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Maybe the most underwhelming position of the 2021 season for Indiana were the receivers. The quarterback position was awful, obviously, and the struggles with the offensive line were apparent. But, with a veteran in Ty Fryfogle failing to meet expectations and little talent left behind him, they didn't give Indiana fans much to look forward to on Saturdays.

In fact, after the loss to Cincinnati, the only receiver the rest of the season to score a touchdown was Malachi Holt-Bennett against Minnesota: the second to last week of the season.

The only bright spot was DJ Matthews. The Florida State transfer made an immediate impact on the offense. Big plays were commonplace when he was on the field, and his freak injury against Western Kentucky took some serious life out of this Indiana team.

Fast forwards to spring practice in 2022, and that position group looks a whole lot different. Miles Marshall, who saw a lot of field after Matthews' injury, transferred to Miami (OH).

Tom Allen was able to pull the trigger on some high level talent to fill the void left by Fryfogle and Marshall's departure. Emery Simmons transferring in from North Carolina being the first domino to fall.

"My playing time decreasing a little bit, my role with the team was kind of decreasing.I just felt like I needed to transition to another place," Simmons said. "I felt like Indiana was the place to do that."

Simmons was once originally committed to Indiana out of high school, but he says the idea of living far away from home in Feyetteville, NC, was a bit of an intimidating idea.

"Me being 18, 19 years old, and going 11 hours up the road away from my family I didn't think that was the smartest thing to do," Simmons said. "Being that young, you get homesick and you have a lot of stuff going in your mind. . . At the time, North Carolina was the best move for me.

"I already had a relationship with Coach Allen, and I know he is really big on faith, and that is something that me and my family stand behind one hundred percent. That was just one thing and being that I was committed here coming out of high school, I already had a relationship with the place. I just felt like, 'don't even waste any time, you already know the head man and you have a relationship with the place already, so why not?' And I am loving every bit of it."

Cam Camper is a name Hoosier nation may want to become familiar with. A 4-star prospect out of Trinity Valley C.C. in Texas, he's made a very big impact on the receiver room, and even the coaching staff as a whole.

"I think the biggest thing with Cam is just his diligence," Bell said. "Cam is unbelievably committed to being the best player he can be. Mentally, physically, the way he takes care of his body.

"We call him coach Cam because he's literally in every staff meeting we have. If he's not in class he's with us."

In his 10 career games at Trinity Valley, Camper had four 100+ yard games. For his career, he averaged 17.2 yards per reception.

Bell went on to say he doesn't know if he's ever seen a first-year receiver be as invested in becoming a better player and learning a new system as Camper has been.

Bell gave coach Allen serious credit for the receivers he was able to recruit before was able to come on staff, saying the character of these guys has been off the charts good.

"Obviously everybody here knows what type of man coach Allen is. He has recruited very well with the kids that identify with coach Allen and want to be Hoosiers. . . It's a great group of kids. . . I feel really good about the winnable tools in the group."

This new group of receivers has a few qualities that stuck out to Bell that he hasn't seen very often in past jobs.

"How they manage their grass, and I think that goes back to me growing up as a player in the air raid. Everything's not cookie-cutter, the way it looks on a playbook page isn't always the way it looks in real life," Bell added. "Knowing that not everything going to be perfect and not everyone's going to be where we want them to be every time."

Bell repeatedly used the term "managing the grass" when asked about what makes these receivers different. In reference to how they perform when a play doesn't go as planned. How do they work with what the defense gives them instead of relying 100% on the play Bell and staff had planned?

Camper and Simmons are two players Walt Bell is extremely excited about. If they can click with likely starter Connor Bazelak they might be able to restore some hope in the Indiana offense.

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