Omar Cooper Jr flashes potential, playmaking ability as Indiana football opens up offensive playbook

The wide receiver room for the Indiana football program entered the 2023 season with high expectations. After lacking explosiveness in each of the past two seasons, it was a point of emphasis to get more dynamic playmakers from that group. Not only did Indiana do that, it also added great depth and talent from top to bottom.

On Friday night, that depth showed.

Redshirt freshman Omar Cooper Jr– a former four-star recruit — had his coming out party. After EJ Williams and Cam Camper left the game due to injuries, Cooper slid in and made an immediate impact for the Indiana football offense.

He finished the game with seven receptions for 101 yards. He also had a long of 31 yards.

“Omar, really, really pleased. Not surprised. I’ve always felt like he was special. Watched him play in high school many times. And that’s just what he did,” IU head coach Tom Allen said postgame. “He has strong hands, he runs strong, he’s tough. He’s got a great base to him, you know, and he can block. He’s unselfish. And he runs good routes.”

 Cooper, who saw very limited action as a freshman and in week one, came to Indiana with a terrific ability to play multiple spots on the field. At 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds, he has a great combination of quickness, strength and strong hands — all three aspects that were showcased on Friday. 

“You know, so he just — he made some contested tight windowed catches, strong-handed catches, and then went and got some yards,” Allen said. “So love his emergence. We need that. We’ll need everybody to help us win.”

Cooper saw a game-high 10 targets and was one of seven Hoosiers to have at least two catches. It was a confident showing that was a long time coming. Cooper made significant progress over this summer and throughout fall camp.

While this performance was no surprise to the coaches or Cooper, it was a significant step in his development to remind himself — more than anyone — that he can be highly productive at this level.

“I think being more confident in myself. I didn’t play as much last year, and I didn’t believe in myself,” Cooper said postgame. “I have grown this year over fall camp making plays. The coaches believing in me and putting me out there, showing that they believe in me helps with my confidence. It makes me a better player.”

After a week one performance in which the Indiana football offense totaled just 153 yards against Ohio State, Friday was a much different story. Not only was the offense in a better rhythm, the playbook opened up and let the playmakers do what they do best … make plays.

Indiana finished with 558 yards of total offense on Friday against Indiana State, the most since its performance against Western Kentucky in 2021. 344 yards came through the air.

“I think we have a deep team,” Allen said. “I think we have a lot of receivers who can make plays, it showed up tonight.”

SEE ALSO: ‘We will have a starter for week three’: Indiana football head coach Tom Allen moving into decision mode for starting QB

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