Early during his recruitment, Oak Park-River Forest wide receiver Simmie Cobbs slid under the radar.
That all changed midway through his senior season, when he added his first offer from Purdue. A Big Ten offer wasn’t surprising considering Cobbs’s frame — 6-4, 200-pounds — imposing force on the field.
With his first and only offer on the table, Cobbs committed to the Boilermakers.
From that point on, Cobbs’ athleticism was hard to ignore, and he picked up more recruiting interest. With more interest on the board, he decided to take additional visits to make sure his decision was the right one.
His latest visit was to Indiana on Sunday, where the Scout.com three-star receiver felt the Hoosiers were the best fit for him. He gave his verbal commitment while on campus.
“The visit was awesome and I had a great time,” Cobbs said. “The players were cool, and the community and campus were great.”
Cobbs had a difficult time with switching his commitment, but in the end knew that Indiana was the place he needed to be.
“I am happy with my decision and this kind of thing happens, so I can’t let myself stress out about it,” Cobbs said.
On the flip side, the Hoosier staff was pretty excited to have Cobbs on board. Plus, on the field there are a lot of similarities between Oak Park’s offense and the Hoosiers.
“It is a spread offense and they are a fast-paced offense,” Cobbs said. “It is similar to the offense we play at Oak Park-River Forest, so I already have a good feel for it.”
Scout.com national recruiting analyst Allen Trieu thinks that Cobbs’ skill set fits well with the Hoosiers, especially now that he has several years to develop for Indiana.
“Simmie did not have any offers until this season and once schools saw him as a senior, they came through,” Trieu said. “Those kids sometimes get labeled as sleepers, but I think they tend to turn out because schools are able to take their time and give them full evaluations.
”In Simmie’s case, he’s big, a good athlete and could play either side of the ball, but the chance to play receiver swayed him to Indiana.”
