak) saw me. He gave me the opportunity, and I had to capitalize and make him trust me more. That was my plan."
Simmons is a Hoosier newcomer, but he's certainly not new to college pressure. In three seasons at North Carolina, he played in 30 games and started 14. He totaled 30 catches for 516 yards and three touchdowns. That includes last season's three-catch, 110-yard effort against Georgia Tech. He had receptions as long as 51 yards on his resume.
IU had recruited him hard as a four-star high-school prospect out of North Carolina with 122 catches for 2,333 yards and 30 touchdowns over his final two seasons.
It didn't work out then, but it has now.
"He's playing the way I expected him to play," head coach Tom Allen says. "We wanted him here several years ago and we finally got him.
"His confidence continues to grow. He's made some big catches for us, big plays. I love his mindset. He's such a worker. The way he is every rep is exactly how he practices every day."
IU (3-4) is counting on Simmons to make more big catches Saturday at Rutgers (3-3). The Hoosiers seek to end their four-game losing streak as they head into a bye week.
"This game is up and down," Simmons says. "You'll have those times. You will face adversity. Use that, take it and apply it. With us, even though we lost four games, you get to practice and you see who wants to fight. I feel we took that step. Everybody in the weight room had good energy, good vibes. They focused in practice. We'll be fine."
As far as IU's fourth-quarter struggles, Simmons says, "In timely situations, we have to finish. On offense, we've got to clean it up. On defense, we've got to get takeaways. On special teams, we have to make plays. We have to piece it all together."
Allen let the Hoosiers know he has their backs.
"Coach Allen said you have to fight," Simmons says. "He said there's always adversity and I'll fight with you. We're a team, a family, we'll fight together and we'll persevere."
Simmons certainly will.
"Emery is a great young man," Allen says. "I have a lot of confidence in him. He's playing at the level I expected."
Emery Simmons has earned that trust. He has become, with the injury to D.J. Matthews Jr. and Cam Camper's illness, a prime receiving target for quarterback Connor Bazelak.
The North Carolina transfer has started the last three games and totaled 19 catches for 213 yards with a touchdown at Nebraska. For the season, he has 28 catches for 305 yards.
"When the opportunity comes," he says, "I feel Connor trusts me from practice.
"I'm very reliable. When the time comes, make a play. If you do, like (receivers coach Adam Henry) says, the ball finds energy. When the ball comes your way, make a play and they'll keep coming back to you."
And so they have.
"He's super tough," Bazelak says. "He does well on the perimeter with screens and run blocking. He's great at that, too.
"He's reliable. He doesn't drop many passes. He stepped up when D.J. got hurt. It will be fun to have them in at the same time."
Here's an example of what fun can mean. Against Maryland last Saturday, Simmons had six catches for 99 yards.
This is what offensive coordinator Walt Bell was hoping for when Simmons became a Hoosier.
"I think the biggest thing is taking advantage of opportunities," Bell says. "He has had to play a bunch of plays and has done a nice job."
That's no surprise given Simmons' work ethic.
"That's a young man who prepares," Bell says. "If you saw the notes he takes in meetings … He prepares the right way. He's positioned himself to make the most of his opportunity. I couldn't be happier for him because he's a great kid."
Simmons has the speed to stretch a defense. He had a 40-yard catch against Maryland, a 24-yard reception against Illinois, and a 30-yarder against Western Kentucky.
And as he showed against Maryland, he's more than capable of making contested catches and big plays.
His 40-yard catch was the result of film work as much as execution.
"We talked about it in practice all week that they leave that open," Simmons says. "When I ran through and cleared, I hoped (Bazelak) saw me. He gave me the opportunity, and I had to capitalize and make him trust me more. That was my plan."
Simmons is a Hoosier newcomer, but he's certainly not new to college pressure. In three seasons at North Carolina, he played in 30 games and started 14. He totaled 30 catches for 516 yards and three touchdowns. That includes last season's three-catch, 110-yard effort against Georgia Tech. He had receptions as long as 51 yards on his resume.
IU had recruited him hard as a four-star high-school prospect out of North Carolina with 122 catches for 2,333 yards and 30 touchdowns over his final two seasons.
It didn't work out then, but it has now.
"He's playing the way I expected him to play," head coach Tom Allen says. "We wanted him here several years ago and we finally got him.
"His confidence continues to grow. He's made some big catches for us, big plays. I love his mindset. He's such a worker. The way he is every rep is exactly how he practices every day."
IU (3-4) is counting on Simmons to make more big catches Saturday at Rutgers (3-3). The Hoosiers seek to end their four-game losing streak as they head into a bye week.
"This game is up and down," Simmons says. "You'll have those times. You will face adversity. Use that, take it and apply it. With us, even though we lost four games, you get to practice and you see who wants to fight. I feel we took that step. Everybody in the weight room had good energy, good vibes. They focused in practice. We'll be fine."
As far as IU's fourth-quarter struggles, Simmons says, "In timely situations, we have to finish. On offense, we've got to clean it up. On defense, we've got to get takeaways. On special teams, we have to make plays. We have to piece it all together."
Allen let the Hoosiers know he has their backs.
"Coach Allen said you have to fight," Simmons says. "He said there's always adversity and I'll fight with you. We're a team, a family, we'll fight together and we'll persevere."
Simmons certainly will.
"Emery is a great young man," Allen says. "I have a lot of confidence in him. He's playing at the level I expected."
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