Indiana Football: Whop Philyor amongst nation’s best; added to watch list

The Indiana football wide receiver continues to pick up national steam as he was added to another watch list for one of the nation’s best.

Just a couple of days after becoming bowl eligible, one Indiana football player continues to pick up national recognition when he was added to one of the nation’s best award watch lists.

With 57 catches – 6th in NCAA – for 737 yards – 14th in NCAA – thus far in 2019, Whop Philyor is one of the newest additions to the Biletnikoff Award watch list, which is given to the nation’s top pass catcher.

The junior wideout has broken onto the national scene this season, especially come Big Ten play. With five conference games, Philyor is averaging 109.8 yards per game, with three games of better than 140 yards. Not only has he set a single-season record for Indiana when it comes to games with double-digit catches, three this seasons, he has increased his total to five in his career.

Not only is Philyor the leading receiver in the Big Ten, but he is by a wide margin. With 10 more catches than Darnell Stewart of Michigan State, he also has 43 more yards than the second place wideout.

What makes it more impressive is that Philyor isn’t as much of a deep threat receiver as some of the other options on his team, or country are. With a 12.9 yard per catch average, the majority of his receptions come at either the line of scrimmage, or behind. According to Pro Football Focus, Philyor ranks amongst the top in the country with 13 missed tackles on the season and 384 yards after the catch.

Some of the notable winners of the award in recent history have been Michael Crabtree, Golden Tate, Brandin Cooks, Amari Cooper, and last year’s winner of Jerry Jeudy.