Tom Allen likes big, long, athletic receivers because he hates big, long, athletic receivers.
Allen, for years, has found scheming against big bodies challenging. It puts pressure on his defensive backs and forces attention to go toward the playmakers on the outside.
Now a head coach, Allen wants to use those same challenges to his advantage while recruiting receivers to come to Indiana. He thinks he's got a starting point in 2017 signees Tyrese Fryfogle and De'Angelo "Whop" Philyor.
"I like big receivers, you know?" Allen said. "I think that's a match-up problem for us in the secondary."
New IU receivers coach Grant Heard wanted Fryfogle, so Allen let him go get him.
"Ty Fryfogle is a guy we got in on because of Coach Heard," Allen said. "We don't recruit the state of Mississippi heavily. This is our second recruit in two years that we got from there and from my time at Ole Miss as a college coach there. Ty joined us as a receiver, love him. The family that we met is just a great group of people"
Fryfogle graduated from George County High School as the program's all-time reception and yardage leader. He caught 89 passes for 1,432 yards and 14 touchdowns his senior year en route to being a first-team all-star honoree.
He also appeared in the prestigious Mississippi/Alabama All-Star game full of top-tier talent.
Tyrese Fryfogle's father Trey played at Ole Miss (2000-02) and was a teammate of Heard at the time. It made sense, then, that Heard would want to bring in such a dynamic, sure-handed catcher to Bloomington.
"He’s a big physical player who can stretch the field for us, so I’m excited to get him here," Heard said. "I’ve known his family for a long time, so I’m excited to have him."
The first thing Allen did when introducing Philyor was clear up his name.
"We call him 'Whop,'" Allen said. "That's the name everybody calls him. His mom is quick to point out, though, his name is De'Angelo. She said, 'I don't like Whop.' I said, 'He likes Whop and that's what everybody calls him.'"
So Whop it is.
De'Angelo, Whop, whatever—he can play.
"He's a great kid that I think is going to have a chance to come in here and have an immediate impact on our program," Allen said.
Philyor hauled in 140 catches for 2,026 yards and 25 touchdowns over his career. He did a little bit of everything ranging from outside receiver to inside receiver to kick returner and corner.
He'll be a slot guy at Indiana, and at 5-foot-10 he's a little large for that position, and is expected to have a chance to play early. It's just a matter of plugging him in and seeing what he'll do.
"Whop is a shorter guy, but he has great quickness," Heard said. "He’s definitely a game changer. We’re gonna try to get the ball in his hands in as many ways as possible and let him be Whop."
Final Word: Receivers
Despite being ranked just two-star prospects, Fryfogle and Philyor seem to have truly impressed Allen and Heard.
The scouts at Rivals clearly saw things lacking, but it wasn't that much of a concern to the Hoosier staff. They're both naturally athletic guys who should be able to shape themselves into able players within a year or so. A redshirt would do neither of them harm with the loaded group of wideouts IU has coming back.
Philyor is the more likely of the two to play as a true freshman. His explosiveness needs to get on the field in one way or another whether that be on special teams or the occasional snap in the slot.
IU has done well with shorter receivers in recent memory like Mitchell Paige, Ricky Jones and Shane Wynn, but don't expect that trend to continue. Allen made it clear he's going to continue chasing after long, athletic bodies to put on the outside moving forward.
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