Latimer shines against father’s school

For IU junior wide receiver Cody Latimer, Bowling Green was not just the Hoosiers’ next opponent.

The Falcons represented a chance for Latimer to connect with his father Colby, who was a linebacker at Bowling Green in the mid-1980s and passed away in 2005 after nearly a year-long bout with cancer.

Fittingly, Colby Latimer would have turned 47-years-old last Monday, when IU began to prepare for its matchup against the Falcons.

“It was kinda special,” Latimer said. “I talked to him before the game. I told him to be with me and stay with me, and I’m going to go out and play my best.”

On Saturday afternoon, he caught six passes for a career high 137 receiving yards and one touchdown en route to a 42-10 victory.

“It was a great win for us,” Latimer said. “The game was more about the team than anything.”

Latimer said the Hoosiers knew they would be defended by Bowling Green’s man-press defense.

“We thought as a receiving core that we aren’t going to let anyone defend us one-on-one,” he said. “The quarterbacks did a good job of putting the ball where we needed them to, and we did a good job of making plays.”

Six players recorded at least one reception against the Falcons and five of them had at least 30 receiving yards in the game. 

“You don’t ever know who will have a good game or get the ball because we got so many

weapons,” Latimer said. “The quarterback does a good job of spreading it around to
everybody.”

Each game this season, a different player has led IU in receiving.

Latimer, a 2012 All-Big Ten second team honoree and member of the Biletnikoff Award Watch List, had a relatively quiet start to the 2013 season.

Through the first two weeks of the season, Latimer was IU’s fourth-leading receiver with only five receptions for 73 yards.

After the Hoosiers’ loss to Navy, IU Offensive Coordinator Seth Littrell said IU needed to find different ways to get Latimer the ball while also playing within its system.

“He’s gonna make plays this season,” Littrell said. “He’s gonna have opportunities to where he’s gonna be the primary guy on certain routes. The last couple weeks haven’t really presented that as much.”

On Saturday, it was Latimer’s turn to shine for the Hoosiers, as more than one-third of sophomore quarterback Nate Sudfeld’s 26 pass attempts were intended for the junior wide receiver.

“I just let the game come to me,” he said. “I just did what I had to do, and the quarterback threw me the ball, and I made plays.”

Sophomore running back Tevin Coleman said Latimer had a lot of energy, which was a good sign for IU’s offense.

“I was really happy for Cody because he’s a good guy,” Coleman said. “He’s out there every day busting and just playing hard. He’s a team guy, a team player.”

Hughes said Latimer is IU’s beast, and the Hoosiers fed him.

“We threw him the ball, and you really can’t contain him. You can’t hold him back,” he said.

Hughes said Latimer had a great offseason, and he is a good leader for the Hoosiers.

“We said, ‘Hey, let’s go out there and ball for your dad,’” Hughes said. “‘He would probably want you to,’ and that’s what he did.”

Latimer credited his week-long preparation and his performance against Bowling Green to his desire to play well against his father’s alma mater.

“It gave me a little more juice, just kept me focused and let me know what I had to really do,” he said. “I told him I was going to go out here and put on a show against his team.”

Follow reporter Andy Wittry on Twitter @AndyWittryIDS.