Simmie Cobbs is one of the big-bodied receivers who has Nate Sudfeld confident in his targets this fall.

CHICAGO – Thursday’s Big Ten Media Days got off to a somewhat bleak start for Indiana, as the program announced a number of roster updates, including the injury and redshirting of J-Shun Harris.

Rising senior quarterback Nate Sudfeld isn’t overly worried, though.

He and his fellow IU representatives at Media Days — offensive tackle Jason Spriggs and defensive tackle Adarius Rayner — all agreed that the Hoosiers have options at receiver. It’s just a matter of finding out which players will stand out in fall camp.

“We’re very deep at receiver,” Sudfeld said, “we just need a few, six or seven guys, to really step up and be guys for us.”

Who might those players be?

Indiana had already lost its top three receivers (Shane Wynn, Tevin Coleman and Nick Stoner) to graduation and the NFL, and Harris was the leading returning receiver. He played in all 12 games as a freshman, snagging 18 passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns. He also returned a team-high 19 kickoffs for 391 yards.

Now, Indiana’s leading receivers are Dominique Booth (eight receptions, 70 yards) and Simmie Cobbs (seven receptions, 114 yards), both rising sophomores. Sudfeld spent the offseason working with Cobbs, Booth and others, poring through tape and giving pointers. Cobbs said earlier this spring that learning from older players and looking through tape has made him a much more confident players.

“They basically taught me how to have confidence in my routes,” Cobbs said. “If I don’t have confidence in my routes, I’m not going to be able to get by my defender. If I don’t have confidence in myself, I can’t fool someone else that I have confidence.”

Cobbs is the type of receiver Sudfeld likes — a big receiver with a large catching radius. IU has focused on recruiting and bringing more of those players to Bloomington, including junior college transfer Camion Patrick (who is still working out an academic issue but is nonetheless working out with the team) and incoming true freshmen Nick Westbrook and Leon Thornton.

These players have bodies and builds reminiscent of past IU players such as Cody Latimer or Kofi Hughes. Sudfeld put up big numbers throwing to Latimer and Hughes, and hopes to repeat that this season.

“It’s pretty fun,” Sudfeld said of throwing to larger receivers, “just because I can look off a safety and turn and just throw it and they’ll usually come down with it. Big bodies, I really enjoy throwing to big bodies on the outside just because there’s a larger area to complete it. Back shoulder, over the top, high, low, get them flexible. It’s definitely been something coach was looking for and I think we’ve got the guys to do it.”

The outside receivers might have been the emphasis during recruiting, but IU has quietly built depth in the slot as well. Harris’ loss is a big one, but walk-on Mitchell Paige has seen some playing time on special teams and has impressed Sudfeld in workouts this summer.

“Mitchell Paige has done an incredible job,” Sudfeld said. “He’s a walk-on kid who has worked and worked.”

Sudfeld also mentioned Damon Graham and largely unknown wide receiver Luke Timian, a Texas native who committed to Oklahoma State last year but is now at Indiana.

Sudfeld’s confidence was one of the key takeaways from Media Days, and IU head coach Kevin Wilson said that confidence stems both from within Sudfeld and from the receivers he’s now relying upon to catch his passes.

“Nate’s better,” Wilson said, “but I think his surrounding parts are better, and there’s more of a comfort level.”