Indiana football’s fall camp is rolling on, as the Hoosiers began week two on Monday. Position battles are progressing, and the team is continuing to work towards its season-opening test against Ohio State.
Wide receivers coach Anthony Tucker and tight ends coach Kevin Wright, along with selected players, met with the media on Monday to discuss their groups. Here are two key updates they shared.
Camper progressing
Cam Camper tore his ACL in late October last season at Rutgers, and he spent the offseason recovering from the injury.
That rehab lasted into the spring camp, where he was around the team but not a full participant by any measure. But he’s now back on the field with his teammates for fall camp, and he’s trending in the right direction for week one.
“That’s the plan, to be full go at the start of the season,” Camper said. “But right now, I’m going through practice as I would if I was not injured. Every day I’m taking good strides. I’m just focusing on making sure my technique’s good, and I’m just continuing to pay attention to detail, watching my other teammates, see what they do, so I can just get information from them. Right now, I’m just being a great learner.”
Camper is still limited in practice — he wears the blue jersey, indicating avoiding contact. But he’s sporting a leg sleeve with either a small soft brace underneath or no brace at all.
The senior credited IU’s staff for keeping him on track through his rehab, and making sure he doesn’t get too far ahead of himself. He’s appreciated their reminders that he does have time before the season-opener gets here, and to just do what his body will allow him to. He knows he’ll be able to do more on some days than others.
But, as Camper said, he’s on track to play against Ohio State. And he’s become a key veteran presence in a talented wide receivers room. Receivers coach Anthony Tucker was familiar with Camper before arriving in Bloomington during the offseason, and he’s been impressed with the senior since he started.
“I think Cam has been great,” Tucker said. “I knew about Cam before I got here, just through recruiting. I got the opportunity to evaluate him before he chose to come here. Cam’s been a great leader and great model in our room. He’s made his way back and worked really, really hard. He’s looked great, I am really pleased with him.”
Steinfeldt standing out
Indiana’s tight end room is young — one of the more inexperienced position groups on the team, if not the most.
The Hoosiers have just three upperclassmen in the room, two of which are walk-ons. Redshirt sophomores Aaron Steinfeldt and James Bomba played sparingly last year, and could lead the pack at tight end this year.
Steinfeldt, in particular, has made a strong impression since the end of last season. He enjoyed a strong spring, as one of the top offensive performers in spring camp. Wright said he came back for fall camp in even better shape than he was in before. And he appreciated that effort.
“Aaron, he had a really good spring and and then we challenged him a little bit to be in the best shape of his life. Really amazing to see at the end of the summer, how he transformed his body,” Wright said. “He’s leaner, he runs better, he’s moving better. He’s always had really good ball skills. He weighed in at 251. Whenever anybody can make that type of transition, it’s going to make them a better football player.”
Steinfeldt appeared in all 12 games for IU last season, and recorded six catches for 52 yards and a touchdown. He could be in line for a larger role this year.
The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”
- Find us on Facebook: thedailyhoosier
- You can follow us on Twitter: @daily_hoosier
- Seven ways to support completely free IU coverage at no cost to you.
