Indiana wide receiver Whop Philyor left the team's game against Penn State after taking helmet-to-helmet contact. In his place, freshman David Ellis and junior Ty Fryfogle stepped up and had career days alongside quarterback Peyton Ramsey.
With Philyor's status not yet confirmed, the two receivers will have to be ready to step up once again on Saturday against Michigan.
Indiana’s junior wide receiver Whop Philyor secured a routine reception Saturday, turned up the field and looked ahead as two Penn State defenders were closing in on him.
As he covered the ball, bracing for contact, he was subject to two helmet-to-helmet hits that eventually led to his removal from the game. No update has been given for Philyor’s status ahead of the team’s matchup with Michigan.
To mitigate the loss of the field, the Hoosiers utilized two of their pass catchers to make up for Philyor’s absence in their 34-27 loss to the Nittany Lions — freshman David Ellis and junior Ty Fryfogle.
"They’re really starting to understand coach DeBoer’s offense and just the small things of how you get better and how you prepare every single week,” Indiana quarterback Peyton Ramsey said. “I’m excited for what those guys are doing and what they have the ability to do in the future.”
The two receivers helped Ramsey throw for a career-high 371 yards, but Philyor’s leadership and attention to detail were missed. Whether it’s alignment, clean-cut routes or explosiveness, Philyor was the Hoosiers’ premier offensive weapon.
Ellis is a first-year player with the responsibility of backing up the team’s top target. However, Ramsey said the freshman has come a long way from the start of the season to Saturday’s game in State College, Pennsylvania, and Indiana offensive coordinator Kalen DeBoer agrees.
In an increased role, after Philyor was unable to finish the game, Ellis caught seven passes for 85 yards, including a screen pass where he broke away from the pursuing defense of Penn State. However, DeBoer said there was another play where his alignment was off by about a yard, which wouldn’t happen with Philyor in the game.
The team knows Ellis hasn’t taken many repetitions, but he’s become a pure receiver — one capable of backing up Philyor — after primarily handling kickoff return duties. Against Penn State, he ran 38 plays on offense.
“His involvement has grown a lot,” DeBoer said. “He’s in for running backs because he’s got some running back background and we feel very comfortable handing the football off to him. When that happens and we have those packages, someone else has got to take Whop’s spot.”
In came Fryfogle, who had a career-high 131 yards receiving against Penn State on five receptions and added a touchdown for Indiana.
While he isn’t the true backup to Philyor, he has the frame to play both on the perimeter and in the slot, which alleviated some of the pressure from Ellis’ shoulders. Fryfogle has earned the trust of his teammates, especially the quarterbacks, by focusing on his technique in practice.
The junior isn’t particularly boisterous and has received high praise from his teammates and coaches. Fryfogle’s willingness to play anywhere on the field was evident against Penn State, but if Philyor is unable to suit up, more responsibility will fall onto Ellis.
Ramsey said the team is high on what the freshman can do on offense, and he can handle all that DeBoer can put on him come Saturday. In either case, Indiana will be hoping that Philyor can make his return in the team’s last home game of the season.
“It kind of hurt with Whop going down,” Fryfogle said. “But different guys had to step up at different positions, and we did just fine with that. Hopefully, we’ll have Whop back this week.”
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