Doss prepares for his season debut

Tandon Doss has waited a long time to make his debut this season.

IU’s junior wideout has been sidelined with a groin injury for the past two weeks, which prevented him from playing in the season opener.

At Western Kentucky this Saturday, Doss will return to the offense he thrived in last season. Having played in all of spring and summer practices, Doss worked toward repeating the success he had in the IU offense last year.

As a sophomore last season, Doss garnered All-Big Ten accolades with his team-leading 77 receptions and 962 yards. The 77 receptions ranked him second all-time for receptions in a season in IU history.

With just more than a week until the first game of the season, a lingering injury is the last thing any football player wants to acquire. Unfortunately for Doss, he suffered a groin injury in late August that kept him out of practice leading up to the season opener.

“He has worked extremely hard this season and any time a kid works that hard you hate for him to miss any playing time,” IU coach Bill Lynch said.
Instead of dwelling on the negative side of the injury, Doss focused on improving the mental part of his game.

“I’m sitting there watching everybody else play, and obviously it’s tough but you got to stay mentally locked in,” Doss said.

Without Doss, the Hoosiers still put up 51 points against Towson in the season opener on Sept. 2. Doss’ standout teammate, junior Damarlo Belcher, hauled in seven catches for 92 yards and a touchdown.

An unconventional bye in the second week of the season may not have appealed to the masses, but for Doss it could not have come at a better time.

With the bye week, Lynch had the luxury of not rushing Doss back on the field. However, keeping Doss off the field was a task in itself.

“He really wanted to go and we said no, then he wanted to go Saturday and we said no,” Lynch said.

Eventually, Lynch granted Doss his wish, and Doss practiced in full pads on Monday for the first time since the injury.

Throwing one of the elite receivers in the Big Ten back into the lineup is something senior quarterback Ben Chappell does not take for granted.

“He’s the type of guy that you just want to get the ball in his hands because he’s a playmaker,” Chappell said.

Even though Doss has missed several practices, Chappell said he believes the two can resume last season’s success.

“The past two summers and obviously all of last season I’ve been throwing to him pretty much every day,” Chappell said. “Even if he hadn’t practiced a day this week, I’d still feel comfortable throwing him the ball because of all the work we’ve put in.”

In addition to being a threat to torch a secondary, Doss represents a dangerous weapon on special teams. He was named first team All-Big Ten punt returner by Athlon Sports. Last season, Doss led the Big Ten in all-purpose yards per game with 138.8 yards.

Having the versatile Doss back in full swing will bring back a critical centerpiece of this team. Improving on an All-Big Ten season is a tall task, but Doss is ready to prove that last year was no fluke.

“I can’t wait,” Doss said.