Jaylin Lucas, Tayven Jackson, Omar Cooper Jr, and the rest of the Hoosiers came to play tonight against the FCS Indiana State Sycamores. In front of raucous albeit somewhat sparse Memorial Stadium crowd Indiana got back to its winning ways in huge fashion. Indiana would score on its first 3 possessions with with huge drives of 73, 81, and 71 yards respectively and Indiana State would never be able to recover.
Tayven Jackson would be the true starter for the first time in his college career tonight, although Brendan Sorsby would see limited action in 4 minute drive scenarios. With Jackson under center the Hoosiers would accumulate 558 yards of total offense with 214 yards on the ground and 344 through the air.
Redshirt Freshman Omar Cooper Jr. out of Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis would be his favorite target garnering 7 receptions for 101 yards in a breakout performance for the Indiana native. After Cam Camper and EJ Williams both went down with an injury in the first half, that next man mentality came shining through in great fashion, as Cooper would use this opportunity to absolutely shine. He ended up leading the Hoosiers in targets with 12 and averaged 14.4 yards per reception. Cooper definitely made sure his name would be in the conversation for more and more touches going through the rest of the season, especially if Williams and Cooper stay sidelined for an extended period.
“I just want to be the best receiver I can be,” Cooper said Friday evening. “I want to be the best receiver I can be for myself…and want to keep performing at a good level every game.”
Omar Cooper JR/Indiana Hoosiers
The ground game would be dominated by sophomore RB Jaylin Lucas. Lucas would gain 88 of the Hoosiers 214 rushing yards on the evening. He would also be the catalyst of the Hoosiers dominating 1st quarter scoring on 2 separate runs of 25 yards within 4 minutes of each other for the games first two touchdowns. Lucas would also add 4 receptions for 39 yards hauling in each of his 4 targets on the game. Jaylin would lead the Hoosiers in all purpose yards with 137 total.
Next up for Indiana is a huge test as they face Louisville at the home of the Colts, Lucas Oil Stadium, in Indianapolis. Kickoff is slated for 12pm and will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.
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