Bloomington Leader

Simmons Finds Invaluable ‘Nuggets’ in New Receivers Coach

Impressed? Of course, Emery Simmons is. He recognizes the benefits that come with learning from new receivers coach Adam Henry, who helped guide Odell Beckham Jr., CeeDee Lamb, Anquan Boldin, Amari Cooper, Zach Miller, and Jarvis Landry to Pro Bowl heights in a 25-year career with NFL stops in Dallas, Cleveland, New York, San Francisco, and Oakland.

Now, Henry is an Indiana Hoosier, and Simmons, a transfer from North Carolina, aims to take full advantage.

"You have no choice, but have respect for a guy like Coach Henry," Simmons say. "From his background and where he's come from and the guys he's interacted with, no choice but respect him.

"It ain't been nothing but great energy. He comes in every day getting us going. He's always trying to talk us up. He hates down talking people or negative energy. He sees positivity in people and brings people up, not down."

Henry, who also has a co-offensive coordinator role with Walt Bell, will help try to bring a spark to a passing attack that struggled last season.

"I take nuggets from him every day," Simmons says. "Trying to piece those nuggets together. I know in the long run, the end goal is to get where he just came from.

"That's a man who has all the tools. He's been there. He's lived it. Why not go to him?"

Simmons also makes sure to go to all the IU quarterbacks. A starter likely won't be named until August, and Simmons works to ensure chemistry with whoever wins the job.

"I have a great relationship with all the quarterbacks," he says. "I try to talk to them as much as I can. Kick with them. Chill with them. Get extra work with them all."

Connor Bazelak, a quarterback transfer from Missouri, has his Hoosier roots firmly planted after a hectic start.

That includes a Bloomington Mexican restaurant -- Viva Mas -- as a favorite eating place.

"I committed here five days before classes started (in January)," he says. "It was a crazy transition to get all my stuff moved in one weekend. I had to find a place to move to."

As it turns out, Bloomington is similar to Columbia, the location of Missouri.

"It's similar to Columbia," Bazelak says. "(IU has) a little bigger campus. It's more spread out. But there's a lot of support around me. The people are all great. I love it here."

Adversity has steeled Jack Tuttle for the starting quarterback battle.

Whether it's individual competition (competing with Michael Penix Jr. in previous seasons, now Bazelak, Donaven McCulley, Dexter Williams II, and Grant Gemel) or a tough season (IU slumped to 2-10 after going 6-2 the year before), Tuttle is fully prepared for what's coming.

"More experience is always better," Tuttle says. "It makes it easier to set the tone.

"It wasn't necessarily good for the team, but any experience at a high level is good. We faced great competition. Going against them was good. It will help us this year."

Transfer receivers Cam Camper and Simmons, plus running backs Shaun Shivers and Josh Henderson, made a strong spring impression.

"They've got some quickness, some great hands," Tuttle says. "They will be extremely beneficial to the team. I am very excited about them.

"They've been doing a great job. I'm proud of how they're working."

Chemistry is huge in team success. That's true for coaches as well as players, insists Chad Wilt.

Take the way Wilt, the new defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, has blended with veteran coaches Brandon Shelby (cornerbacks), Jason Jones (safeties) and Kasey Teegardin (bull, special teams), along with newcomer Paul Randolph (defensive line).

"We are putting it together," Wilt says. "We are doing it together

"It is relationships. Coaching is relationships. Whether it is player to coach, coach to player, player to player, or coach to coach. It is relationships.

"It is spending time and investing in those relations and working together."

If that sounds like a cliché, don't dismiss it. Wilt has based his 21-year career on it.

"Nobody is saying, 'It's about me.'" Wilt says. "One thing I have always believed is it's not my linebackers or Coach Randolph's defensive linemen or Coach Shelby's corners or Coach Jones' safeties or Coach Teegardin's Bulls. It's our players, our defense.

"I have believed that for a long, long time. If we all have that mindset, that we are working to make this defense and this team the best it can be, we are going to be able to do something special."

IU spent the 2019 and '20 seasons -- when it went 14-7 with consecutive bowl appearances -- showing what special can mean, in part because of an aggressive, takeaway-producing defense.

"Those players are feeding back into those relationships the same way," Wilt says. "As coaches, it's giving ourselves to those players, and as Coach (Tom) Allen says all the time, capture the hearts and the minds of your players.

"As coaches, we have to do that together. You see that dynamic working well. Coach Shelby bringing up a concern about something he saw from the offense or Coach Teegardin saying, 'I think this puts our guy in conflict, how about we try this?'

"We look at different things and those are the types of conversations and dialogs that we need to have so that we are putting our players in the best position to be successful. We are professionals, across the board, all of those guys, and that is our job to be professional and work with each other."

The quest to produce a dynamic rushing attack has Bell's undivided attention.

How much?

Allen has never had an offensive coordinator so focused on it.

"Just putting his entire personality on our run game," Allen says. "I have not had a coordinator since I have been here that has been this involved in the run game. It's just the way he approaches it and teaches everything. It has been really good.

"He is super involved on inside run. He has a high level of energy and attention to detail. He is extremely bright and just understands (the whole offense). He could coach every position on that side of the ball, which is a really rare thing to have. I have really been impressed with that."

Original source can be found here.