Junior wide receiver Simmie Cobbs Jr. will forgo his final season of eligibility at IU and declare for the NFL draft, he announced Thursday on Twitter.
Cobbs picked up 841 receiving yards and eight touchdowns on a Big Ten-best 72 receptions this season, which earned him First Team All-Big Ten honors. He was also named IU's Offensive Player of the Year.
After notching a 1,000-yard season as a sophomore in 2015, Cobbs suffered a season-ending injury in the second game of the 2016 season against Ball State. He was given a medical redshirt for that lost year, and could have returned as a senior next season. In his statement posted to Twitter, Cobbs said his NFL decision was tough.
"Indiana gave me the chance that no one else gave me and I will forever be grateful for my time there," Cobbs wrote.
Cobbs was a three-star recruit from Illinois in the class of 2014, and was recruited by several other schools to play safety. Former IU Coach Kevin Wilson allowed Cobbs to stick at receiver, however. Cobbs rewarded that decision by picking up 1,990 career receiving yards, the eight-most in program history.
Bleacher Report lead draft writer Matt Miller has Cobbs ranked as his fifth-best wide receiver prospect for the 2018 NFL Draft. Plenty of time remains for other draft-eligible receivers to make their decisions, but Cobbs stands a great chance of joining Jordan Howard, Tevin Coleman, Jason Spriggs and Dan Feeney as recent IU offensive players to be selected in the draft.
Cody Latimer, now with the Denver Broncos, was the last Hoosier wide receiver to be taken in the draft when the Broncos selected him in the second round in 2014.
Jake Thomer
