Freshman receiver Simmie Cobbs was one of the last players to leave the practice field at Mellencamp Pavilion on Tuesday after the Hoosiers wrapped up their fourth spring practice.
Cobbs enters his second year with the program after a freshman campaign where he caught seven passes for 114 yards.
The Indiana Daily Student caught up with Cobbs to see how he’s feeling after the first few days of practice.
IDS: Simmie, you were the last one off the field today. Saw you working a lot with your hands and holding onto the ball. Is there more emphasis to put work in knowing there’s going to be more opportunities this year?
Cobbs: Definitely, I feel that. I’m a sophomore now. Going into the football season, I’m kind of fighting for the starting spot, so I definitely have to work on my hands. I’m working on my eyes catching the ball and just trying to do as much work as I can.
IDS: Is there a lot of good competition going on right now?
Cobbs: Oh, definitely. There’s a lot of competition because there’s not a set spot for that position yet. Everyone’s working hard. Everyone’s busting their tail. So is the defense, I mean, they’re getting after us, too. So the competition is great right now.
IDS: For you being on the outside without many other tall guys like you on this team, do you feel more responsibility that you can be the big body this team needs?
Cobbs: I definitely do. I’m trying to get as much work in as possible I can get in so I don’t let my teammates down. It’s definitely a big role for me so I’m trying to take that role.
IDS: What do you think of Shane Wynn working to the NFL? It’s got to be exciting to watch a guy like him go after it.
Cobbs: Oh, that’s great. He’s putting in a lot of work and I hope for the best for him. I definitely look at him as a role model.
IDS: What do you need to work on these next few weeks?
Cobbs: Just getting better, not regressing. Working on catching the ball more. Being a better teammate. Trying to take a leadership role. Just compete.
IDS: And health-wise, you’re feeling pretty good?
Cobbs: Yeah, everything’s good. I kind of was really dinged up on the hamstring, but you know, with treatment we got it all done so everything’s perfect right now.
IDS: How does Nate Sudfeld look? Are you two on the same page?
Cobbs: Nate’s awesome. We’re connecting. Sometimes maybe I’ll run too deep or he’ll throw it to me wrong. But that’s something we can get over. We’re definitely connected a lot and he’s connected to everyone else as well.
IDS: You mentioned being on the same page. It seemed like you talked quite a bit during practice after a few plays.
Cobbs: Yeah, I made a difficult catch for a touchdown and then I dropped a little 3-yarder. So definitely just my focus needs to improve.
IDS: Easy fix though, right? You’ve got the hard part down.
Cobbs: It’s an easy fix. Sometimes you can’t let someone take you out of your game.
