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Through four games, Indiana's offense - and football team as a whole - has struggled to put together a consistent showing for four quarters. Sitting at 3-1, the Hoosiers were shown up this past Saturday by a consistently tough opponent that took advantage of their weaknesses in ways that the three previous opponents could not. While being such a hard-to-read team, those issues had the lights shined on them for all to see in Cincinnati, leaving some to wonder what this year's IU team is really made of.
Although the efforts to establish a steady identity for themselves have, so far, been all over the place, there are still some mostly-positive elements to IU's game that are pertinent each time you tune in.
Generally, the defense is going to play a locked-jaw defense when the opponent is in the "score zone" and the offense is going to play with a lot of tempo. Everything else is essentially a grab-bag.
That is, except for a connection that has emerged between two newcomers to this Indiana football team and become a driving force for the Hoosier offense. The unlikely merger between a former Co-SEC Freshman of the Year quarterback and JUCO product wide receiver has seen early levels of success that Indiana, as a program, hasn't seen this century.
That merger is the one of Connor Bazelak and Cam Camper.
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"I just know how to get to the right spot for him," Camper said Saturday following the Cincinnati game. "(Connor's) going to make the play."
Camper's performance vs. Cincinnati saw him haul in 10 of his 17 targets for 126 yards. Heading into Saturday's affair, Camper was already off to a historic start, having set the mark for the most receptions by an IU wideout through the first three games of the season since the turn of the century. Now through four games, he currently sits third in the Big Ten for receiving yards (418) and second for total receptions (33).
Let's not forget, it was just his fourth game ever at the Division I level, not to mention it being his first road game. Facing an opponent that was one of the four participants in last year's College Football Playoff (not the same team, of course, but nonetheless a tall task) in front of the seventh-largest crowd in Nippert Stadium history, Camper was a bright spot on an otherwise forgetful day for Indiana in downtown Cincinnati. In the most hostile environment he's ever faced, he was as unfazed as ever.
However, Camper's path almost didn't lead him to Indiana due to an academic standard that the university holds itself to. Speaking on Inside Indiana Football ahead of the Western Kentucky matchup, Allen was asked why his program doesn't recruit more JUCO talents after the start that Camper had gotten off to.
In his response, he mentioned that Indiana generally doesn't touch JUCO prospects because they generally enter the level for academic reasons. IU doesn't allow their teams to recruit academic non-qualifiers out of high school, and will still prevent them from offering those who then become academic qualifiers during their time at JUCO.
Camper was an exception because he initially found himself at the JUCO level due to having zero offers out of high school. He was an academic qualifier, but there wasn't a program that had wanted him right away.
So, what is it about Camper that separates him from the rest? He was mentally checked out of football after high school and ready to just be a student at Sam Houston State in Texas, yet now he's the leading receiver and security blanket of a Big Ten offense.
According to Bazelak, his right-hand man's coaching and overall talent are what help him shine the brightest when called upon.
"I think it's his willingness to be coached," Bazelak said on Monday when asked about how he and Camper have been able to connect so quickly. "Coach Henry is an awesome coach, coach Bell, great with receivers too. He's a hard-working guy, he does what he's coached to do, and doesn't complain. If something's not right, he'll ask me about it and we'll get it fixed.
"Me and him have really good communication, and he's a phenomenal person."
The communication aspect should come as no surprise, as Camper's constant presence in the film room and meetings had earned him the nickname "Coach Cam" from his fellow teammates and coaches before the season. Perhaps it's fitting that his playstyle matches the nickname as well, commanding the field from the outside and making plays on demand when the ball is thrown his way.
His attitude and efforts caught the attention of everyone in the program in the build-up to the season. You couldn't pay anyone who spoke about him to stop raving rave about him.
"Cam is unbelievably committed to being the best player that he can be mentally, physically and in the way he takes care of his body," said offensive coordinator Walt Bell last spring.
"The thing that really stands out to me is his work ethic and how much he loves studying the game," said head coach Tom Allen earlier this fall. "Not every kid is like that."
To put it simply, not every kid is like Camper in general. He's a tall, lanky receiver that has transformed his body and mentality since the moment he arrived on campus. His commitment to his craft and bettering it in every way possible is a testament to his knowledge of what it takes to succeed for Indiana, and it shows on Saturdays.
He makes the routine plays, he makes the outstanding ones. He's there over the middle, down the sideline and wherever the occasional prayer-type throw ends up. His speed gives him the ability to be a threat after the catch and create separation from opposing defenders, something he's been doing to his own defenders from day one of practice. On top of it all, his size and leaping ability mold him into a weapon that's never not an option to throw to.
Camper is the quintessential receiver that offensive coordinators dream about. In an offense that finds itself still searching for consistency as the Big Ten gauntlet arrives, Indiana can relish in the fact that their WR1 is going to show up and create impact on a weekly basis.
Additionally, if DJ Matthews' "day-to-day" injury were to linger, the Hoosiers will be in a better spot in terms of pass catchers compared to last season.
Camper has already out performed Matthews through four weeks.
It's all he's done so far, and there's no sign of it letting up.
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