'Spectacular': Indiana Football Freshman WR Lebron Bond 'In Position' for Playing Time

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Roman Hemby prefaces his answer by noting all of Indiana's receivers have impressed during the offseason, and eventually, he praises the skill sets and mentality of All-American Elijah Sarratt and returning starter Omar Cooper Jr.

But as for standout — and perhaps surprising — pass-catchers? The list starts with a true freshman.

"I feel like one of the young guys that's having a spectacular time is Lebron Bond," said Hemby, the Hoosiers' top running back. "He's doing really well. I've been seeing him catch the ball, make a lot of spectacular catches."

Hemby isn't the first to praise Bond's offseason. After the team's spring game, Indiana coach Curt Cignetti singled out Bond as a standout freshman, citing his progress and day-to-day effort.

But the origin of Bond's buzz-filled summer started in early March, when Sarratt touted the early enrollee as looking "really good" through his first handful of practices in Bloomington.

"He will be good," Sarratt said March 11. "As a freshman, he makes minor mistakes, but I tell him to play fast. If he does, everything else will fall into place. He’ll pick it up soon."

Bond may have picked it up quicker than expected. Rated as a four-star recruit by ESPN and a three-star recruit by the other major outlets, the Norfolk, Va., native led the Hoosiers' in receiving during the spring game, catching four passes for 29 yards and a touchdown.

It was an emphatic exclamation point to a spring full of flashes, and he's carried the momentum into the fall, Cignetti said.

"It's really important to him — football," Cignetti said. "He has picked up where he left off [in the spring] and gotten better. Still [need to see] a little bit more consistency, but he is in the position to help us this fall."

The 5-foot-9, 173-pound Bond projects best to slot receiver, though Cignetti preaches versatility. Indiana's receiving core is led by Sarratt, Cooper and senior EJ Williams, while sophomore Charlie Becker and senior transfers Jonathan Brady and Makai Jackson join Bond in providing quality depth.

As such, playing time — apart from mop-up duty in lopsided games — may be hard for Bond to find. But whether it be this fall or not, the Hoosiers certainly believe Bond's time will come — and he's proven he'll be ready to capitalize.

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