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With Indiana's wide receivers banged up for the majority of the last few weeks, transfer wideout Emery Simmons has been making the most of his opportunity. The former North Carolina receiver came to Indiana looking to have a larger role in the passing game and as of late he has.

"I think the biggest thing is taking advantage of opportunities," IU offensive coordinator Walt Bell said this week. "He has had to play a bunch of plays and has done a nice job... That's a young man who prepares. If you saw the notes he takes in meeting... 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."

With the inconsistent offensive play this season, Simmons has been one of the lone bright spots. Not only has be progressed each week, he has now become a significant part of the Indiana offense.

"His confidence continues to grow," IU head coach Tom Allen said. "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."

Simmons had just nine receptions for 92 yards in the first four games of the season. Now, in the last three games -- all starts -- he has collected 19 passes for 213 yards and one touchdown.

His targets have also seen a significant increase from an average of four targets per game in the first four games, to now nine targets per game in the three starts.

For the season, Simmons now has 28 catches (43 targets) for 305 yards and a touchdown. He totaled 30 catches for 516 yards and three touchdowns in 30 games at North Carolina.

Simmons has gone 11 targets, nine targets and seven targets in the past three games. It's the first time in his career he has had three straight games with more than five targets in a game.

"When the opportunity comes, I feel Connor trusts me from practice. I'm very reliable," Simmons said this week. "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."

Simmons has been making the play. In an offense that has struggled to find any sort of explosiveness, some big plays have come from the 6-foot-1 wideout.

"For the most part it's just being consistent," Simmons said. "I just know when I'm on the field, I just try to be a reliable target for my quarterback. I want him to trust me. I want my team to trust me. So I just carry that and have that in the back of my mind when I step out on the field."

"He's playing the way I expected him to play," Allen added. "We wanted him here several years ago and we finally got him."

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