Indiana football player preview: Wide receiver Miles Cross
Up and down the Indiana wide receiver room, there is both talent and experience.
One of the many examples of that is Ohio transfer wide receiver Miles Cross, who is set to kick off his first campaign with the Hoosiers in 2024.
A wideout expected to feature mostly in the slot, recap Cross' 2023 campaign with the Bobcats and preview what's in store for the 2024 season.
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- Indiana football opponent preview: Week 4 versus Charlotte
2023 SEASON RECAP
The 2023 campaign for Cross marked the wideout's third and final season in Athens County at Ohio.
Cross spent the first three years of his collegiate career with the Bobcats, catching passes from the Hoosiers' newest quarterback and presumed starter Kurtis Rourke.
Last season alone, Cross posted 47 receptions for 560 receiving yards, averaging 11.9 yards per catch. Rourke and Cross connected to find the end zone three times during the 2023 season.
Cross caught at least one pass in each of the 11 games he started a year ago at Ohio, recording two 100-yard-plus receiving games as well.
The Rock Hill, South Carolina native's best game a season ago came in a week six contest against Kent State.
In that affair, Cross grabbed seven catches for 125 receiving yards, finding the end zone twice in a 42-17 win for Ohio.
Over the course of Cross' three year career with the Bobcats, the 5-foot-11 wideout tallied 105 catches. He amassed 1,301 receiving yards and caught eight touchdowns over the course of his three seasons at Ohio.
Cross not only brings a ton of experience to Bloomington this season, but he also brings a proven track record of producing with Rourke throwing him the football.
2024 SEASON OUTLOOK
The 2024 season is a difficult one to predict for Cross, given the talent around him in the receiving room at Indiana.
Cross boasts experience and chemistry with the Hoosiers' presumed starting signal caller, however he may not be a shoo-in to start in the slot this season in Bloomington.
That's because the two wideouts Cross appears to be competing with for slot snaps this year are two former four-year contributors at power conference schools.
Myles Price (Texas Tech) and Ke'Shawn Williams (Wake Forest), have a combined eight years of experience at the college level. Together, Price and Williams have amassed north of 4,500 all-purpose yards throughout their careers.
Nonetheless, during Indiana's spring game Cross saw most of the snaps with the second team offense -- Price took a majority of the first team reps.
He caught two passes for 23 yards in the Hoosiers' spring game, which appeared to suggest that Cross would likely be the backup in the slot to Price this upcoming season.
While Cross may not see the most snaps out of anyone in the slot this season at Indiana, the Hoosiers can feel confident knowing that when he does see the field, he's going to deliver more often than not.
FROM CIGNETTI
Earlier this offseason, when Curt Cignetti was discussing the wide receiver room as a whole, Cignetti brought up Cross' name amongst those that had impressed throughout spring practice.
“I've seen a couple guys starting to really step up: Sarratt, Miles Cross, (Myles) Price have been good,” Cignetti revelaed. “Ke'shawn (Williams) when he's out there. (Omar) Cooper has made some nice plays, just a little more consistency.”
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