Indiana quarterback Ben Chappell threw the ball in the general direction of his receiver and figured he missed him.

Tandon Doss reached out with one lanky arm and caught the ball. It was one more key play last season in a 27-14 homecoming victory against Illinois.

Catches like that would leave Indiana players shaking their heads except for one thing.

Doss does it regularly.

“It was like five yards off of his body,” Chappell said, adding to the hyperbole. “So that was pretty incredible.”

Doss, a 6-foot-3 junior from Indianapolis, finished with 130 receiving yards against Illinois and a 40-yard touchdown catch. He has a history of making the extraordinary look normal for the Hoosiers, who play Michigan on Saturday (3:30 p.m., ESPNU).

Much of it has to do with his best feature - his hands.

Wide receivers are taught from an early age to catch the ball with their hands away from the body. It is something many receivers struggle with throughout high school and college.

It has never been a problem for Doss, who moved from running back to wide receiver as a junior at Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis and then moved back to running back for his senior year due to injury.

“He knows how to catch it in certain positions,” Indiana receiver Terrance Turner said. “He doesn’t put body on ball at all. He catches the ball away from his body.

“It’s something a lot of receivers lack at this stage.”

Doss doesn’t think much about his hands, either. He said it’s something that came natural to him in high school, when his 6-foot-3 frame was larger than pretty much anyone trying to defend him.

The hands, though, are merely a part of Doss’ complete picture. His is Indiana’s most versatile receiver and while his stats don’t show it in 2010 - eight catches for 102 yards - he is the biggest cog to the Hoosiers offense.

Often this year, he has drawn multiple defenders, allowing other receivers like Turner and Damarlo Belcher to receive single or no coverage.

“I’ve noticed it just a little bit,” Doss said.

So Indiana has needed to get Doss the ball multiple ways in its pistol offense. They’ve given him the ball on end arounds, thrown him the ball and he’s averaging a 46.3 yards a kick return.

So how does Doss like getting the ball the best? Since he’s a receiver, he said catching it.

But the running back instincts never really left him.

“Any time I get a handoff or kick return, my blood’s pumping and I’m ready to go,” Doss said. “Most of the time (the instincts return). I get a little jabby sometimes, but I focus on getting downhill, north and south.”

Michigan should know. He had perhaps his most versatile game last year against the Wolverines, catching five passes for 104 yards, returned two kicks for 48 yards and ran three times for 41 yards. He was one of the reasons Indiana almost beat Michigan before losing, 36-33.

Since that game, Doss has improved. Indiana coach Bill Lynch cited his downfield blocking. There’s also his route-running and those hands.

“He’s one of the better players,” Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez said. “Not just receivers, but better players in the Big Ten.”

Michael Rothstein covers University of Michigan basketball for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2558, by e-mail at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein