‘Anybody that’s on that field can go out there and start and make plays’: IU football wide receivers continue dominant play this season, ranking as a top group in nation

IU football has played six games and had four different leading wide receivers, all translating to one of the best wide receiving rooms in the country — and a 6-0 start.

After years of the Indiana offense being in the cellar of the Big Ten — and country — 2024 has brought a much different story. While IU’s defense has been impressive in its own right, it has been the offense that has spurred the 6-0 start and 18th overall ranking to begin Curt Cignetti’s career in Bloomington.

Indiana is ranked third in the country averaging 47.5 points per game and sixth with 515.7 yards per game.

How? On the back of Kurtis Rourke, but more importantly the versatile and extremely deep wide receiving unit.

The top five receivers for IU football are all averaging at least three receptions per game and at least 30 yards. Four receivers have at least two touchdowns and all five are averaging at least 12  yards per reception.

And, as IU football enters its bye week this weekend, the Hoosier wideouts are ranked as the top receiving unit in the country. According to Pro Football Focus, IU’s unit has an overall rating of 88.5.

“One of the biggest reasons for Indiana’s surprise 6-0 start has been the stellar play of its receiving corps,” PFF analyst Max Chadwick wrote. “Three Hoosier receivers have earned an 80-plus grade this year: Omar Cooper Jr., Ke’Shawn Williams and Elijah Sarratt. The latter’s 513 receiving yards this year are a top-15 mark in the FBS this season.

Whether it’s Cooper, Sarratt or Williams emerging for big yardage days or Myles Price and Miles Cross being extremely consistent with numerous multi-catch games, this group hasn’t missed a beat since day one. The most impressive part, however, is that the only returner is Omar Cooper.

With so many new faces coming to a new program and looking to showcase their skills on a different level, there could be a level of jealousy or negativity if they aren’t getting the snaps or numbers they wanted.

But, not with this group.

“We have a group of guys in our room who are extremely talented, anybody that’s on that field can go out there and start and make plays,” Williams said earlier this season. “We just want to win games, whoever is out there just knows to give their best effort.”

“It’s about winning, at the end of the day,” Price added. “Everybody wants to win, when you win everybody gets looked at.”

That was on full display last time out for the Hoosiers as eight different players caught a pass, with six players receiving multiple targets. Against Maryland, 10 players caught at least one pass.

“Yeah, well, that whole crew — and we spread the ball around. I think we had over 10 guys touch the ball last week or in the last game,” Cignetti said on Monday. “They have great ball skills, and they’re strong guys, too, which leads to broken tackles.

“That’s something that you’re just trying to design plays that have answers and can free guys up versus all the different coverages you’re going to see potentially, and then it comes down to execution. It’s protection, separation, putting the ball where it’s got to be, throwing it where it needs to be thrown and letting the athletic ability and the desire — sometimes there’s a little want-to factor there, too, involved in that, take over from there.”

Elijah Sarratt leads Indiana with 29 receptions for 513 yards and that includes three 100+ yard games. Then, it’s Cooper with 375 yards on 18 catches. Price has 20 catches for 266 yards while Cross adds 17 receptions totaling 208 yards. And it’s Williams with 13 catches for 183 yards but a team-leading four touchdowns.

The best part of that? That doesn’t include IU’s leading receiver from 2023 — Donaven McCulley — had just two catches before opting to head for the transfer portal. And, EJ Williams, IU’s fourth-leading receiver a year ago, has just one catch so far in 2024.

The depth and talent is real.

Rourke’s average of 10.9 yards per attempt ranks fourth in the nation. He’s also fifth in the country with 1,752 yards passing. And, this week was Rourke’s second time through six weeks that he was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week.

“It’s awesome to be able to have such great athletes and playmakers all around,” Rourke said after IU’s win over Northwestern last week. “The receiver room is one of the deepest in the country. We have one of the best running back rooms in the country. And, put that together with the o-line and the way they’re playing, and that’s why we’re able to put up so many points.”

SEE ALSO: ‘Having a quarterback like that is a dream’: Kurtis Rourke continues phenomenal season, taking IU football offense to new heights