Will WR be a strength for Indiana football? 4 bold predictions in 2023

BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football won't be boring this season.

The Hoosiers have reshaped their roster after winning only six games over the last two seasons (four over FBS opponents) and have an intriguing group of playmakers — some home grown (Jaylin Lucas) and others from the transfer portal (Andre Carter) — that could give the program a real pulse.

Here's a list of bold predictions for the fall:

Indiana football will have a 1,000-yard receiver

The Hoosiers aren’t a program known for churning out talent at wide receiver.

There have only been seven players in team history with 1,000 receiving yards in a single season and only one of them has reached the mark during Tom Allen’s tenure (Whop Philyor in 2019).

Indiana has multiple receivers with 1,000-yard potential this year starting with Cam Camper, who might have hit the mark last year if he stayed healthy.

Camper was averaging 81.3 yards per game when he suffered a torn ACL with four games left in the season. The Hoosiers were cautious with him during the fall camp, but expect him to be fully cleared on Sept. 2 for their Week 1 game against Ohio State.

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It's easy to envision him becoming a favorite target for Indiana's young quarterbacks competing for the starting job given his skill set. The sure-handed receiver led the team with nine-contested catches last season and was very effective on third downs (eight of his 12 receptions on third down went for first downs and four of those catches were explosive plays).

Former Clemson receiver E.J. Williams is another possibility.

It may sound strange given the fact that he has 442 career yards, but Williams will get the consistent targets this fall that eluded him with the Tigers and his 6-foot-3, 200-pound frame should present problems against undersized secondaries.

Jaylin Lucas will set multiple program records for Hoosiers

OK, here’s four records Lucas will break in 2023 listed from easiest to hardest:

• Single-game return yards (Marcus Thigpen; 197 yards)

• Season return yards (Tandon Doss; 1,016 yards)

• Career kickoff return touchdowns (Marcus Thigpen; 3 touchdowns)

• All-purpose yardage single-season (Anthony Thompson; 2,388 yards)

Lucas came close to breaking the first record against Michigan State last year when he had 168 kickoff return yards, a number that ranks fourth all-time in the category.

There will be some prime opportunities on the schedule with Akron, Michigan State, Rutgers and Wisconsin returning place kickers who had a touchback percentage under 40% last season.

His best shot might be in Week 2 against an Indiana State team that had one touchback last season on 63 kickoff attempts between its two starting kickers. Lucas can afford to be aggressive in that one and ISU won’t have an easy time dealing with his speed.

Strong performances in those games will set Lucas up well for breaking the record Doss set in 2010.

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It still won’t be easy considering there have only been three players to have 1,000 kickoff returns in a season since the CFB changed the kickoff rules in 2018 allowing fair catches inside the 25-yard line.

For Lucas to beat the last record on the list, his numbers need to look something like this: 1,150 kickoff return yards, 200 punt return yards, 650 rushing yards and 400 receiving for a total of 2,400 all-purpose yards.

It helps that coach Tom Allen and company have established a minimum touch count for Lucas they want him to hit on a weekly basis. He will need to have the ball in his hands 15-20 a game to break the record.

Indiana football has multiple players taken in the 2024 NFL Draft

Indiana didn’t have any players taken in last year’s draft and hasn’t had multiple players taken since 2018.

Some combination of offensive lineman Matthew Bedford, wide receiver Cam Camper, defensive end Andre Carter and linebacker Aaron Casey will help end the Hoosiers' brief bit of draft futility.

Carter might have the highest ceiling of anyone.

Talent evaluators in the NFL place a high priority on athletic pass rushers with size. He could be a day two pick if he’s able to match the production he had last year for Western Michigan in the Big Ten (7.0 sacks) and has a strong showing at the combine.

Indiana’s most impactful true freshman will be kicker Nico Radicic

Quarterback isn’t the only undecided position with fall camp wrapping up.

Indiana has a place kicking competition going on between Chris Freeman, Alejandro Quintero and true freshman Nico Radicic. Radicic missed a bit of practice time that included the team’s first scrimmage, but he will end up being the Hoosiers primary field goal kicker in 2023 at some point even if he isn’t the starter against Ohio State.

Radicic earned a five-star rating and No. 4 ranking in the 2023 signing class from Kohl’s Kicking. The coaches love the experience he got at Coppell High School in Texas for a team that played home games in a 10,500-seat venue.

There aren’t many open spots on the two-deep for the other true freshmen with all the transfers Indiana has signed over the last two years.

Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on Twitter @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Bold predictions for Indiana football in 2023