At Big Ten media days back in July, players were asked who they thought was the best, or most exciting, player in the Big Ten.
Seniors Braxton Miller, Melvin Gordon and Ameer Abdullah all had the same response.
Shane Wynn.
The 5-foot-7 senior wide receiver from Glenville High School in Cleveland has been an exciting player for each of IU Coach Kevin Wilson’s four years in Bloomington. Wynn even led the team in all-purpose yards as a freshman kick ?returner.
Wynn had been the primary slot receiver for the past two years next to wide outs like Cody Latimer and Kofi Hughes.
This season was meant to be his breakout year as the No. 1 guy in the IU ?receiving core.
There’s no doubt he has been the top receiver, but I can’t help but think this has been a wasted final season for Shane Wynn.
The problems range the way he has been utilized to the obvious quarterback ?issues.
Wynn had 67 receptions for 648 yards as a sophomore and 46 receptions for 633 yards and 11 touchdowns as a junior. This was all with other wide outs getting big numbers too.
It was easy to imagine Wynn having an absurd season and being atop the Big Ten rankings.
I remember on opening day when there was a sign in Memorial Stadium that read, “I Believe That We Will ‘Wynn’.”
Then, it felt as if Wynn’s skillset was never being properly applied.
He only had one outing with more than 60 receiving yards in the first four games. The one game in which he did was an ugly offensive bloodbath against Bowling Green.
It was never as if Wynn was playing poorly. That surely was not the case.
It simply never felt as if the tandem of him and junior Nate Sudfeld were connecting to their full potential.
The debate became whether or not Wynn should go back to being a slot receiver or if the top receiver should always be on the outside.
Wynn is the definition of a slot receiver, but I could understand the rationale of keeping him wide. Even though I disagreed.
Then we began to finally see the old Shane Wynn break out with a big game against North Texas and a 62-yard reception in the first half against Iowa.
Next thing you know, Sudfeld is out for the season, and so was his backup.
Wynn would have to play the rest of the season with a true freshman at quarterback that does not have the ability or experience to use Wynn’s speed downfield.
In the next three games, he had five receptions combined.
To be fair, he did have a 75-yard rushing touchdown on a reverse play against Michigan State. This was a reminder of how good Shane Wynn is but how hard it is to get him the ball without a good quarterback.
It is not like he is ?having a bad season. It is just a shame that his final season in cream and crimson will not amass to what it could have been.
Before the season, I would have predicted that Wynn would come close to 80 receptions and maybe even 1,500 yards. This might seem high but the trio of Latimer, Hughes and Wynn combined for 162 receptions and more than 2,400 yards last season and there is quite a bit of a drop off after Wynn on the depth chart this season.
Things happen.
No one is really throwing a pity party for Wynn. The team is losing as a whole.
But as junior Tevin Coleman is having the season of his life, Wynn has to watch knowing that he was capable of having an elite year as well.
It was the wasted final season of Shane Wynn.
brodmill@indiana.edu
